Buzzcatz

On Saturday, Terry and I went to the 5th Annual Baldwin Park Art & Jazz Festival. The festival looked very much like every other festival I have been to in Baldwin Park. Vendors arts and crafts tents were lined up down the length of New Broad Street. There are always a wide assortment of dogs being walked in this Celebration like "Leave it to Beaver" neighborhood. Our first order of business was to find some lunch. We decided to eat at La Bella Luna which was an Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. Terry ordered a chicken Caesar salad and I ordered Lasagna. The chicken in Terry's salad was dry, overcooked and she couldn't eat it. My lasagna was tasteless except for the excessively salty sauce. I however can eat anything, although my stomach sometimes complains. The waiter asked how everything was and he got an earful from Terry. She said she was doing him a favor since the restaurant wouldn't be around for long if this is what then were passing off as food. He would be better off finding a better restaurant to work in.

After lunch we ran into Hal Stringer who was displaying his colorful paintings. He relaxed in the shade of a tree and watched as people examined his bold landscape paintings. He applies the paint thickly with a pallet knife. My favorite painting was an abstract that resembled liquid fire. Hal pointed out the program to us and told us where the two stages were set up. Terry and I wandered to the end of the streets and were drawn to the music of the Buzzcatz. Terry and I spotted Carol Stein, a wonderful pianist, song writer and composer. She grabbed a table and I sat down to sketch. While I worked, Terry decided to shop and explore the arts and crafts tents. Carol and I ordered margaritas. Carol said, "These people don't realize the world class caliber of musical talent they are listening to!" I had seen the guitarist on the left, Bobby Koeble, at a Rollins College Faculty showcase concert and he amazed me. The classic jazz, motown and rat pack era music kept the audience swaying. Several couples started to swing dance while children ran in circles on a patch of lawn. Behind the band people relaxed in the grass looking out over Lake Baldwin.

An Evening of Eligance

Lago is a beautiful restaurant on the shore of Lake Baldwin (4979 New Broad Street Baldwin Park). The Evening of Elegance promised a complimentary cup of wine and piano entertainment featuring songs of Frank Sinatra. How could I resist? Funds raised at this event benefited Fertile Dreams, an organization that embraced hope for couples seeking paths to parenthood. When I arrived the bar was nearly empty except for a business man eating dinner. Slowly as I sketched people arrived and I let them populate the empty chairs in my sketch. One woman showed up with a young girl perhaps five years old. I overheard that this child was born thanks to In Vitro fertalization. The little girl was often the center of attention, often being told how cute and beautiful she was.

The organizer of the evening announced that the piano player and singer both had a cold and would not be able to perform. I was thankful since I was perched on a tall stool next to the piano which was probably there for the singer. I stopped rushing and relaxed into the sketch. This is the first sketch in a new sketchbook. I received the book from the "Sketchbook Project". Thousands of artists around the country are filling these sketchbooks and then mailing them back to the Brooklyn Museum of art where they will form a permanent sketchbook library. The collection will also travel the country allowing people to check out sketchbooks to view. As I was finishing up my sketch, the little girl waved at me and said, "Good bye." I smiled and repeated, "Good bye" in a sing song voice. That was the longest conversation I had that night.

Global Peace Street Fair & Pet Parade

I went down to Baldwin Park to see the Global Peace Street Fair and Pet Parade. The event was sponsored by the Global Peace Film Festival which ran from September 22 to September 27th. There were a large number of tents set up down Broad Street featuring art, wholistic foods, animal rescue and semianrs on how to be a catalyst for change. I walked up and down past the booths twice before I decided I had to sketch the Greyhounds who wore bright yellow vests that said: Donation Dog. A clear pocket on the vest held dollar bills that guests had donated to the cause. It was hot and the dogs tongue was constantly panting to try and cool down.
A fellow named Rick introduced himself to me and he has been reading this blog for some time. I am always surprised when people recognize me. I am so pleased to meet people who are actually following these random thoughts and sketch outings.
The pet parade strutted up and down this small stretch of Broad Street first up the far side of the sidewalk and than up and around behind me back to the starting point. Women dressed like belly dancers paraded along with the dogs and owners. The people of Baldwin park certainly love their pets. If only people could openly love one another as much as they love their pets. Peace and love, I am out.

Global Peace Film Festival

I went to Baldwin Park to see a free outdoor screening of "Playing for Change" at the Global Peace Film Festival. As usual I arrived a bit early and I walked around the main drag of Baldwin Park to enjoy the night life. I like the fact that many shops are open to the street so you can watch people doing martial arts dancing or taking a dance aerobics class. What great sketching opportunities! I got myself a drink, found the outdoor screen and waited for the crowd to arrive. When the film started I was surprised that only 2 or 3 people were sitting on the grass lawn in front of the screen to watch. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that Americans would not find a film about peace worth watching. To take in the scene I decided to sit across the street leaning up against the corner of a Subway's shop. This was the best place to watch the few people that stopped on the sidewalk to watch. Metal post barricades jutted up to help keep terrorists from slamming a truck into the small park, disrupting the screening. A woman was canvasing passers by trying to get them to sign a petition.
I let the film music wash over me as I worked. My attention was often on details of my surroundings so I only watched the film in small bursts. A female singer from Tel Aviv Isreal always caught my ear and made me look up. Toward the end of the film a story was told that hit me like a wall of bricks. One of the performers in the documentary passed away after the film was shot and his grieving wife was busy packing his belongings in boxes, so she could try to move on with her life after his death. One day by mistake she pressed the wrong button on her TV remote control and a DVD started playing that showed her husband playing with musicians from around the world for this film. These musicians had never met before but they stood united in the belief that music could help bring peace to the world. She saw her husband happy and joyous doing what he loved. He was part of something greater than himself. Rather than remembering him sick in bed, she now rejoiced in the memory of him playing music. The next song played, and had me sitting on the street corner with a sketchbook in my lap emotionally overwrought. "One love, One heart, lets get together and feel alright." I rubbed my tired eyes and oil from my skin caused them to burn. I wiped away the tears with my sleeve. I tried to open them again to continue painting but they still burned. I sat quietly on the street corner with my eyes closes and waited for peace of mind. When I opened them again the end credits were rolling.
The film ended with a quote from the Dali Lama:
"Never give up; No matter what is going on, Never give up.
Develop the heart; Too much energy in your country Is spent developing the mind instead of the heart. Develop the heart. Be compassionate; Not just with your friends, But with everyone. Be compassionate. Work for peace; In your heart, And in the world. Work for peace. And I say again, Never give up. No matter what is going on around you, Never give up. "