Boo Boo

Posted on by Thor

While Stella Arbelaez was down in Miami trying to get into the Colombian Consulate for three consecutive nights to get her Colombian ID and passport, I got to watch Boo Boo at the Yalaha Studio.

On the third evening she went there at about 9:50pm the night before. She was 4th in line and stayed overnight for when the consulate opened at 9am the next morning. Ultimately her 3 nights of perseverance paid off and she got both her Colombian ID and her passport which would be mailed to her when completed. In crazy uncertain times having the right documents offers peace of mind.

Boo Boo is an adorable hand sized pup with tons of personality. He joined me on my walk each morning, then we would have breakfast together. Since I work at my desk all day long, he was good about letting me know when I needed to play. One day he had the zoomies like I had never seen in him before. He reared up on his hind legs resembling a mini grizzly bear. I threw his small aqua colored stuffed rabbit and he went wild in pursuit. Each day I looked forward to his high energy play time.

Since my princess and the pea bed is so high off the ground, Boo could not safely jump off. I decided to sleep on the couch so Boo could get up and off each night. He slept curled up in the nape of my neck while lying on his little sheepskin rug. The added warmth helped me drop off to sleep. I grew attached to him so quickly.

Today I will be driving to Orlando to sketch a theater performance. I am feeling guilty leaving Boo on his own for a little bit. I have been given very specific instructions on turning on music for him to listen to and to reassure him and say good by when I leave. I know that he once tore a hole through a doorway when he was left alone. Despite the assurances and instructions it breaks my heart to leave him. He has been stuck to my side like glue for the three days we have spent together. Leaving him seems like it will break the trust that we built.

That evening after catching up with Stella, I went to my bedroom to sleep in my own bed again. There was a tiny brown blob on the floor. I couldn’t figure out what it was. I poked it with my finger and it moved in a gelatinous way. Then I noticed a small clear puddle nearby. I looked at my finger and it dawned on me that I needed to wash my hands and get some paper towels. Boo Boo had expressed his annoyance that I had left him alone by leaving his calling cards. I feel his dissatisfaction with me was justified. I had let him down and broken our trust. Since he is such a tiny pup, the cleanup was simple.

Preservation Partnership

Posted on by Thor

On a trip to Portland Oregon, I sketched this sweet historic brownstone. For hundreds of years my family on my mothers side lived in old brownstones in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Therefor these old building hold a sweet spot in my heart.

Time was limited, so I dashed off the sketch rather quickly. I recall that downtown Portland had quite a few of these types of historic gems.

I love traveling and exploring a new city with my sketchbook. I thought I might be exploring quite a few cities when my film COVID Dystopia did it’s round in the film festival circuit, but lets face it, no one wants to be reminded of the pandemic. Certainly no one wants to be told the virus is still circulating and causing incurable long COVID symptoms.

Exploring new places is a joy with a sketchbook in hand. I will continue to explore Yalaha after I finish up the series of theater posters I am now working on.

 

 

 

Sunrise over Yalaha

Posted on by Thor

I seem to be following celestial movements with my last few sketches. I have been following the phases of the moon on each evenings fire pit burn and this morning I woke up before a bit early to sit on the front porch and watch the sunrise over Yalaha.

I seem to be trying to ground myself to the earthly movements as we hurdle on this little rock through space.

It was interesting trying to sketch the sun rise. I was just finishing drawing the homes when the sun first peak up above the roof line of the house across the street. I immediately switched to painting and added the brilliant sun. Then when the sun was fully exposed, my sight whited out because I was starting right at the bright light. I lowered the brim of my baseball cap to keep from being blinded and switched to painting the foreground. The lighting switched from dark to light and I had to decide what looked right for each passage of the painting.

When the sun sets, I am still online with virtual students. I often have to use a black curtain too help block the light from allowing me to see the computer screen. Because if this I have become quite familiar with the movement of the sun. There are many tall pine trees that block an unobstructed view of the sunset each evening. On past vacations as hoards of tourists lined up to take cell phone photos of sunsets, I would sit and sketch the tourists, completely missing the sunset myself. Painting a sunrise or painting a sunset are the most challenging painting assignments when on location.

Root Ball Blaze

Posted on by Thor

A huge pine tree fell next to the Yalaha studio because of the winds from Hurricane Milton which blew through central Florida in October of 2024. Milton was the second-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded over the Gulf of Mexico.

I have been cutting off roots from the seven foot tall unearthed root ball. Native plants have already started to grow on top of the football shaped ball, like a chia pet. If only my balding head could be so resilient. I gather the roots I cut off and set a fire in the fire pit each evening. It is a slow mesmerizing way to get rid of the storm damage. I have started cutting off the larger roots now, so the fire burns brighter and longer each night.

I felt an incredible sense of peace tonight as I watched the blaze and worked on this painting. I have fallen in love with this hidden slice of Florida. The lot next door is completely undeveloped and I could hear critters foraging around in the woods. The gentle wind caused large bamboo stalks to sway and clatter against each other. Bamboo and tall pines pointed to the stars. The fire would snap and sparks would rise up also leading the eternal gaze to the night sky. These quiet moments are helping me ground myself. After four hours of virtual teaching the fire help me wind down.

A rain storm yesterday showed that the gutters to the home are clogged in one spot. In the afternoon I got the ladder out and cleaned the gutters.  I am also digging a trench to bring roof rain water away from the home to the edge of the property. I found that the gutter had a mesh on top of one of the downspouts to keep pine needles and other debris from clogging the spillover. The other side had no mesh so I added some screen as a stop gap solution. I also up-righted a fence that had been knocked down by the fallen pine tree. I just used 4 by 4s to shore up the fence until I dig new fence posts. It felt good to be outdoors and doing physical labor. I worked up a good sweat and it felt awesome.

Perhaps the physical labor is why I felt so at peace sitting by the fire. I had earned this moment of bliss and happiness.

Oregon Tree Stump

Posted on by Thor

I have been working on breaking down giant root ball for the last couple of weeks which is from a fallen pine tree knocked down by Hurricane Milton next to the Yalaha studio.

I am a bit like an ant trying to move a mountain. Each night I burn the roots that I have clipped off with sheers.

The section of the pine tree that fell in the yard was cut with chainsaws and carted away. The tree cutters were supposed to return to grind down the root ball, but they haven’t returned yet. In the mean time I am using the roots as fuel for the fire which  I  enjoy each night.

My virtual classes let out at 8pm and I quickly make dinner and then eat it outside beside the fire. The finest roots make the best flames. they ignite quick and furiously. The bulk of the pine tree that fell is in the undeveloped lot next door. Several other trees fell in that dense tropical forest of a lot. One of the fell on a house on the far side. Some roots develop into smooth pointy shapes that are quite menacing. I am saving them from the fire because they might be useful for a future sculpture or wood caving.

There was a huge rain storm the other day and I got to see what parts of the yard flood first. I am working on a drainage ditch but that only effects water coming from the roof gutters. The other areas that flood may have to be filled with sand, dirt or mulch so the water flows off to the edge of he pr0perty. The gutters seem to get filled with pine needles rather quickly. I clean out the back gutters yesterday and plan to clean the front gutters tomorrow.

From the chaos of destruction, comes the brilliant flames of inspiration for what may lie ahead. During the day, I have been doing theater poster designs. After class, I plan to start wandering out and paint nocturnes in oil or maybe digital. I will try both. The night time is when this artist gets to play and experiment.

Blood Moon

Posted on by Thor

Another night fire to burn away roots from an uprooted pine that fell from Hurricane Milton at the Yalaha studio. Sometimes rather than sate at the fire, I like to look up at the immensely tall pines that point up to the stars. On this night an owl kept hooting in the woods behind.

Sparks from the fire would ascend and then flicker out. The blaze was white hot on this night. The thinnest of roots are like kindling and they light up in a flash. After finishing the sketch I felt research was needed. It was a basic full moon but my curiosity told me to look deeper into the celestial happenings that night. I discovered that a full Lunar eclipse was going to happen.  There was a total lunar eclipse, or blood moon later in the evening. I didn’t want to miss it. I set my alarm to be sure to experience it first hand. Lunar eclipses occur when the earth is between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow across the lunar surface. During “totality,” the moon moves through Earth’s umbra, the dark center of its shadow, giving rise to the red-hued “Blood Moon”. The lunar eclipse reached its maximum phase, whereby the moon is fully obscured by Earth’s deepest darkest shadow, the umbra, at 2:59 a.m. eastern standard time. When the blood moon was at it’s zenith, I added it to my painting. A telescope was not needed the moon turned as red as mars.

I was feeling accomplished because I had worked my way out of a box I had painted myself into on the design of one of the Shakespeare Theater posters. At the start of the night the poster felt weird, but after many adjustments it is now my favorite poster of the season. It is unexpected but recognizable.

I bought some Masonite and a couple of thin wooden slats today. The plan is to constrict a very simple carrying case of oil paintings I do on location. Once the box is constructed and the oil paints are squeezed out on the portable palette, I plan to start doing oil paintings after class ends at 8pm each night. All the painting will be the same size which is just big enough to fit snugly into the shelves of my bookcase. If this world I will be able to store hundreds of paintings neatly shelved like books.

Today Stella Arbelaez hooked me up with the Leesburg Center for the Arts which has a membership support group called the Tropic Art Alliance. They meet every third Thursday. This month I have a class when the group meets, but I am hoping I can get to the meeting next month. Mysterious happenings are occurring on land and in the sky.

Discharge

Posted on by Thor

I had to spend one day in the hospital to be sure the operation was a success. I woke up hungry.I had not eaten for well over 24 hours. The previous night I vomited any time anyone approached me with food since I had a horrible reaction to the anesthesia. That is how the nurse explained it. In my mind however it might have been the thought that they were offering me hospital food which is notorious for being bad.

On this morning however I ate the scrambled eggs and hash browns like my life depended on it. There were 4 vanilla puddings and I ate them as well. Once done, I waited for the doctor to discharge me. He wanted me to walk the hallways to settle all my scrambled organs. I had to build up what he  called flow. My job for the day was to pee into a container and show the nurse. Once I had urinated enough, I could leave.

When I woke up I was attached to a catheter. That is a plastic tube shoved up my flag pole and urine would leak out the tube into a round plastic bag hanging from the side of the bed. My urine was blood tinged. Not pure thick blood red but watered down resembling strawberry Kool-Aid. I also had on lower leg wraps which were heated and they vibrated massaging my legs. I really liked those, and was sad to leave then behind. As I was waiting much later in the day, I put them back on just because I liked the sensation.

I walked the hallway while holding my IV bag full of bloody urine. The back of the bag was opaque, so I turned that side outward so as not to shock the other patients in their rooms. There was a score board to count laps and I think I did about 15 laps around the ward. I just wanted to be sure I was winning on the score board. I was a man with a mission. The catheter was taped to my let so that there wasn’t too much tension pulling on my James Dean as I walked. I kept my hand on that tape as I walked to be sure it stayed in place.

The doctor came in to remove the catheter. I dreaded the process. He approached my business nonchalantly with scissors. I shut my eyelids hard as he snipped a bulb off a plastic tube. Then with one quick yank he pulled the tube out of me. It is like ripping off a band aid. the faster you do it the less time you have to react in horror. I was also removed from the IVs at 6am. I was now free to move about. It was strange not being concerned with tubes hanging out of me.

I drank bottle after bottle of water but only an agonizing blood red dribble leaked out of me in the bathroom. Maybe the escape tunnel had collapsed. My sister Pat called and she was on her way to the hospital to pick me up. I let her know it could be some time, but she insisted. I drank many more bottles of water, while she and I chatted on the couch. It seemed any time the nurse came to check on me I was in the bathroom. Pat relayed the messages. Finally I started peeing like a race horse. The burning was still there but less so. By the time the doctor approved my discharge, the sun was about to set.

Pat drove back to Yalaha, with Just Jim navigating. I lay in the back seat. I managed to last the whole drive back without having to take a pit stop. That in itself was a miracle. Back at the studio, I discovered that someone had stolen my iPhone charger from the hotel room. The charger was held together with black electrical tape so it wasn’t a great loss. Amazingly my wallet was untouched. Pt found me a new charger the next day at Dollar General.

My sister Pat was staying at the studio for a few days to be sure nothing went south.

Snow Globe: Dolly Shot

Posted on by Thor

The fireplace was removed to make way for a small track for a dolly shot. The fireplace flames are a sort of projection. It was discovered that the fireplace also makes sound so it was turned off since the flames were not visible in the shot.

Since there was no fireplace in the home of my last roommate situation, we used to turn on the large screen TV and run a 12 hour fireplace video during the winter as we worked on family history research on the couch. There is something soothing about watching the flames and listening to the snapping and crackling. That fire burnt itself out. I now set a fire each evening in a fire pit in the back yard of the Yalaha Studio. I am still burning roots and branches from the Hurricane Milton storm damage. Watching the flames is my way to relax and reflect after a day of sketching, painting and teaching. The TV has never been used except on New Year’s Eve.

On set, the mother, or Big Birdie (Carrie Lauren) and daughter, Claire (Miya Montague) sat uncomfortably on the couch as far apart as was possible. The camera moved slowly forward as they stared into the imagined flames.

As cameraman, Gregory Mohn was setting up for this shot, he shouted out that anything in the kitchen that shouldn’t be seen had to be moved since it was visible in the shot. All the crew snacks and drinks were on the counters. Writer, Director, Tracey Jane was in the kitchen and I noticed her trying to move some things with her one good hand. Her other hand was in a cast. I dropped my sketch to help her out.  We moved some sort of fondue or crock pot set out into the garage and other items went up on the refrigerator out of sight. Several spiky dog balls were moved into her bedroom, which was now the actors dressing room.

Her pup, Luigi was all muscle and energy and would play with anyone who would grab his octopus. Since my artist stool it pretty low, I played with him quite a bit to get some of the energy out of him. That plan seemed to backfire since playing with him just amped him up even more. He had to go out in the back pool area when shooting began, but he just pawed at the sliding glass doors and whined to get back inside. A neighbor had to be called to give him a walk so the scenes could be shot.

Tracey watched the scene on a James Bond style black case that had a monitor. The stool she sat on squeaked, so she had to remain perfectly still. If I needed to grab a new pen or brush, I made sure to move in slow motion so as not to make a sound as well. This was a quiet somber moment between mother and daughter and a moment when they would truly connect. The conversation between mother and daughter was soft and muted. I am so used to actors shouting to the rafters in theater productions. The boom mic held my Arturo, and a hidden mic in the couch must have caught it all.

Chicago Chamber Concert 2

Posted on by Thor

This is a rare case where I decided to get a second sketch after moving closer to the performers. The venue was packed, so I must have made a conscious decision to not include the backs of audience members heads.

It was a real breath of fresh air being in Chicago. I had not really connected yer with the Orlando Arts scene and was quite frankly starved for culture. My search for culture is what drives many of my sketches.

This week I have started to discover Central Florida’s Film making community and I have felt an absolute rush at the possibilities of sketching on a live set. Life rushes by at a breakneck pace but the pace on a set is glacial with take after retake. It is well suited for sketching. Of course watching the film making process leaves me thinking I should perhaps start another film. When the moment strikes, I will know.

Since my move to Yalaha, Florida, I have been swamped with illustration and teaching work. I haven’t had a whole like of time to get out with my sketchbook and discover what Yalaha has to offer inn terms of sketching opportunities.

Yalaha Bakery

Posted on by Thor

KC Cali, an artist from Orlando came up to Yalaha for a mini sketch crawl. The Yalaha Bakery won the lottery as the best option for a sketch, coffee and pastry. The bakery is Yalaha’s only tourist attraction, other than the multi flavored moonshine available next door.

It was a super foggy morning. I thought it was raining at first when I stepped outside for my morning walk. I heard drops intermittently splashing to the ground. It wasn’t rain, but the dew dropping from the branches from the thick fog’s condensation. Such pea soup morning fog is a new experience for me.

I thought about sketching the exterior of the Yalaha Bakery building which has interesting German themed murals, but it was still foggy and grey out, so the main pastry counter inside had afar more appeal. I ordered a Coconut Delight and an iced Vanilla Latte. That delight had to be one of the most delicious pastries I ever ate, but that is what I thought last time I was at the bakery and had a German Strudel.

On the morning my mother died  I was 10. My father told me the news as I was getting ready for school. I didn’t cry. I disappeared into the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror, numb. I decided I should go about my day as if nothing had happened. I always walked to school with a friend down the street. On that morning, his grandmother had made apple strudel. She gave me a warm freshly baked slice and said to me in her thick German accent, that she had heard about my mother and was so sorry. I took a bite of the strudel which was delicious. At that point I lost my composure and broke down and cried. She held me close, she was round, soft and enveloped me. When I recovered, my friend and I walked to school. At school, some kid told me that his father, who worked at the hospital, knew my mother had died long before I found out. What was the point in telling me that? I ghost walked through classes.

People would arrive at the Yalaha Bakery to get pastries in waves. Seriously bus loads of people must have entered the establishment to all order together. Sketching such a crowd lined up at the counter was a challenge, I chose to just catch a few. Beside the table was a large HEPA filter, which I appreciated. It exhaled heavily in our direction with its top flap sighing up and down, like a respirator. Oh that reassuring filter labeled VAGKR1, was actually a space heater, whoops, I just looked it up online. For some reason I had jotted the name on the back of my sketch.

It was a relaxing morning of conversation and sketching which left me feeling refreshed. Sketching is usually a very solitary experience but being able to share that experience, even sharing something as simple as a pencil is thrilling.  Life can be overwhelming at times, but taking the time to create, and learn from another artists life experiences, does ease the burden.