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

The Writer’s Block Bookstore features local talent in Winter Park.

Posted on by Thor

The Writer’s Block Bookstore, 124 Welbourne Avenue, Winter Park FL, was founded by Lauren Zimmerman. Lauren came to the opening of my exhibit at Winter Parks City Chambers, 401 South Park Avenue Winter Park, which  is still open to the public. At the opening she asked me to hang a piece in her bookstore. I had one framed print still in the studio, so I dropped that off at the bookstore. Lauren likes to sketch herself so she likes my quick sketches from life. I haven’t been back to the bookstore since I dropped off the print. If anyone goes to the bookstore, let me know where the print is hung and how it looks in the space.

I was recently at a book signing and reading by Stacy Barton for her new novella, Lilly Harp at the Writer’s Block Bookstore. Mark Your Calendar, on August 20th,  there will be Wine and Conversation with some of Central Florida’s best authors from Borrow Press from 6pm to 8pm. Vanessa Blakeslee released Train Shots, released in 2014 by Borrow Press. The book won the IPPY Gold Metal in short fiction. In 2013 Vanessa won the Individual Artist Fellowship in Literature from the Florida Department of Cultural affairs.  Her debut novel Juventud is being released by Curbside Splendor Publishing in October of 2015. Other authors to meet that evening include Nathan Holic, author of the novel American Fraternity Man, and Pat Ruskin author of the feature length screenplay, The Zero Theorem which was directed by Terry Gilliam.

Local author Stacy Barton reads from her new novella.

Posted on by Thor

On July 2nd, I went to Writer’s Block Bookstore, 124 Welbuorne Avenue Winter Park FL, to go to a book signing and reading by local author Stacy Barton of her new novella Lilly Harp. The bookstore owner, Lauren Zimmerman had been at the opening of my exhibit in the Winter Park Chambers and she had asked me to bring a framed print to her store to hang in the hallway. Lauren wasn’t at the book signing but I left the print tucked safely away in a back reading room. The bookstore feels much like an intimate home with multiple book lined bedrooms where you can stop linger and read in comfy chairs.

Stacy’s book Lilly Harp is set on a small Florida island only accessible by boat. Her protagonist is a young female art student returning to the island. Rich enveloping deep rooted mangroves welcome the artist who has found out she is pregnant. I first heard Stacy read from a draft of the book several years ago at Infusion tea. This story has gestated for quite some time. Stacy explained that she had shopped it around to many of the large publishers but they don’t get the notion of a novella. She ultimately went with Word Farm Press the publisher of her book of short stories, Surviving Nashville.

At the book signing, I got to meet Stacy’s daughter Meredith Lynelle Barton who is a dancer and a visual artist from Miami. That is a rare combination of talents. She asked about my art supplies, so perhaps she will branch out and start sketching her own life events. I can vouch for the fact that sketching dance rehearsals offers limitless subject matter. 

It turned out that I sketched multiple generations of Stacy’s family at the reading including Gail, Stacy’s daughter in law, just by chance. In my sketch, not everyone is facing Stacy, but that is just because I
sketched them in the moments before and after the reading. Trust me, you
could hear a pin drop while Stacy was reading. The only person I didn’t sketch was Stacy’s husband Todd, who was deep in conversation right beside me most of the time. He had read aloud to Stacy the first seven chapters of her book while they relaxed at home. I can’t think of a more romantic sign of love and support than that. Lilly Harp is available locally at Writer’s Block Bookstore and Bookmark It, in East End Market 3201 Corrine Drive, Suite 109 Orlando, FL. This is clearly a book with heart felt character development and a lush Florida setting. I highly suggest you pick up a copy for yourself.