Picked up brochures with the artwork included last Friday, the 19th, from a new used book store on Bumby Avenue in Orlando. Thought you all would enjoy them.

All are from boating brochures involving Florida. I use like this art and wish more brochures had it today. We stood in the Welcome to Florida building on US 95 a couple weeks ago. Throughout the facility there was no illustrative artwork to be found on the brochures. Almost all photographs and digital graphics. The very few exceptions included one by me of the history of movies in Florida.

Above is this years annual Father’s Day card for my father. It’s location is in the area my father grew up. The bridge goes over a river my father used to fish in. The bridge is also an entry to the cemetery.

We celebrated the day with my father and my brother Jeff by making a trip to Inverness and having dinner at Stumpknockers. Afterward my father enjoyed a Hershey’s coconut ice cream cone from The Ice Cream Dr.

Below is a photo of my father, brother Jeff and Sandra with a giant turtle at a nearby park.

My first entry of my new Rob’s Video Sketchbook. Friends, J.R. Griggs and Mark Shilensky suggested this and I’m giving it a go. The first one is clunky, but it’s a start. below is the sketch. All done at the Steak ‘n Shake on 17-92 in Winter Park.

Sandra and I went down to Punta Gorda to review a number of places for one of Sandra’s travel guides. Jennifer Huber, with the visitor bureau was kind enough to meet us for dinner at an interesting Mediterranean restaurant and then to a wonderful 1910 building that houses an ice cream shop, Chubby’s. Above is a sketch of the are underneath the porch of the 1910 structure.

We also covered the new Muscle Car City. It’s a museum of ‘muscle cars’. The most incredible part is that it’s in an old Wal-Mart building. See photos at Genuine Floria, by clicking here.

We later had some excellent seafood at Peace River Seafood and then Sandra and I made a return trip to Chubbys.

Wednesday we started off with breakfast at Brenda’s Restaurant, which also houses the Masons.  Brenda lost her original place because of Hurricane Charley in 2004 and the Masons were very kind to let her move in and save her business. Which clearly is a large and loyal one.

Then we continued on to hiking parts of the Babcock Rance. Below is a sketch of what’s left of a tree.

We made our way south out of Charlotte County and stopped in Bradenton and toured Robinson’s Preserve, along Tampa Bay and across from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Collectively we hiked 7 plus miles. Below is a sketch from there. We had hoped to stop at the infamous Shake Pit, but is had closed early. Instead we took US41 south through Ruskin and Gibsonton, Sun City Center and Tampa. We stopped in Temple Terrace and had some vittles at the Dairy Queen.

We had a relaxing time hanging out with Marti and Jeff Vickery and then wandering Elam Stoltzfus‘ property. In between we visited Connie’s Kitchen in Chattahoochee. That’s a Connie’s Kitchen Customer to the right.

Below is a quick sketch made at Village Pizza in Tallahassee. We joined friends there for a fine dinner.

I made the trip to the northern part of Okeechobee County to pick up Sandra, who’d been backpacking with friends for the past four days across the vast southern prairies of south Florida. I picked her up at the Fort Basinger trailhead where the sketch above was drawn.

We drove into the city of Okeechobee and got a New Years dinner at the excellent Lightsey’s restaurant. Above is a sketch of the fish that floated around and watched us from the tank beside our table. Below is the head of the wild hog posted on the wall above dinner crowd.

I got together with some buddies at Tony Romas in South Orange County. Ken Culotta, Robert Baurle, Marsha Eaton, Marsh Moreno and Greg Gray all got together. I’m sorry I didn’t get a photo. Marsh did do this drawing in my sketchbook of a new endeavor of his – Theatre work. He’s been rehearsing for a small stage show travelling Central Florida.

Below is a sketch of bells Robert Baurle was handing to everyone.

Sandra and I attended the annual Christmas gathering of Orlando Remembered at the Citrus Club in Orlando. I was, as always, a great meeting! Our Chairman, Robert Serros also recognized that a year had passed since the passing of his brother and the heart and soul of Orlando Remembered, Andy Serros. Above are sketches of three attending: Jack Kazanzas, Charles Gray and Elaine Pancake.

Later we joined friends G.K. Sharman and James Saunders for lunch in Longwood at Mona Lisa in the Longwood Village in Seminole County. That’s Mr. Saunders to the left that I sketched quickly in the parking lot.

Over these few days the Florida Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society me in Boca Raton. We had a great time! One of the highlights was wandering Downtown Delray Beach with fellow artists Eddie Pittman and Dana Summers and his wife, Mary Jane. Most of the chapter made their way to the Downtown.

One of the stops we made was to Hands Stationers, which is mostly art store and has been in business in Delray Beach for 75 years. Liz Hughes there was a huge help with putting together the groups goody bags. We all were pciking up items there and just about all of us could make the claim of finding supplies we couldn’t find any where else. Helping that was Eddie Pittman who introduced me to a common item to the painter and uncommon to me: The paintbrush with a water cartridge that feeds the bristles.

We also stopped at The Blue Anchor British Pub. There’s quite a history to this bar involving England and Jack the Ripper. Best to click here to learn more about it. While there I tried out that paintbrush from Hands. Above is a sketch of books in the restaurant/pub.

The best highlight was everyone indulging in, comic book artist and one of my former teachers, Jose Delbo’s Argentine cookout skills Saturday night. Another highlight  was Florida troubador, Val Wisecracker, who entertained us that night. She was a HOOT! Above is Jose and Val.

Here’s Jose drawing Batman on a Tampa Bay Lightning hockey stick that attendee Robert Giordano is going to display at his Arts Center in St. Petersburg.

I got a chance to further try out that brush mentioned above when Jose’s wife, Mabelle, asked me to draw a caricature of her friend. Fellow cartoonist George Peiper asked if I’d draw an alligator picture. So I further, further tested that brush. Above is me, George and the watercolor painting I made for him that night.

Val’s music had us all drawing! Here Tom Armstrong, the cartoonist for the comic strip Marvin, and Linda Gialanella, who forecasts and cartoons the weather for Channel 10 in Tampa, sketch away!

I spent the first part of the day in a warehouse. Marion County has the company, Campaign Graphics, that is creating the materials for the McCain campaign. Large pallettes were laid out throughout the huge void surrounded by concrete walls. We then proceeded in moving 4′ x 8′ signs, metal leggings for yard signs, the signs themselves, etc. onto the pallettes. It was a good workout.

I later headed over to Chelsea Coffee Shop to get some drawing done. To the left is some odd coffee machine that I should probably know, but don’t.