Boardwalk Days part 9

Been a busy summer, but not so much for making art.  The last two months everything has revolved around the Belmar Arts Council, between the two series of woodcut classes and Animal Spirits, my only new print of the summer.  The BAC has been my main source of income this summer, so I can't complain.  Besides, I knew that I couldn't do much more with the latest boardwalk print without going back to the original scene, and that hasn't been practical, with this now officially the hottest summer in the history of the United States of America.  Back to back heat waves, high humidity, and constant threat of pop up thunderstorms have kept me indoors.  But today we had a rare combination- mid  80's temperatures, normal humidity, blue skies, and no place I had to be.  The kind of day to take advantage of for a hike to Asbury.

Shortly past noon I stopped by the Studio just long enough to pick up the block (last seen about two months ago) and a few pencils, and then walked through town and up to my chosen spot by Convention Hall.  Sunny and warm, but relatively pleasant.  Lots more people on the boardwalk than the last time I was there, but few walked past my spot between buildings.  The hedges by the restaurant (see above) were a little more colorful than before, but nothing else had changed.

The challenge here was sketching in reverse- looking at buildings and drawing the details in mirror images.  Having my original photo-based drawing gave me a starting point, so all I had to do was adjust a few proportions and lengths, along with filling in some backwards details.  The results of today's drawing is below.

Neither half of this diptych looks exactly like what I saw from any one point, and I still may have to adjust some proportions and perspective on one or both sides, but at least I now have the information to work with.  I didn't do any sketching or take photos of any of the people on the boardwalk or beach, but I did take notes of some of the things I saw, archetypes and activities that could figure into this one or the planned beach oriented print.

When I was done sketching all I could, I walked back to the Studio.  Lunch was waiting for me in the cooler, which helped me avoid the temptation of getting some ice cream on the way.  As I was eating I noticed Herb through our new big windows, walking around in the back.  Eventually he noticed me and waved me over the windows.  He wanted to point out that they had finally started the process of finishing the insides of the windows, sills on the bottom and framing on the sides, like what's shown above.  Still a work in progress, but what is done looks nice.  And when it's done, this will allow the needed installation of shades, so we can have the great light when we want it, and not when we don't.