Scenes from the Fair, part 1

Carousel Horse 20x16 pastel, copyright 2012

My pastels for the Scenes from the 2012 Preble County Fair exhibit are finally finished and framed.  I debated quite a bit on what to paint and finally settled on my two favorite rides: the carousel and the Ferris wheel.  The latter painting will be the next post.  

When I was a kid riding on the merry-go-round was a special treat.  Like many girls, I had a big love of horses and even then an appreciation for the artistry of the carved figures.  They were rapidly disappearing from the landscape due to neglect and the attitude that they were old fashioned so a ride on one was a rare occasion.  

During the fair I took a number of photos of real horses, but the dramatic lighting and pose of this one caught my eye.  It was a spontaneous decision as I had been working on another painting which was frustrating me.  After setting it aside for a bit I started on this one and nearly completed it in one go.  All the wonderful curving lines were a lot of fun and the pressure of making it look like a real horse was not as strong.

This now has me thinking about how much fun it would be to paint a series of these.  Unfortunately there aren't any carousels near me.  Perhaps some time when I am in Columbus I will have to make a trip to the zoo just to see the beautiful, nearly 100 years old carousel there.