Boardwalk Wheel Game

The first print in the new boardwalk series (at least the first to get started) will be about spinning wheel games of chance. You can find such things at travelling carnivals and fairs as well, but I always associate them with the boardwalk. Prizes can vary from stuffed animals to televisions, price to play from a quarter to a few bucks. Shown at the top is a typical one. From a distance it looks simple enough, but up close one realizes that there are color splits on each symbol, and a lot of smaller names between the big symbols. Participants are invited to press buttons to stop and start the motor, then just wait and see where the arrow points. Today I started preparing the block. I cut out a large enough piece of plywood, then surfaced it with wood filler. After sanding, I put on a border, adding indented corners, similar to what I found in many Japanese prints. I had started playing around with compositional ideas earlier in the summer, the rough diptych sketch (from around mid-July) shows some early thoughts. The last image is a sketch for the game attendant. Molly was in the Studio for the same hours I was there today, and she took a short break to pose for the 5 minute sketch. I'll use it as a reference for the figure that eventually ends up behind the counter. I'm planning to go back to the Studio tomorrow and take this further, perhaps at least finishing the basic composition.