Watch, drink and listen

A downtown gallery will attempt to beat the heat Saturday night with a touch of mint.

Forest Avenue Fine Art Gallery will present “Mojitos, Music and Miller” from 6 to 9 p.m. at 220 Forest Ave. Artist Kirk Miller will be painting, and musician Alex Bodrero of the Laguna Beach band Orpheus will perform.

The mojito, a trendy beverage, is made from light rum, ice, lime juice, sugar, club soda and mint sprigs.

Debra Klingensmith, of Forest Avenue Fine Art, plans to continue hosting future shows in a similar vein.

“We are trying to have more and more local artists throughout the summer,” she said. “It’s more intimate; and we can help out the artists.”

Miller is no newcomer to live art.

“I’ve done it for years and years and years,” said Miller, who runs a private art school in Tustin.

But gallery shows can’t be compared to his school environment.

“It’s totally different from the classroom. It’s more entertainment; you try to make ‘em laugh,” Miller said.

Originally from Alabama, Miller moved to Australia with his family when he was 12, and lived there throughout his teens.

Although he won art awards in school, he became an apprentice golf professional for two years before returning to the United States and later Mexico to study and create art. He started out as a portrait painter before moving on to other ventures.

“I’m historically a very realistic painter; however, I’ve been doing these abstract backgrounds lately,” Miller said.

He combines them with foreground subjects that are “fairly realistic but heavy on the texture,” he said.

In addition to the works of dancers and jazz musicians that he’s known for, Miller has also begun painting flowers in the same technique.

“They’ve really been taking off,” he said.

Miller has been affiliated with Forest Avenue Fine Art since February. “He has a really interesting style,” Klingensmith said. “The flowers are being very well-received.”

Besides illustrating magazines, books, videos, posters and murals, Miller has written two books, produced instructional videos, lectured at major art schools, and conducted workshops. “I’ve lectured in every major city in the U.S.,” he said.

He owns and operates Kirk Miller Art Studio and school in Tustin, with four instructors and about 160 students.