Painting Demo

Posted on by Thor

Winter Park Paint Out Artist Steve Andrews gave a painting demonstration in Downtown Orlando at the Orange County Administration Building Sculpture Garden (201 South Rosalind Avenue Orlando FL). He set up on the lawn facing the Orlando skyline. This was a free event so anyone was invited to attend. As I arrived, Rachel Frisby and several assistants were setting up the Albin Polasek Museum banner and a tent. I paced around an tried to figure out what I should sketch as they set up. I finally realized I should sit back a bit so I could include the sculpture of a man trying to fly with I-beams and very non aerodynamic wings. It seemed fitting in that it implied to me that most of man’s aspirations though well intentioned can be futile. I had every intention of doing a good sketch but it always seems that circumstances are always set in place to keep me from the task of taking flight.

Several people approached as I set up the scene asking well intentioned questions that stole time as the sun raced towards the horizon. Terry Olson who heads up the Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs stopped to say hello. He then checked out Steve’s progress and headed on his way, probably to another cultural event. I see him everywhere I go. A security guard from the Orange County Building approached and asked if I was with the County. It was clear he was looking to stop my sketch in progress. I told him I was, to buy time, and kept working. My mistake had been to say hello to him as he did his rounds. He approached a second time and asked to see my credentials. I showed him my Winter Park Paint Out badge and told him that this was an event that had been approved with a permit. He told me he had not been informed and I assume he went back inside to call around to see if he could get the artist/anarchist off of the city property. I must have seemed an easy target since I sat apart from the crowd. His main concern was that this would be an isolated event. We don’t want artists running amok downtown, now do we?

Steve began blocking in his painting as everyone sat on the lawn to watch. The biggest challenge was looking straight into the setting sun. Instead of using line, he boldly blocked in the shapes in oil always being able to refine a shape as the painting progressed. He told a story that his father had been a doctor during world War II and he was one of the few doctors who stayed in Orlando during the war effort. Orange County Regional History Center curator Pam Schwartz made arrangements to get his fathers oral history.

The crowd gathered to watch Steve paint broke out into laughter. I didn’t understand why at first. Rachel later explained that her dog had taken the moment to squat in front of the artist and take a lingering dump right in the scene he was painting. “Everyone is a critic!” Steve mused.

Today is the last day of the Winter park Paint Out, so it is your last chance to see all the paintings that have been created this week in the “wet gallery”. Admission to the Albin Polasek Museum (633 Osceola Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789) is free for the paint out until 5pm. Tonight is the Paint Out Garden Party from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. This is the big blow out gala which showcases all of the art from the event. Over 400 patrons are expected to attend dressed in cabana chic garden attire. Tickets to the Garden Party are  $100 in advance or $125 at the door. Each ticket enti­tles the buyer to $50.00 off the pur­chase of a paint­ing dur­ing the Gar­den Party! (Limit one ticket per paint­ing val­ued at $300 or more)

Weekend Top 6 Picks for Aprtil 28th and 29th

Posted on by Thor

Saturday April 28, 2018

10 a.m. to 9 p.m. $5 Oktoberfest. German American Society, 381 Orange Ln, Casselberry, FL 32707. The most authentic Oktoberfest in Central Florida. What makes the festival stand out above others is the dedication to
providing authentic and traditional German music, food, beer, and
entertainment. You will find a live band playing German
music in the Fest hall as well as a large outdoor beer garden. The food
menu offers home cooked schnitzels, sauerbraten, goulasch, wursts,
potato salad, potato pancakes and more. These items are prepared and
cooked by German American Society members. The plentiful bars offer genuine Hofbräu beers
imported from Germany as well as wine, German schnapps, and liquors. The
Orlando Trachtenverein provides traditional Bavarian dancing and entertainment on our large dance floors.

Vendor partners provide additional food items,
German/Bavarian clothing and souvenirs, children’s activities such as
bounce house, face painting, and more. The drink ware tent offers a
selection of steins, glassware, and boots you can purchase and take with
you to the beer tents.

Due to the popularity of this event and limited space, presale tickets are offered as a discounted price that will guarantee your
admission. Same day walk-up tickets are also available on a first come,
first serve basis. Parking is available at the
end of Orange lane through a 3rd party for a $5 fee. There are limited
disabled parking only spots on our property. Other business around the
area also offer parking.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. SPRING ART SALE (Just in time for Mother’s Day!) Crealdé Main Campus 600 St. Andrews Blvd
Winter Park, FL 32792. Crealdé artists sell their work.

5 p.m. to 9 p.m.  Paint Out Garden Party. Part of the Witer Park Paint Out. Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens, 633 Osceola Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789.  Dress in comfy shoes–it’s a LONG night and it can get very warm in the gallery with so many people (400+)! There is no dress code, but I’d say cabaña chic/garden cocktail attire. Artists will be mingling with guests and engaging folks in conversation about their art. This is their night to shine and showcase your body of work that you worked so hard to produce!

****RIDE THE SHUTTLE

— On site parking is not available, but you can catch the Garden Party Shuttle from

the Sun Trust parking lot a few block away.

There
is NO PARKING permitted on Osceola Court, Henkel Circle or Trismen
Terrace. Visitors parking on these streets are subject to towing per the
parking restriction by the City of Winter Park.

10:30 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. Free but get food and or drinks.  Son Flamenco. Ceviche Tapas Orlando, 125 W Church St, Orlando, FL. Hot blooded Flamenco dancing to live acoustic guitar.


Sunday April 29, 2018

Noon to 1 p.m. Donation based. Yoga. Lake Eola park near the Red Gazebo.

2 p.m. to 10 p.m. $20 – $40. Poca’s Hottest 7th Annual Sauce Cook-Off.  Will’s Pub 1042 N Mills Ave, Orlando, Florida 32803. A fun filled family friendly event loaded with great food, killer tunes, and all the sauce you can handle.

SPiTFIRE

The Ludes

The Legendary JC’s

The Goldminers

Beemo

Sideshow Revival

Druid Lord

Tears of a Tyrant

Leisure Chief

7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Free but get a drink.  Stephan Mikes – Sitarist with Riad Abdulsalam on Tabla. The Imperial at Washburn Imports 1800 N Orange Ave, Orlando, Florida 32804. Stephan Mikes performing his original music on Sitar accompanied
by Riad Abdulsalam on Tabla. Traditional Indian sounds combined with a
bit of rock reggae blues and electronica!

The Winter Park Sunset “Paint-In”

Posted on by Thor

Winter Park Paint Out artists gathered on the
shore of Lake Mait­land at the Win­ter Park Rac­quet Club (2111 Via Tus­cany, Win­ter Park). There they
cap­tured a beau­ti­ful Florida sun­set, and then they took a break from the
week’s activ­i­ties. The public was invited to watch as these
out­stand­ing artists cre­ated a sun­set mem­ory on can­vas. A cash-only
bar and buf­fet were avail­able to non-members! I love sketching artists at work so I always stop out each year.

This year I was invited to participate as one of the artists in the week long Winter park Paint out so I will be executing sketches every day the event. On Friday April 27th, I will be doing a digital sketch at the  Polasek Museum and projecting the image for people to watch as they mix and mingle. The evening is a Happy Hour and Mixed-Media Sketch Demonstration.

Two local historic studios, the Albin Polasek Museum (633 Osceola Ave, Winter Park, Florida 32789) and the Jack
Kerouac Project, will join forces to present this night of live art.
Local poets and winners of the Winter Park Paint Out’s live poetry
contest on Allpoetry.com
will read their work while artist Thomas Thorspecken, known locally as
Thor from Analog Artist Digital World blog, showcase the art of the
rapid sketch. Plein air requires the ability to adapt and capture the
subject matter quickly while conveying the energy and emotion of the
subject. True to Thor’s digital following, the artist’s sketch and
progress will be projected onto a large screen so viewers can enjoy the
developing picture while they contemplate the diverse poetry selections.
Orlando’s first poet laureate, Susan Lilley, will participate in the
evening’s poetry reading. A wine/beer bar and appetizers will be
available for happy hour beginning at 5 p.m. through 8 p.m. So if you would like to see me do a sketch live or perhaps you just want to heckle me, come on out and grab a few drinks.

This year’s Sunset Paint In is happening on April 25th 2018 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. again at the Winter Park Racquet Club (2111 Vía Tuscany Winter Park, FL 32789.) The event is free but it is suggested that you register in Eventbrite. I will once again be sketching away. I’m not sure if I will do a digital sketch or analog.

Sunset “Paint In”.

Posted on by Thor

The week long Winter Park Paint Out culminated in a Sunset “Paint In” held at the Winter Park Racquet Club, 2111 Via Tuscany, Winter Park FL 32789. The public was invited to see Paint Out Artists gathered on the shore of Lake Maitland as they captured a beautiful Florida sunset from the west-facing shores Lake Maitland.

This event has become incredibly popular. I arrived right on time and had to search the entire racquet club parking lot for a spot. I believe I found the very last parking spot in the grass. And even so, two tires were on a gravel path. A line of female artists were lining the path approaching the entry to the event. I passed them and decided to get closer to the water. I settled in and started sketching from in front of a hedge. It offered some privacy since patrons couldn’t stand behind me and look over my shoulder. Since I wasn’t officially a “Paint In” participant, I didn’t want to draw any attention to myself. Even so, I had some pleasant conversations with friends.

 Artwork was available for sale the night of the event and patrons could also see the evenings completed artwork in the Polasek’s “wet room” gallery the following day. There is a definite challenge to staring straight into the setting sun. I used my baseball cap to block the sun while I sketched the artists at work. I started my sketch because I liked the heroic stance of Patrick Noze as he blocked in his canvas on the far right. His broad stance suggested a confidence with his brush strokes being driven by his arms and shoulders. In contrast, Jeff Ripple was executing a small intimate painting on the left. His piece required the delicate details of tiny brush strokes. Vladislav Yeliseyev arrived later, and set up between the two artists. Vladislav is the one watercolor artist among the 25 or so plein air painters. His loose watercolors have a limited palette and have a full value range with little use of line. I vastly a mid every piece of his that I saw in the Polasek wet gallery.


Some artists who finished their paintings had frames that they used to store The is still wet panels. I had never thought about the notion that a frame is a good way to store and transport a wet painting. many paintings were sold right off the easels. A patron could walk away with a still that night. The me were free drink samples available. I tried a coconut rum mixed with pineapple juice. H was delicious, but the shot glass sized plastic cup left me wanting more. Hal Stringer offered me two drink tickets and I cashed them in at the end of the evening for two red wines. This paint out week is a fun event I really should be a part of next year as they celebrate their 10th anniversary.

Painting demo: A Plein Air Picnic.

Posted on by Thor

Painter, Harold Frontz gave a painting demo titled, “A Plein Air Picnic”. I had high hopes of seeing a beautiful woman with a white parasol feeding grapes to her fashionable partner while a stocky lap dog sniffs in the grass. It was a gorgeous day at the Albin Polasek Museum, (633 Osceola Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789). The museum is on three acres overlooking Lake Osceola. I walked down to the water’s edge to watch the water lilies as they bobbed on the water’s surface. Rachael Frisby the museum curator wandered from artist to artist to check on their progress.

Inside, plein air paintings that were still wet leaned against the walls waiting to be hung. The paintings were freshly created by artists who were part of the Winter Park Paint Out happening April 23rd to the 29th. Free painting demos were available all week long. For me, it was a great opportunity to learn from other artists.

Harold Frontz was actually painting a still life that he set up on a white linen tablecloth. A red apple sat next to a bro me bowl holding some ferns, along with some yellow flowers described them, “happy grapes.” He rubbed a warm ground onto the board and quickly roughed in a light drawing using a #2 bright brush and slightly darker pigment. a larger brush and showed it to the audience. “This is the secret of impressionistic painting” announced. He could use the flat edge for large brush strokes and then turn the brush to get a thinner stroke. He uses a Masterson sealed palette which is like Tupperware. He lined the bottom with brown paper and set a sheet of glass on top of that. I immediately want to adopt that idea.

Harold uses a separate brush for every color. He organized his wet brushes on the palette lid. He uses lots of paper towels. He adopted the practice from portraiture of placing the light side of the face against a dark background and placing the dark side of the face against a light background. Transparent darks we applied to his canvas first. Harold blocked in his painting he stressed the importance of using the brush strokes, define direction, shape, and form.

Harold stopped and sat in the front row. He gave an overview of the points he had covered in the demonstration. The funniest thing he said, was that he is soft spoken, because at home, he can’t get a word in edgewise.

Live painting demo in the Rose Garden.

Posted on by Thor

The Winter Park Paint Out has brought about 25 plein air painters from all over the country to central Florida where they are capturing the area’s charm mostly with oils on canvas. From 6pm to 8pm on April 26th, John Guernsey from Marietta Georgia gave an Oil Painting Demonstration on Dynamic Shadows in the Rose Garden in Central Park. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and join us in Central Park by the Rose Garden. Spectators brought lawn chairs to sit and watch as the painting took shape. It was the golden hour, so warm light ignited the scene as the sun set.

John had completed the drawing aspect of the small composition by the time I arrived. He then blocked in dark shadows using a large two inch flat paint brush. He used this brush for the entire painting using mostly vertical and horizontal strokes. The resulting grid was a bit like a pixelated version of the scene. He used the paint thickly and boldly. He worked incredibly fast. When the sun set behind the trees in the west, he stepped away and said he was done. In a conversation with someone, he said that architects and graphic designers are great wit the drawn aspect of a painting, but the messy and abstract blocking in of colors and valves often gives them trouble. Even after the demo was over, John kept adding dark strokes to the canvas to push the value range.

The Paint Out will come to a close with a Garden Party from 6pm to 9pm tonight, April 30th at the Polasek Museum (633 Osceola Ave, Winter Park, FL). Tickets are $100. Each ticket enti­tles the buyer to $50.00 off the pur­chase of a paint­ing dur­ing the Gar­den Party! (Limit one ticket per paint­ing val­ued at $300 or more)

The Winter Park Paint Out takes over Park Avenue.

Posted on by Thor

The Albin Polasek Museum and Sculp­ture Gar­dens will host its eighth Annual Win­ter Park Paint Out dur­ing the last full week of April 2016. Twenty-five pro­fes­sion­ally acclaimed Plein Air artists will roam across the city cap­tur­ing many of your favorite land­scapes and land­marks with oils, water­col­ors and pas­tels. Plein Air, a French term mean­ing “in the open air”, describes art works painted out­doors with the sub­ject directly in view rather than in a stu­dio. Plein air artists cap­ture the spirit and essence of a landscape or sub­ject by incor­po­rat­ing nat­ural light, color and move­ment into their works.

 If you’re an art lover, a patron, or just curi­ous to see what the buzz
is about, stop by the Polasek Museum to see the lat­est from the 25
artists in action! The museum, sculp­ture gar­dens and gallery will be
open free to the pub­lic through this excit­ing week-long event.
Com­pleted paint­ings will be hung in the gallery’s ‘Wet Room’
imme­di­ately. As the week pro­gressesthe gallery will fill with Plein Air art­work. Be sure to visit often to watch the artists work
and to pur­chase these one-of-a kind paint­ings the moment they are hung
on the wall.

On Monday, the first day of the Paint Out, I met Robert Ross who was set up near Writer’s Block Bookstore just East of Park Avenue on Welborne Avenue. Since Winter Park has just recently passed an ordinance making it illegal to create art or Perform on Park Avenue, I wanted to observe artists who where were immune from the $500 fine and or 60 days in jail for creating art in the forbidden zone. Each painter I saw on that day to had a Winter Park Paint Out sign which was a visual hint to police that they were sanctioned by the Museum. Several Russian women stopped to watch Rob a work, and shoot some photos. I passed four Plein Air painters hard at work as I walked back to my car. Odd that a city that just recently outlawed art should suddenly be over run by 25 artists from around the country for a week. why not allow free expression all year?

Mark Your Calendar for the free Paint Out demonstrations and workshops. Tonight April 26th, there is the “Dynamic Shadows Oil Painting Demonstration” by John Guernsey.  Bring a blanket or lawn chair and join us in Central Park by the Rose Garden. On Wednesday April 2tth, there is a Sunset “Paint-In” at the Winter Park Racquet Club, (2111 Via Tuscany, Winter Park). Paint Out Artists gather on the shore of Lake Mait­land at the Win­ter Park Rac­quet Club to cap­ture a beau­ti­ful Florida sun­set, then take a break from the week’s activ­i­ties. Come share the vista with us and watch as these out­stand­ing artists cre­ate a sun­set mem­ory on can­vas.  A cash-only bar and buf­fet will be avail­able to non-members, so please make an evening of it! April 30th from 6pm to 9pm is the Paint Out Garden Party.  Tickets to this event are, $100 in advance, and $125 at the door

Banished from Sketching Polasek’s Eden

Posted on by Thor

In the Orlando Weekly, I read about a free oil painting demonstration at the Albin Polasek Museum as part of the Winter Park Paint Out. I talked to a docent inside and checked to be sure it would be alright for me to sketch the demonstration. He said it was fine. I had met him once before at an art critique at Barefoot Spa. He does paintings in the style of Frank Frazetta. It was good to catch up with him. Last year I had been asked to do a series of sketches during the Paint Out for Winter Park Magazine, being given full access, but Terry scheduled a vacation to Panama that week and I had to back out. It was a good trip.

I still hadn’t done a single sketch of any Paint Out festivities, so I was excited to finally get an opportunity to sketch and promote the event. I was just beginning to ink in this sketch when the docent came out and said that someone higher up had decided I couldn’t sketch. I politely packed up my sketchbook and left, fuming. The artist demonstrating hadn’t even started to put paint on the canvas yet.

Back at the studio, I quickly finished the sketch I had started. Since the sketch lacked detail, I decided to play with it in Photoshop. I suppose this sketch now makes me a Digital Artist in a Digital World. If the “No Sketch Policy” was put in place to protect the identities of people attending the workshop, then this  image solved that issue. I always finish a sketch once it is started. Had I posted the sketch and article the next day like I wanted to, more people would be aware of all the wonderful artists gathered in Winter Park. I suppose I should have arranged a press pass beforehand, but I didn’t think it was needed since the workshop was free. I only found out about the Paint Out the day before.

Terry said that the Polasek staff might have had Boston Marathon bomb jitters. I suppose my sketch supply bag can look quite ominous but it never left my side. I was profiled as a deviant artist even though no one could have seen what I was doing. I had my back to a hedge to be sure there were no curious bystanders. It is odd to feel like a criminal for taking notes with interest and putting lines on a page. I can’t imagine sitting through a workshop without keeping my fidgety fingers active. I learn better that way.

The next day, I contacted the event co-chair Hal Stringer, and he he wrote, ” We have a very strong policy that the gardens are reserved exclusively
for paint out artists during this week. Our staff was not aware of the
nature of your sketching and the relationship it has to your blog. We
would welcome being featured in one of your articles. Feel free to come sketch during one of the remaining three demos if you
wish. But, please stop by the front desk and ask for me or Debbie
Komanski so we know you’re on property. We’ll make sure the staff
knows you have our permission to sketch the demo for your blog.”

This was the state of the sketch when I was asked to stop.

I really don’t understand the policy of asking an artist to stop sketching. Anytime I am asked to put my pen down, I feel my right to self expression has been compromised.  There were cell phone photos being flashed all over the web promoting the event. I doubt any phones were confiscated from attendees. I’m still annoyed that the staff member that made the decision, whoever that is, did not approach me directly. I could have reasoned with them, but the volunteer that was sent to stop me was blindly following orders. The Polasek is private property however, and they can enforce any rules they like. Hal, the co-host of the Paint Out has been a dear friend and did everything in his power to help me the next day. Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to go back for a second attempt at the sketch.

If the ghost of John Singer Sargent, or Sorolla, offered a painting workshop in Winter Park. I might sit with my hands folded neatly in my lap to watch them work. Then again, I consider it a sin that no one ever sketched these masters as they painted. It would be my moral obligation, a chance of a lifetime. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live in a world where large groups of artists could gather together and sketches weren’t discriminated against?