The Merry Jester
"The Merry Jester" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic painting on Multimedia Artboard, 5 x 7". Copyright ©2010 Lesley Spanos, all rights reserved.
My favorite time to photograph an outdoor carousel is just before sunset. That’s when it comes to life, when it’s just dark enough for the glow of the bulbs to be visible, yet there’s still enough daylight to give it form.
This jester shield was the inspiration for the entire State Fair USA project. Three years ago I was taking a few snapshots of this Dentzel-style carousel by Chance Morgan rides at the Indiana State Fair, not really planning to do anything with them. I like to stare at pretty things, and having a camera in my hand gives me an excuse to do so without looking like a creepy staring person.
The more I looked, that more mesmerized I was by the quality of the craftsmanship on this ride. Even though it was molded plastic, not carved like the wooden carousels of yesteryear, I could see the hands of the artists who created it. The face and foliage were rendered with skill, care, and sensitivity, with a fluidity that surpassed most of the original wooden carvings I’ve seen. I guess I didn’t expect much from portable touring carnival rides, but I was wrong. This wasn’t mass produced junk. It was art.
A little digging on the net revealed the identities of the artists involved: Jonathon L. Beauchamp, the master designer, and Danny Hitchcock, who sculpted the face. You can see some of Jonathon’s carousel work in progress on his Flickr photostream here and here. It’s fascinating for me to see the master molds and read that the paint was applied to the inside of plastic, because the question “How was this done?” was foremost in my mind as I worked. If you have any interest at all in carousels be sure to look through his Carousels and Amusement Rides set and the Michael Jackson Carousel set. Yes, he designed the carousel formerly at Neverland, which also features this same Jester shield.
So I guess what I learned that day is that you can find good art anywhere, even on the Midway at the State Fair.
 There’s a step-by-step demo of how this painting was made here. |
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Painting the State Fair
State Fair, USA is artist Lesley Spanos' tribute to the American agricultural fair. "Just about anything I would want to paint can be found at the Fair."
The series is the culmination of years of research. Spanos has photographed and sketched her local fair - the Indiana State Fair - extensively for the past four summers, amassing a large collection of reference material for working in-studio. Ultimately the collection is destined for a book and fine art reproductions. (Read about the project in more depth here.)
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I found this interesting reading. You did a fine job of painting the jester head shield. I am the designer and sculptor of this carousel along with several others. More than 400 of these carousels have been built and sent around the world. I started creating the master molds of this carousel in 1985. It took two years to complete all the parts. The last carousel I created was in 1999, based on the antique PTC at an amusement park in Denver. I do not have a photo of it, however I saw that they ruined it by turning it into a double decker.
Best of luck and success with your carousel interests.
jonathon beauchamp