Lance Around Orlando

The Story of “National Velvet” Comes Alive

This Classic Movie is Great Fun for the Whole Family

“National Velvet” is one of my all time favorite movies.

It tells the story of an English adolescent girl, Velvet, who manages to acquire a horse, train him and enters him in the Grand National Steeplechase.  [Caution: Movie spoiler alert!]  When she can’t find a suitable rider, she pretends to be a man and rides the horse to an apparent victory. The win is disqualified when it is discovered that she is a girl. Despite this, she has become a national hero.

An often overlooked subplot of the movie revolves around Velvet’s mother. She is a wise yet taciturn woman who had once gained international fame for swimming the English Channel.

Upon coming home from the Grand National, Velvet gives her mother a big hug, looks her in the eye and asks, “Were we the best in the World, Mother?”

Mother Gently Inspects Velvet's Haircut. It Was Necessary to Make Her Look Like a Man

It was clear that Velvet was trying to live up to her mother–and succeeded!

Flash back to when I was 19 and I managed to win a national championship in wrestling. This remarkable feat was all the more surprising as I had never won a varsity wrestling match in high school. Like Velvet, I had somehow bloomed from a nobody to a national figure.

This accomplishment became a defining moment for my life. It had a profound impact on the man I was to become. It gave me confidence and it gave me credibility in ways I could not have imagined.

Now that I’m a father, I see the story from a different perspective. When I was younger, I identified with Velvet. I had a dream, a desire and a laser-like focus on accomplishing it. Now, I identify with the mother. I am older, hopefully wiser, and I watch my children as they struggle to find the dreams in their lives.

My youngest son has always had a passion for art. I enjoy watching him focus on his art and hone his skill.

Last week, he fulfilled a commission to paint a portrait of Condoleezza Rice, the former Secretary of State. He presented his portrait to her at a press conference in Sarasota, FL.

Colin Discusses His Portrait with Condoleezza

But it wasn’t until I saw my son handing the portrait to Condoleezza Rice that the parallel to the National Velvet story suddenly hit me.

I was the older, hopefully wiser, parent who had his moment of national fame many years ago at the age of 19. Now Number Two Son was the young 19 year old seeking his way in the world. In the movie, mother was a swimmer, daughter was a horse rider. In our story, I was a wrestler, Number Two Son was an artist.

I only won a sports championship. Number Two Son received a commission to paint one of the most powerful women in the world.

This time, it is Number Two Son who is “the best in the world.”

And I am content.

Sculpture on the Ringling Campus

It cost over $20,000 a year to send Number Two Son to one of the most prestigious art schools in the nation. Sometimes I wonder if it is worth the cost.

Please understand that LanceAround does not have a critical eye for art. How can I possibly tell if the education Number Two Son is getting at Ringling College of Art and Design is worthwhile?

The answer came one day as we were driving around the campus at Ringling. There, in the middle of the sidewalk, was a structure about three feet tall and two feet in diameter. It was made of wire and other metals. The wire was roughly in the shape of cylindrical container. The metal inside were various pieces of geometric and organic shapes. Frankly, to my untrained eye, it looked like a bunch of junk in a trashcan.

The fact that it was in the middle of the sidewalk–presented in the same way as various sculptures throughout the campus (just like the piece pictured above)–made me think that it had been created as a piece of art. I just wasn’t sure. I wish I had taken a photo of it.

I turned to Number Two Son and asked, “Is that a trash can or a work of art?”

Number Two Son looked into my eyes for a few moments and contemplated the question before responding:

“Is there any reason it can’t be both?”

Yeah, that’s when I became convinced that paying for his education was money well spent!

If at First You Don't Succeed, Try...Well, You Know the Rest...

What does it take to paint a portrait?

I’m not an artist, so I don’t know the answer to that Question.

When I watch artists work, it appears effortless. Somehow they take brush to canvas and with a few flicks of their wrist they are able to produce shapes, shadows and structures that resemble something wonderful. It is amazing!

I never understood just how difficult it is.

Just before Christmas, Number Two Son was commissioned to paint a portrait of Condoleezza Rice. I went with him to the art store. He spent over an hour picking out the right paint, the right canvas, the right brushes and some other needed supplies.

Then he began to paint.

He worked for hours, then days. The portrait looked fantastic. He didn’t like it. So he threw it away.

Again he worked…hours…days…weeks. Again, he didn’t like it. Again, he threw it away. By the time Christmas break was over, he had painted four different portraits.

When he was back at school I would call him every few days to ask how things were going. Each time I called there was something about the portrait that just wasn’t right. He talked with his art teachers. One of them recommended that he switch from oil to watercolor. He started over again. Then he switched back to oil.

The night before he was to present the portrait to Condoleezza Rice I spoke with him on the phone. “How’s the portrait coming, son?” “It’s okay, Dad, I just need to spend another hour or two doing some minor touch up.”

The next morning we drive to Colin’s home. He had stayed up all night. The portrait was still wet. He still wasn’t satisfied with it.

"Be Careful, It's Still Wet"

When he presented the portrait to Condoleezza Rice, she had to be careful to allow the bottom of it to rest on her hand lest she get wet paint on herself. The portrait was fantastic. It looked just like her. She was all smiles. So was Colin but, deep down, he wanted to make it even better.

In the end, this was his seventh attempt to paint the portrait. Some of them are displayed in the photo above. Colin still wishes he could do another one.

Maybe this drive for perfection is the reason this 19 year old kid was commissioned to paint a portrait of the former Secretary of State–Something very few professional painters ever get to do.

The only thing I know for sure is this won’t be his last commission!

Colin Boyer Presents the Portrait to Condoleezza Rice. Photo Courtesy BarbaraBanks.com

At age 19, Colin Boyer has achieved professional acclaim that is rare for an artist twice his age.

He was just commissioned to paint a portrait of former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice.

Colin presented the portrait to Dr. Rice on Monday, February 8, at a press conference just before Dr. Rice spoke to a sold out crowd at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center in Sarasota, FL. The town hall talk was sponsored by the Ringling College Library Association.

Colin is a junior at Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota, FL just two hours from Disney World and one of the most prestigious art colleges in the nation. It was just ranked as the number one digital arts college in the world by Imagine, FX. The president of Ringling likes to boast that they have technology which rivals MIT. In fact, he states, the only organization in the state of Florida with more computing power is NASA.

Through a special arrangement with Valencia Community College, Colin was able to complete his first year of college while finishing his senior year of high school. At the Valencia Student Art Show during his senior year of high school, Colin submitted three art pieces all of which won awards including Best in Show and two scholarships.

He has worked as the Lead Photographer for Florida Dream Homes, the most trusted vacation rental home company right beside Disney World. In addition to taking photos of the vacation homes, he was the artistic designer for their website and helped to train the staff on all the artistic elements of the company.

Colin Boyer's Portrait of Condoleezza Rice. Oil on Canvas

It has been a joy to watch Colin, who we also refer to as Number Two son, develop from a fledgling artist with a passion for drawing to a full fledged professional. His dedication and hard work are now being rewarded.

What more can you say about an artist than to acknowledge that his first commission is to paint a portrait of the former Secretary of State?

Wow, what an accomp-lishment!  Congratulations, Colin. We are so proud of you.

You can view a portfolio of Colin’s work at www.ColinBoyer.blogspot.com.

The next several LanceAroundOrlando posts will focus on Colin’s portrait, his work at Ringling College and the town hall talk by Condoleezza Rice.

Dubus (2nd from right) Meets with "Winter with the Writers" Participants

On Wednesday night Mrs. LanceAround and I went to our favorite arthouse movie theatre, the Enzian, to watch the 2003 movie “The House of Sand and Fog” (starring Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly) and have a Q & A with the author of the novel on which the movie was based–Andre G. Dubus III.  

Andre appeared courtesy of the “Winter with the Writers” program at nearby Rollins College in Winter Park. This prestigious program, featuring some of the greatest writers of all time, is a tradition at Rollins College that dates back to 1927. Currently, the program features four unique and distinguished writers who come to the campus for a couple of days each winter to conduct a Masters class, do a reading and participate in other programs based on their work.  

Best of all, these sessions are free and open to the public!  

It was our luck that Andre Dubus III had a novel that was turned into a movie so we got to listen to a finalist for the National Book Award in 1999 while enjoying a delicious meal and fantastic movie at our favorite arthouse dinner theatre.  

At the end of the movie, Andre explained how the major Iranian character in his novel was based on the father of an Iranian woman he was courting while in college. One day, this woman’s father spoke with him in an elevator. He said that he remembered his country, Iran, before the Shah was removed from power. The father would routinely meet with presidents, kings and heads of state in his own, private office. Now, he had lost his position, his wealth and was working two separate eight hour shifts every day at two menial jobs just to survive. “I never saw this future for myself,” the Iranian father said.  

Those of you familiar with the movie or novel will instantly recognize this central character. Those of you unfamiliar with the story might want to buy the novel or see the movie. It is very touching. Be aware it is also very depressing.  

Andre told the story of how he received 140 calls from agents interested in turning his novel into a movie. Most of them, however, gave some rendition of, “It’s a very ‘adaptable’ story, Andre, and with a little tweaking will make a terrific movie.”  When asked what they would tweak, they uniformly said that the story was depressing and would need a happier ending.  

Vadim Perelman was different. Even though he had never directed a movie, he told Andre that other directors would treat the movie like your baby tied to the radiator of a car and attached by a chain to another car.  The baby would be torn and pulled to bits until it was unrecognizable. He told Andre he would make a movie true to his story and could only guarantee him that it would be relegated to arthouse theatres, would not make money and would not be seen by anyone. Andre sold the rights to him immediately.  

This is how the movie, “The House of Sand and Fog”, came to be.  

Andre was a Very Animated Speaker

After the show, Mrs. LanceAround and I got to spend some time with Andre who regaled us with tales of writing his novels, playing as an extra in his movie, watching his story get adapted to the big screen and much more. I got Andre a beverage and listened as he answered all these questions and more from the curious crowd.  

I thought to myself, “only at the outdoor Eden Bar at the Enzian theatre under those large, Spanish Moss covered oak trees could you have such an educational and enjoyable evening like this.”  

Now the lucky readers of my blog will know about these obscure programs that are worth seeking out because they will provide experiences you’ll remember for a lifetime!

Colin Boyer with His Portrait-in-Progress of Condoleezza Rice

On Monday 8 February, Condoleezza Rice will be speaking at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota, FL. She will be giving a morning and evening talk.

This talk is part of the Town Hall Lecture Series sponsored by the Ringling College Library Association. This association supports the Verman Kimbrough Memorial Library at Ringling College of Art & Design—One of the nation’s premier art & design colleges and ranked # 1 in the nation for digital design.

Ringling College Library Association has commissioned local Kissimmee artist and current Ringling College Junior, Colin Boyer, to paint a portrait of Condoleezza Rice. This portrait will be presented to Dr. Rice at a press conference on the morning of February 8^th. The portrait will then be displayed on the Van Wezel stage during Dr. Rice’s morning and evening talks that day.

Colin Boyer is currently a Junior at Ringling College of Art & Design.  He graduated from Celebration High School in 2008, after spending his senior year as a dual enrolled student at Valencia Community College. While at Valencia, Colin had three pieces accepted for the student art show. One of his pieces was selected as Best in Show. His other two pieces also won an award. In addition, he received two scholarships for his artwork in that show.

When not in college, Colin lives with his parents, brother and sister in Kissimmee. His parents own a vacation rental home company and Colin is the Lead Photographer and Designer.

You can view some of Colin’s work at this site:  http://www.colinboyer.blogspot.com/.  Also, the photos and design of this website were done by Colin:  http://www.floridadreamhomes.com/. For information on the Ringling  College Library Asscociation Town Hall lecture series:  http://www.rclassociation.org/town_hall_lecture.php

Of course, regular readers of my blog may recognize Colin from other photos that identify him as Number Two Son!