FAVO showcases local art, rain or shine.

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Faith Arts Village Orlando (FAVO),  221 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, Florida, features 36 art studios open for public viewing, food trucks, live music, and children’s fun art projects. The family friendly event happens every first Friday. The former motel comes alive with art. It was a rainy day when I did this sketch of Will Benton‘s studio space on the second floor at FAVO. Friends visited sitting on his couch and will sold one of his pieces. will has been painting really large canvases that reach to the ceiling. One canvas featured large spiraling Ultramarine circles that matched a lampshade.

This sketch was done from outside Will’s studio looking in. Thankfully there was some cover from the rain but wind gusts sometimes caused some spray to settle on the page. A guitarist performed which offered a calming effect. I went to FAVO to see a show that featured artists paintings on sneakers titled, So Shoe Me. Organized by Deliz V. Berrios and Bethany Taylor Meyers the show was  incredibly fun, the room even had a central bench where you could sit down and try on the art to see if it fit. I felt it was too cramped in the small motel room for me to sit down to sketch,  I’d be blocking art. My solution was to be a voyeur on the outside looking in.

On Friday October 2nd Jack Void showed his ceramic work at FAVO. That is the great thing about this monthly showcase, there is always something new to see. Mark your Calendar, the next FAVO is on Friday November 6th from A pm to 9pm.

Mary Hill

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I first met Mary Hill in 2009 at a writing workshop called, “Writing Your Life“. It was August 9th, Mary’s birthday, and she treated herself to learn something new. Mary was late to the workshop, so she didn’t end up in my sketch that day. After the workshop, we talked in the hallway for some time. She had studied healing and psychology in California. She returned to Orlando to take care of her mother who was bed ridden with fibrosis and other aliments.  Mary ultimately gave up five years of her life to take care of her mother. I visited the Hill house and sketched Margaret Hill. At the time my own step-mom had cancer and she had to be put in a retirement home. I respected Mary for the care she gave to her mom. I returned to the Hill residence multiple times, feeling privileged to get to know both Mary and her mom.

On one visit, Margaret’s breathing grew shallow and panicked. She was moved to her bed where Mary placed her hand above her mother’s chest and prayed. She would take the negative energy and then exhale it into the corner of the room. Within minutes Margaret was fine and she fell fast asleep.  This was a spiritual form of heeling I had never seen before. If I hadn’t seen it first hand, I wouldn’t have believed it. Mary felt something flow through her when she did this and she knew it was god’s healing touch that she helped manifest. Mary probably had the most faith of anyone I have ever met. At times she expressed feeling closer to god in her prayers and meditation than she did in the harsh grind of everyday existence. Angels often appeared in the art created by Mary.

We decided to collaborate on a project called “LifeSketch.” Mary would interview residents of a retirement home while I sketched. Interviewing people in their golden years was incredibly rewarding since stories and lessons learned over a lifetime often seemed to profoundly reflect what what was happening today. Mary had a natural way of getting people to open up to her which resulted in very enlightening interviews. Mary would condense the interview into one page of precise heart felt copy. That article would then be matted and framed beside my sketch and presented to client. Often multiple copies would be made for children and grand children.

When her mom died, Mary comforted everyone else at the funeral.  It was only after her mothers ashes in a cylinder were lowered into a shallow hole at Woodlawn, that Mary’s knees gave way, and grief enveloped her. She always wanted to care for others and after her mother’s death she got a state license and opened her own healing massage office. I was sure that through word of mouth, that business would grow and thrive.

Mary always knew how to make me laugh. She also knew how to listen and accept tears. I grew up in a Methodist family that hid all emotion, so it was surprising to see how she left nothing checked when she experienced the lows and highs of grief and humor. I felt that openly expressing sorrow was a sign of weakness, but she let the full spectrum of emotion wash over her.

I remember talking to her shortly after she broke up with her boyfriend, Berto Ortega. The relationship was on and off. Though separated, they still talked often. She said that she could go anywhere and do anything now that she was completely on her own.  I had assumed she would travel to an exotic country to do missionary work after her mom died.

Berto was a talented plein air painter. After they broke up, he took a trip in his truck to the Grand Tetons where he did several paintings and then shot himself. He left quite a few suicide notes for friends and clients but he didn’t leave a note for Mary. Only now can I begin to imagine the sense of grief and guilt she must have felt.

As I was sketching in Berto’s studio at FAVO, Mary came in with several paintings that Berto had left with her. She leaned over and read with some interest a suicide note full of thanks and appreciation Berto had left with Will Benton. Mary hugged me and I asked her, “Are you OK?” She replied quite simply, “No, Pray for Berto’s relatives and pray for me.” That was the last thing she said to me. She left the studio and was gone.

Berto Ortega Studio

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On August 2nd,  I visited the studio of Berto Ortega at Faith Arts Village Orlando (FAVO) at (221 E. Colonial Dr., Orlando, Florida).  We had a long talk about blogging and marketing artwork by using social media. Berto is the one artist who uses the studio in the former motel full time. Most other artists just come to the market once a month to sell their work and then leave that same night. This was also the one room where the air conditioner worked making it a studio that you would want to linger in since the other studios didn’t have air conditioning. He invited me to sketch from inside his studio but I decided to sketch from the balcony outside.

Berto asked friends what was the most beautiful place that they had ever painted. There was some agreement that the Grand Tetons out in Wyoming were gorgeous.  After finishing several painting commissions, he put notes on the paintings, left wet paint on the palette, packed supplies in his pickup truck and headed west to the Grand Tetons.  He did several paintings of the majestic mountain range when he got there. I once bicycled through the Grand Tetons. On that trip I decided to throw away the sketchbook I had at the time feeling ill suited as a student fresh out of art school to capture such beauty.

A September 10th a Jackson Hole newspaper reported, “Grand Teton National Park rangers discovered the body of a 55 year-old
Winter Park, Florida man Monday morning.  Alberto Ortega’s body was
discovered at Windy Point turnout on the Teton Park Road; apparently the
victim of a self-inflicted gunshot to his head. Rangers are conducting
an investigation into what appears to be a suicide and an isolated
event.  Park Spokesperson Jackie Skaggs says rangers responded at 6:15
am Monday September 9th to a 911 call from passersby when they came upon the
unconscious man lying on the ground next to his Toyota pickup truck.
Upon arrival, rangers found Ortega already deceased from a head wound
and a semi-automatic pistol next to his body. A note left by Ortega was
also located at the scene.”

This is the second time I have had to report on an Orlando artist taking their own life. This news was gut wrenching since Berto is an artist whose art I admired. Will Benton who runs FAVO allowed me to sketch the artist’s studio. A rough cross which was painted white with artist brushes, vines and a tear shaped jewel was mounted on the studio door. Inside, his paintings filled the walls. One painting of a small skiff or life boat pitched in the high seas. In the distance a sign of hope, a large schooner was shrouded in orange ocher mist.

A large portrait was left for Will Benton. It was a portrait of a man that once saved Berto’s life. He and a woman were working in a store which was held up by an armed gunman. The husband of the woman grew worried when she didn’t return home. He went to the store and managed to save Berto and the woman’s life. It is a large painting, stoic and resolved. A note written by Berto was taped to the back of the painting. “Will, to say I’m sorry for all this is furtive, but I’ll say it anyway. There have been few people who have extended themselves to me like you have, and I really like you like a brother for that. I can’t say enough how I have always appreciated you.” I searched the rest of the note, hoping to find some hint of WHY? There were no signs to explain the tragedy. All that remains is an emptiness. A lone chair sat in the corner of the once active artist’s studio.

“When I have a terrible need of – shall I say the word – religion. Then I go out and paint the stars.”

– Vincent Van Gogh

FAVO

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On the first Friday of each month, artists gather at a former motel to display and sell their work. Faith Arts Village Orlando (FAVO) is at 221 E. Colonial Dr., Orlando, Florida).

    FAVO is a free Event open to the public. There were 21 studios of amazing artists. The FAVO Market outside had even more artists and vendors. This is a Family Friendly Event with Activities for Children,  plus Food Trucks and  live music.

  

Will Benton organizes the event and I visited his corner studio. He had a large abstract on the wall that he had done. He suggested I show my sketchbooks in the market and I’m considering the idea.

  

Julio Sanchez Julsan had bright folk art on display. A brightly painted chair was both charming and disturbing. It resembled an electric chair. Rodney McPherson told me he was working on a mural on the ceiling of Twist Hair Studio. It makes sense to have something to look at as you lie back to get your hair washed in those custom sinks. Todd Fox had intricately decorated cigar boxes that resembled primative alters with shells and other found objects. Brian Barnett from Deltona was showing quirky abstract line art that reminded me of paintings by Miro. Richard Perez Messina (Jano) showed me his splashy abstracts. Hidden within were images of faces and a dragon. He paints with his hands, smearing the paint with abandon. I defiantly liked his bold approach.

None of the air conditioners seemed to be working very well. As it is now, artist set up for the evening and then break everything down the same night. Only one or two artists actually work in the motel rooms. The buildings are undergoing renovations to bring them up to city codes.  The dream is that this will one day become a thriving artist’s community. As I sketched, I noticed a large diptych of a heart was sold as well as some potted plants. There was a guitar player playing a rhythmic beat over and over. Someone began talking to him and the rhythm continued. I kind of envied the woman getting a massage. I was tense and sweating.

Mark your Calendar! The next FAVO Art Exhibition and market is Friday September 6th from 5pm to 9pm.

FAVO

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Faith Arts Village Orlando (FAVO) is an outreach ministry of Park Lake Presbyterian Church. Will Benton is in charge of helping renovate the motel which hosts artists who exhibit their work once a month. The mission of FAVO is to encourage art as an expression of faith. On January 4th, I visited to see which artists were exhibiting their work. The motel is located across the street from Park Lake Presbyterian church and is right off Colonial Drive. I discovered a parking lot quite by mistake.

Unfortunately it was raining continuously that evening. The January 4th Event focused on a New Year featuring local Orlando Art,
The FAVO Market and the soft opening of the new FAVO Gallery. This
Gallery will present all original works from local artists. All sales
from this Gallery will benefit the renovations of the property to meet City Requirements. Adequate sprinkler systems need to be installed and ramps built so the complex is accessible to anyone in a wheel chair. 19 Studios were open with Local Juried Artists showing their work.

There were several Food Trucks parked behind the motel with their generators buzzing loudly. The event was lightly attended, but the motel rooms glowed bright as the sky grew dark. Photographer Gail Peck introduced me to the work of a British Urban Sketcher whose work she felt I should see. He wrote a book called, London You’re Beautiful. Renee Wilson was showing pieces that were rendered with words. There was an image of a raven that was composed using the words from an Edgar Allen Poe poem. She does commissions where she interviews a person and then does a drawing using words from that person’s story to create the image. Bonnie Sprung was set up in the motel room closest to the food trucks.

A minister stood in an artists studio looking at the work. The artist asked him if he could bless her work since she believed in that sort of thing. I didn’t stay for the blessing. I searched for a spot out of the rain and I did a quick sketch. Mist from the rain kept moistening the page. Seth Kubersky and Donna Dowless said hello as I struggled with the sketch. The FAVO Gallery will be having it’s Grand Opening on February 1st at 5PM.