Lake Eola Fountain Nocturne

Posted on by Thor

My downtown studio was just a blocks walk from Lake Eola. On some nights I would walk to the lake to paint. Being so dark, it was liberating to just make a mess of the page, spearing paint and ignoring the tight rope of line.

A man clearly had too many bears at World of Beers. At first he seemed to want to discourage my sitting in public creating in the dark, but his mood shifted and I believe he began to respect my commitment to the mess on the page.

The entire walk around the lake is spotted with speakers that play music giving the impression of a mall of theme park. Orlando’s fountain icon is carefully controlled and choreographed. My painting was quite the opposite.

World of Beer

Posted on by Thor

I went to World of Beer located in the Marketplace at Dr Phillips (7800 Dr Phillips Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819) to meet a friend and chat. Any time I arrive someplace first I get the sketchbook out to sketch while I wait for waiters or the person I am meeting. This is a mad dash sketch which I knew I would probably not complete. That didn’t stop me from trying. The bar has a wide assortment of beers and it fills up as people file in after work.

Besides the wide assortment of beers there is also pub grub like German Pretzels, Tater tots chicken wings, burgers and flat breads. I ordered tots to go with my brew. Later that evening I was sketching a rehearsal, so this was my dinner. Like most sports bars there is a phalanx of TV screens so that you are starting into a tube no matter which direction you look.

The Art Wine Walk in Lake Mary combined an outdoor art bazaar with wine from local establishments.

Posted on by Thor

On September 24th, I went to Colonial Town Park, (950 Market Promenade Ave #2200, Lake Mary, FL) to experience the Art Wine Walk. Eight artists were listed as vendors so I expected to see a sizable tent city. There were however only two artists tents set up. Earlier in the day it had rained a bit and the sky looked ominous, so I assume artist were scared off by the weather.

The event was $10, and the proceeds benefited Clean the World! Vaughn Belak was one of the two die hard artists with work on display. He does intriguing goth images with sinister but playful undertones. He explained that this used to be a regular event but it was shelved for a while by promoters. He would come out and set up a tent anyway because people that have been drinking and having a good time would be more likely to make an impulse buy.

The bar across from Vaughn’s tent was Liam Fitzpatrick‘s and it was doing a lively business. Other bars in Colonial Town Park include, Graffiti Junction, and World of Beers. With such a concentration of bars, this place must get rowdy by midnight. The Art Wine walk went from 5pm to 8pm, so, just as the street lights flickered on, the two artists tents came down. The Art Wine Walk is listed as happening every 4th Wednesday of each month, but I’m not so sure the momentum is there to keep it going.