Gallery at Avalon Island

On the Third Thursday of every month the downtown galleries have openings for new art on display. I tried to sketch the gorgeous architecture of the Gallery at Avalon Island once before but it was winter and I couldn't finish the drawing with my cold hands. The green building is covered with intricate metalwork. The Rogers building was built in 1886 by architect William Mullins. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

As I sketched the sun slipped to the horizon creating a golden glow. When I finished I went inside to look at the art. On display were photo real paintings by Doug Bloodworth. Many of the slick glossy paintings were done with airbrush. Classic black and white movies seemed to be the predominant theme. If I had a home theater I wanted to decorate, then I suppose they would do the trick.

Terry Olson saw me working and said hello. He was off to see the Red Chairs which were being displayed in City Arts Factory. I had watched Genevieve Bernard as she decorated the Mennello Museum Red Chair with hundreds of red and gold buttons. There was a bustling crowd inspecting red chairs which were decorated by each of the arts organizations in town. Terry wanted me to join her for an Orlando Philharmonic event so I didn't stick around to do another sketch. I quickly glanced at the artwork at Blank Space as I walked back to my truck.

Speed Painting

DRIP held a fundraiser for it's new show titled RIFF at Blank Space (201 East Central Boulevard). Besides musical performances by Britt Daley and Thomas Wynn, visual artists were in the house. Tony Corbitt set up his painter's easel and put up a large sheet of plywood which had been painted black. He cued up some music and explained that there were no gimmicks in what he was about to do. He then ripped off his shirt, distracting every female in the room. Using a photo and bold splashes of white paint, he quickly painted a portrait of a Kiss band member. I had to sketch just as fast to keep up with his hectic pace. There was non time for planning or delicately balancing the elements, I had to react and throw down lines and tone with abandon.

Later in the evening, dates with DRIP dancers were being auctioned off. Darcy got the hefty sum of $100. Then Michael Sloan one of the male dancers was put up for auction. Bidding started slow and remained slow. a Date with him went for only $25. Seems the ladies were shy about spending their cash for a wonderful night on the town with a talented DRIP dancer. Tony bought in his two speed paintings and auctioned them off. Terry shouted out, asking him to take off his shirt again. He obliged. As expected, his paintings didn't bring in very high bids.

Thomas Wynn performed "When I Paint My Masterpiece" which I had never heard before. I really loved this piece especially with his single acoustic guitar and deep piercing voice. Jessica Mariko performed an inspired improvisational dance as he played "It's Alright". Her movements were yearning and quick reaching for the heavens while grounded to the earth. Her movements at times seemed random and inebriated and at other times purposeful. The last time I had seen her perform solo was at Slingapours and she always amazed me.

RIFF Fundraiser Body Painting

When I arrived at the DRIP Fundraiser at Blank Space, I was told my Melissa Kasper that the dancers were in the back room being painted by Christie Miga. Sure enough, in a narrow back room behind a curtain, Darcie Ricardi was being sectioned off like a beef diagram by Christie. Evan helped me to find a spot where I wedged myself for the duration of the sketch. I thought the marijuana leaf was a nice touch. Different sections could be painted by patrons at the fundraiser with more private parts bringing in the better cash. Christie was still painting as patrons entered the event. There was plenty of joking as the flesh masterpiece took form. When the outlines were finished some prices were added and other prices were left open for barter.

Steven Johnson was the next dancer to be sectioned and priced. He wanted to be pained and sectioned up like a superhero. Painting the cape on his back was the biggest challenge for Christie. When she got to his flesh briefs, he wanted her t paint his cheeks as if he had them clenched. She insisted he model this clenched stance and then she painted his cheeks to match. Someone had blown up a balloon and then let it go and it flew around the space makings its wet sticky noise that startled everyone and caused endless laughter. Darci waited till Steven was finished since she didn't want to go out on the fund raising floor alone. Later that evening a date with Darci was auctioned off for $100. She was only modestly painted by patrons and she wished more people had painter her since the paint helped keep her warm.

Rock Out with Your Cocktails Out!

Today marks the beginning of year 3 for Analog Artist Digital World. This years resolution is to keep the gears greased and begin work on the first AADW book. Drip dance company held a Fundraiser for their new show called RIFF. They may have found a new permanent home on International Drive and I suspect that in 2011 they will blow the roof off the house. The fundraiser was held at Blank Space (201 East Central Boulevard.) The venue was packed and talent was thick.

Singer, songwriter, Britt Daley took to the stage and performed songs from her recent CD release "Unsupervised EP." Her vibrant Electro-Pop filled the room and people started to move to the beat. The guitarist, James Christy, stomped on foot pedals and made constant adjustments to his sound. Joey Antrim on bass calmly set down his resonant consistent notes, while Jay Caudle who was hidden from my view with a large speaker, attacked the drums. Britt's music hit a wide spectrum of emotions from driving hard beats to melodic and soulful . One song, "Its too Late" reflected on the sorrow of realizing that it is too late to expect change from the one you love. I stopped sketching to let the music's sorrow envelop me. I was a little annoyed I let my mood swing so easily. I had been pumped, working feverishly only a minute earlier.

After her performance some hard core fund-raising began when a date with Britt was put up for auction. Steve Johnson, a semi nude DRIP dancer, acted as the auctioneer. I buried my hands deep in my pockets. Terry was sitting beside me, "but it was for such a good cause" I thought to myself. "Perhaps I should bid just to help drive up the price." My hands didn't budge. The bidding started lightly, $25 was soon raised to $50, but then a guy at the bar forced the bid up to $100. The crowd was hooting and hollering at this point with each successive bid. I was clapping and hollering myself, the price too rich for my shy blood. The final bid was $200 and the place went wild! I had a print of one of my DRIP sketches up for the silent auction. It didn't bring in anywhere near the money Britt did. Next time I auction my work it needs to be packaged with a date with a beautiful woman!

Blank Space - Artist Incubator

Every Thursday and Friday, Blank Space is open to artists who would like some studio space downtown. The hours were from 10AM to 11PM. This offers the public a chance to experience and view the artists at work. This move should bring more artists downtown and help enliven the downtown district. When I arrived one Thursday, Tracy Brurke and Maisy May Mars were hard at work.
Tracy does boldly painted portraits which are usually large in size. This day however she was working small and applying the paint more thickly and experimenting more. The painting she was working on was of a fashionable young girl with beautiful lips. She managed to finish up two of these quick studies while I was producing this sketch. I learned quite a bit from watching her work. Maisy was working on a picture of a wide eyed young girl. The eyes were bright green. Her whimsical work is on display now at Blank Space on a central column.
What is odd about the scene is that the women had to set up and paint on the ping pong table. The space isn't quite set up yet with easels or drafting tables. The space is available on a first come first served basis. I sat up on a high stool and started to sketch. In the far corner of the next room a woman was threading thousands of optical threads through a white plastic board to create a light art piece.
Having this space open and available for artists on Thursday and Friday is a great idea. I hope in time more artists recognize the potential and take advantage of the opportunity.

Drip Fundraiser at Blank Space

The Drip Dance Company held a fundraiser at Blank Space Gallery 201 East Central Boulevard across from the Public Library. This sketch shows Christie Miga at the Canvas dip station. She created this colorful canvas in minutes by pouring the paint onto its surface then letting it flow diagonally with gravity doing the work. The colors would blend and flow together in unexpected ways. Small canvases are stacked in the corner. For a small fee a guest could take a canvas and dip it on the pool of paints left on the plastic drop after Christie finished the big canvas. In the background in the corner of the room was something called a Sake Luge. This device had a guitar amplifier hooked up so that when sake was poured into the top it would flow down a series of slides and make a haunting ethereal sound on its route. The works of MC Esher were being projected on a screen. Steve acted as the DJ for the night. He stood behind his laptop computer the whole time mixing songs. Sam and Tin Tin, two drippies, were covered head to toe with monetary contribution amounts. Their bodies were divided up like those cattle meat charts you see describing cuts of beef. For $20 you could paint Tin Tin's butt cheek red or for $15 you might paint Sam's left breast.
There was a station set up to paint Christmas ornaments by dipping them is paint cans, or dripping the paint on using a brush or stirring stick. A young dancer would perform from a hoop that had been crudely hung from an exposed ceiling beam. The hoop dancers little sister was watching and tried to imitate her sisters performance before the crowds arrived.
I was sitting next to a ping pong table while I did the first sketch and it became difficult to draw as a game began and the guy on my end of the table took the game very seriously. He was slamming the ball as hard as he could and I was bumped more than a few times, but I persisted until the sketch was complete.
The walls were covered by the works of an artist who now had a line of Swatch watches based on his bold primitive work. The paintings remind me a bit of Keith Haring's subway chalk graffiti work from the 80's in NYC. AS I got ready to leave, I passed a group of girls on the sidewalk as they painted Sam's bicep. They were having a grand old time.
The Drip Dance group is now rehearsing for a new Valentines show called FRESH which will premiere on February 13th and 14th at City Arts Factory. Mark your calenders for what should be an amazing event!

Drip at the Art Lounge

I went to the final rehearsal before the opening performance of Drip at Blank Space. Blank Space is an experimental art and coffee house located at 201 East Central Avenue right across the street from the Public Library. Linda Eve Elchack, the choreographer, pulled up in front of the performance space and through the store front windows blue and red lights began to flash. It turns out Linda had been "speeding" going 30 MPH in a 25MPH zone. She was pulled over just inches from where she would have parked. The performers stood by as they waited for the officers to go through the long process of getting the license and registration and issuing a ticket. Sam tried to distract the police by spinning and dancing. It didn't work. Tin Tin who was shirtless from a previous rehearsal was told by Dave that he might want to get a shirt on. All the dancers had on flesh colored tights and Dave felt that Tin Tin showing some nipple might result in trouble with the police. The fact that Tin Tin then put on a shirt is an indication of the type of repressed city Orlando remains.
Lights were being set up and drop clothes were being hung everywhere. The "room" in the sketch was constructed of large sheets of black plastic and one wall of clear plastic. In the center were 2 ladders with a pole duck taped between them. Hanging from the pole was a large paint can. The performance which was filmed by Meriko involved the dancers interacting with the paint bucket which was filled with thin paint which dripped and poured out of the holes punched in the can's bottom. The performance was called "Paint by Rain".
Getting into and out of the room was a challenge all on it's own. The doorway flaps were covered with wet paint from the dancers hands. I wore a white shirt and I was sure it would be covered by the time the evening was over. I ducked back into the furthest corner I could and started to sketch as the performance began. I had to get out of the way as Tin Tin made his way up the ladder and then I resumed sketching. By the time the performance was over, both dancers were covered head to toe in paint. I splattered paint over the page at random often along with the music trying to convey the messy and fun dance. I had no doubt this performance would be a show stopper. You can see DRIP perform every 3rd Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Get tickets at www.ILoveDRIP.com