I am interrupting the WWII series to post a few holiday sketches. In Punta Gorda Florida there is this amazing trailer home with tons of lights and every imaginable inflatable. Instead of focusing on the Macy’s Day Parade, I decided to sketch these inflatables. After Thanksgiving diner at the Eagle lodge I asked to be dropped off at this house. I had talked to the person working on the display in the morning, and he said that I should come back after 4pm which is when it started coming back to life.
when I returned the inflatables were still pancakes on the ground. I just focused my attention on the home and waited for them to inflate. There is actually far more to the display on the far side of the house and on back. To the right is an outdoor drive in theater with teddy bears, frogs and other stuffed characters watching the screen. Loony Toons cartoons were soon being shown.
A penguin would climb the ladder and then slowly make its way back down. I was told that a rotisserie motor was used for the movement. The advantage of that motor is that it reverses itself. Washing machine motors run the Carousel and Ferris Wheel. A rabbit and teddy bear were on a see saw which also used a rotisserie motor.
M&M signs showed up throughout. I wondered if it was an infatuation with that brand of candy, but the owner explained that it was the initials for him and his wife. He was making adjustments and adding light the whole time I sketched. It was a never ending job. The inflatable at the peak of the roof refused to sit up, so he had to climb up on the roof and lift it up by hand.