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All the fun of the fair

All the fun of the fairAnother recently finished picture is this one of a carousel at a fun fair proving to be  a very complex subject to paint, but fun to explore the nuances it evokes. I particularly wanted to make it a night time picture, with the lights from the merry go round shining out from the deep blue sky, blurs of the movement from the people on the painted horses as they ride round and the people in the background shadows indistinct. The negative shapes of the night sky were as important as the people on the ride, adding to the depth of the circular ride, and bringing out the warmer colours well.

After carefully drawing out the image I used a lot of masking fluid to cover the thin barley-twist pillars, the lights of  the centre of the ride, and the lights around the top of the outside of the carousel. The majority of the painting was done in watercolour, keeping to a limited palette of golds, reds and purples, but to bring out the shining white lights I used soft oil pastels.

Its called, obviously,  “All the fun of the fair”  and I love it!