I grew up in Carpinteria, and always looked forward to the magical mysteries of the St. Joseph's Carnival in July.
So last night I got the idea of grabbing my paints and setting up across the street from the carnival, and capture to the best of my ability, the muse of amusements. I say to the best of my ability because I only had my palette, easel, and book lights. I had two brushes; one #2, and one #8. I had no thinner, and NO OIL PAINTING MEDIUMS. I decided to just go for it as maybe that will help me to grow as an artists. (I remember my mentor, Dan McCaw, saying, " You should be able to paint inside a phone booth". So, I looked at this as a phone booth opportunity. I began painting at 9pm, and at 10pm they started breaking down the carnival. This image was taken at 11pm.
The only other extraordinary moment i experienced duing this painting was this CARPAS gang member, and some of her gang, crept up behind me when I was deep in concentration, and she yelled, "BOO!!". Well that just pissed me off to know end and i let her know it. However, I was outnumbered, so I did my diplomatic best to educate them that I was working, doing my job, and I needed to get back to work. I think, because of my reaction, they were all startled, and because of my ability to articulate the reason for my reaction, they got it. They all silently moved away...(thankfully). But I'm sure they are all still thinking about it today.
