Poolside Critique

First Monday of the month means another critique night. However, rather than having it in the Studio, this time it was hosted by one of the regulars at her home, on the patio by her pool. We had 7 of our regulars in attendance tonight, all with art. I brought the current boardwalk block. It got a good response from the crowd. People liked the level of detail, citing such things as the pattern on the floor, the rifles on the shooting gallery machine, the truck design on someone's t-shirt, the appliances on display as prizes, and the giant stuffed anchovy (borrowed from the wheel game print) carried by one of the kids. A few figures were viewed as slightly problematic, such as a question of whether the man behind the prize counter was too dominant (and noticeably not having fun), and some minor anatomical suggestions. The idea of having fun was discussed a bit- I had brought up my experiences in contemporary arcades, and found I was not the only one who has had that reaction. We went over our 10 minute limit on everyone's art, but we had started a little earlier than usual, and the discussions were good, so no one minded.