Sampling - Fred Fowle - Rounding Boards Part 1

So far I have sampled specific areas of Fowles work, a particular design or method using a particular medium. I now want to start to bring all these new skills together in a single piece. Rounding boards are the piece of artwork that sit above the entrance to a ride, they often feature the rides most grand artwork along with the proprietors name and sometimes the name of the ride, though this is more common with modern rides To start with I have replicated some existing ride fronts. To create these small designs I have used a wide array of mediums but largely focused on pencil based ones such as colouring pencils, pastles and crayons.

The first design is of an art deco inspired rounding board. Pastle Pencils were used for the entire design. A number of fowles trade mark pieces feature such as the cinematic art deco letters made famous by Emil Kosa Jr with his design of the 20th Cenetury Fox logo. There is also the popular red and yellow lightning and scroll work along with an adaptation of Mercury wings. This is all encapsulated in the sleek sharp art deco pillars and stone work which would have had a marble effect on the real piece.

The second board is less like Fowles work, appearing more to resemble the work of scenic artists such as Sid Howell or Edwin Hall. The Scroll and ribbon border is done in oil pastel to create the blending of two different colours along the same line. The complexity of the ribbon work wows the viewer making it seem more impressive than it actually is. At the top is the rides name done n pencil in a very traditional sign written style. The large board centre displays an adaptation of early chariot and speedway scenes. Race cars of the time are shown along with motorbike speed way racers. Aeroplanes, synonymous with speed at the time, also feature. These are done in pencil crayon.

I will now increase the size and start to use mediums found on the real rides.