31st World Wide SketchCrawl!

Boston Coffeehouse

On the day of the 30th International SketchCrawl, Terry and I wandered the streets of Deland as the sun set. The temperature plummeted and I was happy to even shop just so I could go inside and get warm. We ran across a quirky little comics shop and went inside. The store had two narrow isles packed floor to ceiling with science fiction pulp novels, comics, figurines and even quality literary books by authors like Hermann Hess and Harper Lee. At the front of the store I was tempted to buy a book about sketching on location. As I was flipping through the pages Terry was talking to the store owner.

Terry asked if he had any Zorro Books and he showed her an entire drawer filled with Zorro comics. She squealed with delight. She wanted to know if I had money in my pocket so she could buy them all. Now, she isn't a comic book collector, this went back to some childhood impulse that I don't quite understand. On an upper shelf there was a sculptural figurine bust of Zorro still in it's original packaging. The bust was $60. She said she couldn't afford it but she just had to see it. The store owner delicately unwrapped the paper from around the bust and removed it from it's snug Styrofoam inner casing. She turned to me and said she had to have it. I didn't have that much money. She asked the store owner if there was an ATM nearby. He said there was one behind the bank across the street. I stayed behind searching through the books while she rushed across the street to get money for her fix. She couldn't find the cash machine but he accepted a personal check.

After dropping off her stash in my truck, we went to this cozy coffee shop to relax. We were planning to go to a heroes and Villains party in Longwood but that was not starting for two more hours. Terry read her book and I started to sketch. She got some caramel infused foamy coffee and I got a Mountain Dew. I also ordered an apple fritter which was delicious. In the back of the coffee shop a storytellers meeting was taking place. There was a constant stream of customers ordering coffee and then leaving. As I was finishing up the sketch my stomach started to rumble. It had been a long day of sketching and worrying about sketch opportunities lost. My body was starting to revolt. I gave Terry my keys and asked her to drive me home. She got behind the wheel already dressed up as Zorro for the party we would have to miss.

SketchCrawl

Terry and I got on the free bus to Blue Spring State Park. At Blue Spring everyone piled off and immediately crowded onto the first wooden platform overlooking the spring. A Manatee was relaxing in the bright green sunshine. A turtle sunned himself on a log. An alligator stealthfully approached the log. The turtle got nervous and slipped into the water. I had never seen Blue Spring State Park so crowded. Terry and I decided to walk up the wooden boardwalk to the source of the spring. There the crystal clear water could be seen gushing up from a fissure. Hundreds of foot long black fish were lying around the fissure all of them facing away, looking from the distance like tad poles. Groups of them would periodically swim to the water's surface where they would splash their snout out of the water before swimming back to the bottom. It looked like they were rising up to breathe, but fish have gills. I didn't notice any bugs on the water's surface. It was a strange ritualistic dance that still has me guessing.I didn't sketch any manatees at Blue Spring since it was so darn cold and the crowds of people were crushing. We saw maybe ten manatees in all.

When we got back to the festival site, there was a huge line of people waiting to get back on the bus. I am glad we went to the spring early. It was time for some greasy festival food. I was starving. We settled on grilled hot dogs. On the main stage Bubba " Whoopass "Wilson was performing. As he sang "Southern Girl", we found a picnic table and sat down. I became fascinated with an older couple sitting arm in arm listening to the music. I got my sketchbook out as soon as I finished eating. Terry read the book she had brought along while I worked. A young family sat opposite me. The boy, maybe 12 years old, became fascinated with what I was doing. When he lost interest, he started dreaming about going on all the rides. He turned to his mom and said, "Are you sure you only have four dollars." She shook her head. Any hopes he had of getting on the rides faded away from his face.

By the time I finished this sketch, the sun was getting low on the horizon and it was getting colder. Terry and I decided to drive to Deland and walk around the quaint downtown district. I hadn't noticed another sketch artist all day. This had been a solo SketchCrawl. If others did stop out, I hope they got to fully experience everything this home grown festival had to offer.

SketchCrawl Poster

Manatee Festival

For the 30th International SketchCrawl I created an event page on Facebook inviting Orlando Artists to join me on a trip up to Orange City to sketch at the Manatee festival. I had never been to this festival before, so I didn't know what to expect. Terry and I drove about an hour north to the festival which is right near Blue Spring State Park. We parked my Xterra on a football field next to Valentine Park. I was surprised when we got to the entrance to find out there was a $8 entrance fee. This was the first I had heard about an entrance fee so we paused. We found out that the entrance fee included entrance to Blue Spring as well and I knew that parking in Blue Spring is $6.There was a free shuttle bus from the festival to Blue Spring and back so we decided it was worth it. Besides I had told other artists that this was the first stop on the crawl.

This was your basic cotton candy and corn dog brand of festival. We walked around to see all the tents and then Terry informed me that Frisbee catching dogs were going to perform at 11am. She sat in the bandstands and I sat with a view of a giant inflatable dog with a Frisbee in its mouth. All the dog performers were rescue dogs. The wind picked up and the inflatable dog toppled backwards. People quickly came out and reset stakes to keep it in Place. The crowd grew thick and I only caught the smallest glimpse of the dogs running and catching Frisbees. Mothers knelt down beside their toddlers to share the moment. A man who had been building sandcastles complimented my drawing. He said he had recently taken up painting but he never realized he might have to draw anything before applying paint.

When the dog show was over I realized I had not noticed any other artists sketching. I walked around looking for anyone holding a sketchpad. Belly dancers on the man stage distracted me as the danced the train station scene from "Slumdog Millionaire." I don't know if other artists ever did show up. I was enjoying the moment and considering what to sketch next.

Chess in Dupont Circle:

It was a crisp clear fall day in D.C. and everywhere we went it seemed, couples were getting married. Our intrepid group of sketch crawlers continued down Massachusetts Avenue and stopped at the Islamic Center. I once again had to use a bathroom so I made my way downstairs. The room had a large area dedicated to bathing and then two rest rooms. I was surprised to find the toilet was srmply a hole in the floor with two foot shaped indentations on either side. I was tempted to sketch but without someone using it, I didn't see the point. Instead I went outside and started drawing the Islamic Center from across the street. As I worked a tall black man in a flowing blue robe walked by. A limousine pulled up and people piled out dressed in gorgeous robes. They were from Sierra Leone and there was going to be a wedding. I cursed myself for being so far away but soon the fluttering crowd of robes and head dresses disappeared inside.

After I finished my sketch, I walked up to the ornate entrance to take a peak inside. As I did, Meredith Nelson, one of the urban sketchers, walked out with her scarf wrapped over her head. I was impressed with how she respected and honored the traditions. Before I could start a second sketch, our group gathered and we all started down Massachusetts Avenue once again. Passing a handsome brownstone, a crowd of people gathered on the steps caught my eye. A more traditionally dressed couple, she in a flowing white dress and he in a tuxedo, exited the building with cheers and a shower of rice. I realized I had lost my group of sketchers so I jogged to catch up.

The last stop on the Crawl was DuPont Circle. Most of the remaining sketchers gathered around the center fountain but I was immediately drawn to the group of men gathered to play chess. Spectators contemplated the game with as much seriousness as the players. As I sketched a brass band started playing on a street behind me. A group of college students were lounging in the grass beside me playing with an awkward large pawed puppy. The puppy kept testing the confines of his leash, bounding forward happily until the leash snapped taught choking him back. The chess game grew serious and a player cursed the stupidity of a move he had made. Check mate. I returned to the fountain and the remaining artists shared their work. So much artistic variety is always refreshing.

Kahill Gibran Monument

On the 27th International Sketch Crawl I joined a dozen or so artists in Washington D.C. for the day. After regrouping at the National Cathedral, we moved as a group down Massachusetts Avenue towards DuPont Circle. We passed Embassy after Embassy. The Iraq Embassy was deserted. We finally stopped as a group at this small park where there was a monument to Kahlil Gibran. I had read "The Prophet" as a budding adolescent in high school. The book is even more resonant as the years pass and my heart grows mature from its years of work. Seasons and friendships come and go. Orlando is such a transient city, usually a stepping stone to a greater challenge in a much bigger city.

This bronze statue feels light and airy, the doves are off balance as if about to take flight. As I sketched, my heart relaxed. Accuracy was less important than flow. Being in the company of artists all striving to capture and retain a moment always feels important and time stands still. After this day, the Washington D.C. artists formed a group flickr site where they could share their work. I am considering forming a similar Orlando group, but then I need to seek out others who share my vision.

National Cathedral

Terry and I flew to Washington D.C. to get some time away and to see the fall colors. The Saturday after we arrived, was International Sketch Crawl Day.
I hooked up with the Washington D.C. artists online and arranged to meet them at the National Cathedral.Terry and I got a rental car for the week.
We were given directions to the Cathedral by Terry's cousins who had put us up for the night. We of course got lost in the maze of D.C. streets but we got to the Cathedral.I jumped out of the car and Terry drove off searching for a parking spot.It was such a gorgeous morning, crisp and cool.

As I walked towards this imposing structure, I noticed someone sitting on a portable stool.I introduced myself. He was Christian Tribastone the Washington D.C. correspondent for Urban Sketchers.Christian was half finished with his sketch of the Cathedral.I was the first artist to arrive. I breathed a sigh of relief. After we talked for a bit, I wandered off searching for my sketching vantage point. I decided Christian had the right idea so I walked further back on the green lawn and started to block in my sketch with Christian in the foreground.

Artists stared to arrive one at a time. A young woman named Meredith sat down not far from where I was working. Terry came back and told me Meredith had a very accurate way of drawing.I wanted to walk over and introduce myself but I resisted, keeping my focus on my sketch. By the time I finished my sketch she had moved on.
I texted Terry and we met near the steps of the Cathedral.
She had coffee that morning so we searched for the public bathrooms which we found in the catacombs under the building. I peeked inside the building, but I knew there wasn't time for another sketch. Instead, we explored the garden which was beautiful.We found several artists sketching and took a peek as we walked by.

One artist showed me his fountain pen which was called a pen and ink sketch pen from Berkley. Christian texted letting me know all the artists were gathering to move to the next location. I arranged a group photo and then we all hiked down Massachusetts street past all the embassies toward Donovin Circle.We stopped at several embassies but never long enough to sketch. The Iraqi embassy was deserted...

Scranton PA - Mini Crawl

When I was in Honesdale, I checked my Facebook page at my sister in laws house and got a message from Ted Michalowvski. Ted is an amazing artist who like me is constantly observing and sketching life around him. He invited me to an art opening at Marywood University. It was about a forty five minute drive to Scranton and the final mile or so I called Ted and he talked me in to a friends house where they were having some wine before the opening. Teds friend is an art collector and had several of Teds drawings in a back room. Ted pointed out that he uses an eye dropper to drip paint on the drawings instead of using a pen. This is what gives his line work such unexpected vitality. At the opening Ted introduced me around to a bunch of people. He really knows how to work a room. By then end of the evening he had introduced me to several of his students (He teaches drawing) and they all convinced me that I should stay in Scranton for one more day to experience what Ted Calls a "Drawing Social". I had studied pictures of past socials from Ted's Facebook page and this was an idea that I want to bring to Orlando so I decided to stay.
The next day we met for a mini sketch crawl at Border's. Ted scouted out several comfortable leather chairs and then went to talk to someone. As I got out my art supplies, a large man shuffled over and sat in Ted's seat sitting on his sketch pad. I pipped in and said the seat was being saved for a friend. The man then moved over to the other chair ted was hoping to save and once again sat on the art supplies. At this point Ted was back and he grabbed his art supplies. Kelsey Winterbottom, a student of Ted's joined us as did Angelica Cordero. I let Angelica use my tablet PC since I wasn't using it and she took to it like a fish to water. She did a sketch of Kelsey and then e-mailed it to herself. Dominique Kozuck joined us later but she never did sketch.
I couldn't resist sketching the rather rotund, crumples and rude man that had taken the seat next to Ted. My view of him was straight on and thus rather flat, but I rather enjoyed sketching him since he was clueless to everyone around him. He actually fell asleep behind the magazine he was holding so he stayed nice and still for the longest time. You can see Teds sketch pad over to the right in my sketch. Ted was just as infatuated with this man and was glad to get a sketch of him.
Once we finished the first sketch, Ted and I agreed to have a sketch off where we sketched each other at the same time. Ted's sketch is wonderfully expressive. He did a very rough watercolor to start and then used the eye dropper to lay down some thick lines. I worked faster than usual trying to catch Ted's frenetic energy as he worked. Kelsey at the same time began to sketch us both as we faced off and worked. There was plenty of creative energy flowing.
Someone that Ted knew, a few seats away got a cell phone call and he started laughing. This man had a booming laugh and soon Ted started to imitate him. Kelsey angelica and myself then followed suite with out own bellowing laughs. The laughter was infectious and soon other people in the coffee shop were joining in. By the time I stopped laughing, I was in tears. A few minutes later the man laughed into his cell phone and the echoing laughter resounded once again.
Soon it was time to head out to the Drawing Social. Ted left first since he had some planning to do and then I followed Dominique and Angelica so I could find the place...

There Goes Swifty!

February 27th was the 26th Worldwide SketchCrawl and I put out an invitation on Facebook for artists to spend a day sketching the betting establishments in town. The first stop was the Dog Track in Longwood. The morning of the Crawl it was pouring outside and I wondered if the dogs would be allowed to run under such conditions but I had made the commitment, and so I packed my art supplies in the truck and headed out in the rain. I also realized that I was running a bit late and as I got closer to the track I worried that I might miss the post time. The entrance to the dog track has cheesy white dog sculptures perched above the doorways so I knew I was in the right spot.
The ground floor of the facility had large plate glass windows that all face out on the now muddy track. I wandered around trying to decide where to sketch. There were multiple areas where fans could watch a wall of televisions all broadcasting different races. I finally made my way back to the bar where I knew patrons would most likely perch for an extended period. As I worked a woman walked up to every person at the bar and offered them "The Luck of the Irish". She was selling Irish themed candy to help raise funds to help find homes for retired greyhounds. When she approached me she became infatuated with the sketch and asked if I drew dogs. I of course said I have drawn dogs in the past. Mary LoBianco introduced herself to me and I offered her a seat. Her organization consists of 6 volunteers and they are responsible for helping the dogs find loving homes. She said 30 dogs were to be sent to Canada and each dog requires a $75 fee. Using any means possible these volunteers help raise the money needed. I gave Mary my card and told her to contact me so I can follow up and see more of the work they are doing for these dogs.
When I finished my sketch, I decided to go outside to watch one more race before heading back to the studio where I had work waiting. The dogs were walked out to the holding gate and then one of the handlers waved his hand in a circular motion and the announcer said, "There goes Swifty!" The yellow stuffed rabbit on the end of a metal pole accelerated and flew around the track. The metal wheels of the contraption were louder than I expected. When Swifty rounded the curve and went past the holding gate, there was a metallic thunk but the starting gate didn't raise as expected. All of the spectators groaned. The dogs thrashed around inside in a frenzy yelping, screaming and crying out. The announcer let everyone know about the mechanical failure of the starting gate. Handlers started taking the dogs out of the starting gate enclosure while the rabbit decelerated around the far bend. One dog managed to shake free of his handler and in a moment of glory he dashed out onto the empty and muddy track. One spectator shouted out, "Hey that is my dog!" With no competition the dog ecstatically ran towards the rabbit, finally guaranteed to catch his elusive prize. When he rounded the bend, the rabbit was dead still. He leaped forward and went to snatch his prize. His head hit the metal support pole at over 40 miles an hour and his limp body splayed out in the mud spinning to a stop. A handler slowly walked out on the messy track and lifted the limp form. Inside at the bar, men were saying that the dog had been a real champion, cut down in his prime. A fallen gladiator.

Artists & Writers Crawl

The Artist & Writer Crawl I hosted made for a very fun evening. I met so many new artists and writers. After all the Crawlers saw "The Singing Menorah" we headed up to the Peacock Room at 1321 North Mills Avenue. I reloaded my water brush in the men's room an then sat at the end of the bar so I could get a good view down it's length. Karrie Brown and Tod Caviness are shown in the sketch diligently putting images and words to paper. Tisse Mallon followed the Crawl taking photos along the way. I would estimate that there were about 20 Crawlers all together. People came and went throughout the night. After a while it became impossible to distinguish the Crawlers from the regulars. A large group of people showed up, all of them coming from Bold Hype Gallery, where they saw the work of Andrew Spear. I spoke with someone named Nelson Martin who was trying to get the bartenders attention. It turns out he is a web designer and fine artist and we discussed art while I continued to sketch.
The walls of the bar were covered with paintings of women with really large eyes by Patrick Fatica. The work was highly polished, surreal and haunting. The paintings had long titles which would make you pause and wonder like "The angels have slipped through our landslide and filled up our garden with snow." This painting has a large eyed woman holding a towel over her bare breasts standing in front of a mist filled white landscape.
I had a beer at each bar we went to and after this sketch I focused a bit more on socializing than sketching. At the end of the evening only 5 artists remained. As we stumbled across the street from the Funkey Monkey towards Wally's we were almost all killed when a police car came screaming down Mills in the center turn lane at 90 miles an hour. It really was a close and sobering near miss. With our crossing attempt thwarted we had to run back to the sidewalk to avoid the new line of traffic approaching.
In Wally's I ordered my last beer for the evening from the sullen bar maid and sipped it while watching a man and woman who were rubbing noses and making out. When they left the woman tripped on a bar stool and could bairley keep her eyes open. Tod didn't like the music playing on the jut box so he got up and remedied the situation. It was 2AM when we all decided to call it a night.

The Singing Menorah

Brian Feldman had been ribbing me for some time about all the Singing Christmas Trees sketches I have been posting here on Analog Artist Digital World. At an 8 AM Meeting of MOOM (Meeting of Orlando Minds) on Friday, Brian suggested he might stage a performance of the Singing Menorah at the Track Shack which is at 1104 North Mills Avenue right in the area where I planned to host an Artists and Writers Crawl. He pointed out that Track Shack had one of the few storefront Hanukkah displays in Orlando. The Crawl was only a day away but Brian managed to throw together a stellar performance. He had help from Omar Delarosa who co-wrote many of the lyrics and performed on guitar. Knowing the times of the stops along the Crawl route we agreed that he could start his performance around 8PM when the Crawlers were moving from the first stop, The Peacock Room to the Second stop, Wills Pub.
The Crawl developed a glitch from the start, when Tisse Mallon and I arrived at The Peacock room to find that it would not open for another two hours. I wrote a note and stuck it on the door so other Crawlers would know to go to the second stop, Will's pub. Because I wandered around and introduced myself to all the people who arrived at Will's, my sketch was not a very focused. When it was time to wander up to the next stop, I was still splashing watercolors on the sketch. Other crawlers headed out but I kept working. When I arrived at Track Shack where Brian was to perform, there were a crowd of Crawlers sitting in lawn chairs on the sidewalk looking into the storefront window. Omar was playing guitar. At the appointed time Brian walked out having to squeeze in the space between the plate glass and the display wall.
The performance was hilarious and fun. New Hanukkah lyrics had been written for a number of pop tunes. The Menorah that Brian was sporting consisted of cardboard tubes wrapped in tin foil. There were Hanukkah cards leaning up against the storefront window and for some reason a small Mickey Mouse sat watching the audience. Emma Hughes handed out dreidels to everyone in the audience when Brian sang a dreidel song. For the final number, Brian called in his back up dancer named Willoughby Mariano. It seemed most appropriate that she had a cast on her left leg from her foot up to the knee, but she still performed and gave a new meaning to the saying, "Break a leg". Later, Emma handed out sparklers and when the performance was over everyone lit them up and the lights and sparks danced. Unfortunately, I didn't get a sparkler since I was still scratching away in my sketch book.
Several times, cars stopped dead on Mills Avenue to see what the excitement was about and several cars honked. However, my attention was sharply focused on the show. This is without a doubt the greatest Singing Menorah performance I have ever seen. Well, yes, it is the only Singing Menorah performance I have ever seen. For the remainder of the Crawl I heard people commenting on how surprised they were that Brian had such a good singing voice. Brian truly gave the Singing Christmas trees a run for their money.

Artist & Writers Crawl Revised

"The itch to make dark marks on white paper is shared by writers and artists." -John Updike.

Escape the Holiday rat race by attending this FREE event hosted by Mary Ann de Stefano of MAD about Words and Thomas Thorspecken of Analog Artist Digital World. We’ve joined forces to create time and space where your poems, stories, and art can happen, where you can push yourself past your usual limits, where you can connect with other creative people.

Thanks to Tod Caviness for his help with planning our Mills 50 Neighborhood itinerary. The route is detailed in the graphic above. Join us for the whole night or any part of it. We reversed the order of the locations where we will meet. Be sure to check this post for the correct information.

Everyone is welcome! Don’t be shy! This will be a friendly, fun event!

There is no fee or registration required, but if you’re planning to come, it would be fun if you’d let us know.

Night Hawks Orlando Sketch Crawl

The 24th Worldwide Sketch Crawl is going to take place in the Milk District of Orlando. This is a Night Hawks Crawl where we will close down one establishment and then move on to the next. Die Hards like myself will stay up till 5 in the morning, finishing up the evening at Pom Pom's which is open 24 hours that day.
Sportstown has a huge room full of pool tables and other games. Bull & Bush had darts and a rustic old world bar with plenty of character. The Social Chameleon has delicious pizzas and tapas style menu items with an emphasis on flavor. They have a huge beer selection as well. Pom Pom's is a cup cake shop for the folks who never sleep.
Don't know how to sketch? That is fine, come along and lift a few pints.

SketchCrawl, Stardust Lounge

Scott Fuller, A Full Sail student, and myself were the last artists still at Eola Wine Room at about 7 PM. We finished the sketches and decided to get to the last stop on the Crawl which was directly across the street. A huge thunderstorm had rolled in and it had just started to pour. We figured, we wouldn't get to wet if we made a mad dash across so we sprinted across. I was soaked within the first two strides. I started to curse and shout. Time slowed down and I could feel every rain drop as it pounded down on my head. When we were across, winded and soaked to the bone, two women who were waiting at the top of the stairway down to the Lounge were having a good laugh at our expense. They asked us to do it again and with that, I had to laugh as well.
When I entered the Lounge I couldn't see a thing. As I gained my sight again in the dark interior I saw several people sketching so I introduced myself. Jean Michelson and her husband had traveled from Jacksonville to escort their daughter to a Rock and Roll Summer camp. Jean had read about the crawl and this was the only stop on the crawl they could attend. They picked a good stop since the Lounge has lots of retro color.
The Stardust Lounge is straight out of the fifties. Rat Pack movies are playing non stop on the wide screen flat panel screens and all the furniture feels like it was salvaged from a Vegas 1950's club. I sketched the crawlers at work. The manager kept dimming the lights so it became harder and harder to see the lines and colors as they hit the page. Half way into this sketch Kattie Windish and her husband arrived. They sat in the red leather booth in the background of the sketch and I decided to sketch them in as well. The place became more and more crowded as the night wore on. I think I called it a night around 10pm after 15 hours of non-stop sketch crawling. It had been a very productive day. I can't wait till the next Crawl.

SketchCrawl, Eola Wine Room

When the crawl arrived at the Eola Wine Room around 4 the place was rather dormant. The artists had their choice of tables. I decided to sit with a good view of the main bar area. At this point in the crawl there were nine artists so we did a good job of filling up several tables. KC sat outside and did a sketch of 4 women who had an amazing number of mimosa glasses stacked on their table. It was a scene straight out of sex and the city. Most of the other artists kept me company. I ordered a glass of white Riesling wine and sipped it while I worked.
The strange thing about this place on a weekend is that about every 15 minutes a young couple would arrive with a baby and the parents would order wine. I sort of envied these couples just starting a family, feeling secure and living in a ritzy downtown neighborhood. But then after a short time the child would start squirming, complaining, and screaming until the parent s felt they had to leave. This scene played over and over again. I joked to another artist that the Wine Room had more infants as clients that adults on weekends.
One of the waitresses was an artist and I tried to convince her to come out to the next Crawl. For many artists this was the last stop on the crawl. As we all said their goodbyes storm clouds rolled in and just as I got ready to head across the street to the final destination, it began to pour...

SketchCrawl, Panera Bread

At 10 Am Orlando Sketch Crawlers headed to Panera Bread for breakfast and a chance to share sketchbooks and talk. Megan, an artist I had sketched before, showed up with her mom and was taking photos of the event. Our group filled up these three front tables and people talked art while others sketched. I was sitting on the long leather bench shown in this sketch, but after eating, I decided it made more sense to get up and sketch our group. Ricardo the photographer for the Sentinel sat behind me the whole time I sketched watching every line and wash as I put it down. Usually I get distracted with such attention but I had to get this sketch done, so I lived with it. Kristen or Kelp as she refers to herself online, can be seen sketching the photographer and myself. She has the art of clandestine sketching down because I never actually noticed her glancing at me directly. I am sure this is a skill I have as well.
As I was sketching, artists slowly got up and headed out for the next leg of the crawl. There were artists sitting in the two empty chairs when I started the sketch. By the time I was splashing on the final washes everyone was gone. The photographer said he had more that enough shots and we said our goodbyes. When he left, a woman who was seated in a leather chair behind me, introduced herself. Her name is Dina Mack and I knew of her work through a friend named Summer who had told me of an artist journal workshop that Dina was going to organize. Dina and I spoke for close to an hour about art and journal keeping. Sketching on location isn't something Dina does often, but she said she liked having the time to fully soak in the environment. We joked about how Panera's is such a sterile place with harsh glass cases and coffee dispensers that look like space station refueling depots. A cafe in Europe would have a much different feel. The smells of the pastries is pleasant however and I kind of wanted to sketch them and the cashier but we had to get to the next stop on the Crawl route...

23rd World Wide Sketch Crawl

Saturday Orlando artists gathered for the 23rd World Wide Sketch Crawl. I got up to go to the event before the sun was up and I arrived at the Red Pagoda where early birds were to meet at just a few minutes after 7AM. Several artists were already out and sketching namely Karen Cali, Kristen Pauline and Glen Ward. We all talked for a few minutes, I handed out crawl course maps and then we scattered and started sketching. While I was doing this sketch several other artists could be seen as they arrived and started sketching. When I started the sketch the sun was low on the horizon and I was in the shade of some trees but within minutes I was in the direct sun and squinting into the bright light. I was on a small peninsula that juts into Lake Eola and all around me geese and ibis were swimming and diving down for food under water. By the time I was ready to head to the next stop, about 10 artists had gathered and were sketching away. Although I didn't do a perfect job of keeping track of everyone, I believe altogether about 22 artists showed up at different legs of the crawl that day. That is an amazing turnout! A reporter and photographer from the Orlando Sentinel came out early and interviewed all the artists that were on hand at this early hour.