On the evening that Terry, Debbie and Paul Andreen went to their high school reunion, I walked down the Mission Beach boardwalk to Belmont Park to sketch the Merry-go-round. Of course choosing to spin something that is always spinning like a top is a bit insane, but I sketched in the calm moments as children clamored on board and saddled up. I found a nice bench where parents often sat while waiting for their children. The roller coaster loomed in the background and screams periodically overcame the Merry-go-rounds pipe organ music.
The Little Dipper ice cream booth had a constant stream of patrons. There was a fence around the Merry-go-round but I felt it cluttered the view, so I left it out. As I sketched dusk turned to night, so I kept darkening the watercolor washed. Sketching at sunset makes sense since the whole process of applying washes to a sketch involves building in the colors from light to dark.
When this sketch was done, I probably had time to do another sketch in one of the arcades. Sketching in such a loud crowded setting is exhausting however so I walked back to the beach front apartment. There I relaxed on the patio and watched the stars. Fire pits ignited all along the beach every 100 yards or so. It was several hours before everyone got back to tell me about what I had missed. The reunion venue overlooked the pro baseball stadium. It sounded like a great sketch opportunity, but that is why I wasn’t invited, I can’t put the sketchbook down.