Even before we had kids, my husband and I have always been into country fairs and small town carnivals. Kitschy to the max, yes, but great old-fashioned fun. We also love the old little amusement parks - think old wooden roller coasters, ferris wheels, arcade games, old-fashioned carousels....
And thankfully, our kids have happily followed along with our adventures. Save one trip to LegoLand, we have avoided the big theme parks, Disney, etc and have stuck with the small old-time places - some of the coolest parks are over 100 years old!
Over the years I have taken hundreds of pictures at fairs and amusement parks. The lights, the neon, the old painted attractions have always fascinated me in their worn but colorful gaudiness. Have you ever looked closely at the faces of the animals on old kids' rides or the wooden horses on older carousels? Some of them are a lot freakier-looking than you might think!
I revisit my photos from time to time and get inspired to paint a few more pieces for my ongoing "Fairs and Carnivals" collection. I love painting old carousel horses - the expression on their faces, the movement indicated in their positioning and detailing. Loved this horse's face - this is one of those paintings that just flew off the brush. I have to admit the Joni Mitchell song was stuck in my mind the entire time, so I had to name it "Circle Game"
"And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game"
In progress photos:
I am excited to be showing this painting and about a dozen others next weekend at the Melrose Arts Festival! This is may first year participating - I am very excited to have been juried in to show with 43 other awesome artists. If you are local stop by!
If you are interested in more information about purchasing "Circle Game" please contact me.
