Boardwalk Days part 12

For the first time in almost a month (not coincidentally the first time since a few days before Sandy's arrival on our shores), I was able to get into the Studio for a little while and work on some art.  That would be the current boardwalk block, my daytime scene set in Asbury.  I went back to work where I left off last time, a piece of Convention Hall on the right side of the block.  This time it was some of the architectural detail of the large rectilinear section (the theater).  Mostly it was playing with the spacing of the vertical dividers between the upper level windows, which also function as columns in a stoa type walkway on the lower level.  I don't want to change the overall proportions of the building from what I had, since the space between the two buildings is already smaller than I'd like.  By making the first window/bay (just to the left of the main entryway) a little narrower, and adjusting the others to be proportional, I was able to put in 8 where I had only 5 sketched in last time.  Technically there should be 10, but I wouldn't be able to cut the details any smaller than this, and only the most obsessive Asbury people would probably realize the inaccuracy anyway.  This is why I prefer to make up my own architecture in these prints- as long as it makes sense, it's right.

After I was done sketching for the day, I took a walk up toward the beach in Ocean Grove, to see the storm damage and collect some reference material for my planned Sandy boardwalk print.  Many of the boardwalks in the region are still off limits to the public, so while I've seen lots of photos in the papers, this was my first in-person look.  Walking up Main Avenue, I couldn't see any sign of damage to houses or businesses that I would have to attribute to the storm.  (there were a few signs of houses being repaired, but Ocean Grove is in a constant state of renovation, so it could just be that)  Finally up at the boardwalk I could see some obvious storm effects.  I had heard from Tim (crit group regular and local resident) that the boardwalk was mostly still there, but not so flat and straight as it usually is.  Photos above and below show evidence of that.  Note the crazy angles of the light posts, reflecting the angles of the boards in each section.  I walked north for a while.  The Pavilion was still standing and looked fine, and the boardwalk in that area, protected by massive dunes, also looked normal.  These photos and others I took should be helpful when I design my own storm damaged boardwalk eventually.