Carousel Horse

After sketching at the Fireman's Museum, Suzala and I went over to Nunley's Carousel which occupies the next building in the museum area we were in. Nunley's Carousel was created in 1912 by the Sein & Goldstein Artistic Carousell Co, of Brooklyn, NY and installed in Garden City Park in Canarsie, on the Brooklyn Waterfront, where it operated for 20 years. In 1940, a parkway was planned in the area, and the carousel was moved to Baldwin, on Long Island where it operated from 1940 to 1995 as part of Nunley's Carousel and Amusement Park. In 1995 after 56 years in Baldwin, the owners closed the park, retired, and sold the land. The carousel eventually ended up in Garden City in a complex of unique museums called Museum Row.

Many of us on Long Island had fond memories of Nunley's Carousel when it was in Baldwin. It was a popular spot for families to stop on the way home from the beach, or spend part of the day, because the amusement park also had food and other amusements. 

Sketching a horse on the carousel is no easy feat because each time the carousel moves and then stops, a different horse is in front of you. Suzala and I only had about 40 minutes to sketch before the carousel was closing for a private party. When it stopped I would race around the perimeter, looking for the horse I had started sketching. I would like to go back another time (when I have a longer period of time to sketch) and try again. I've sketched carousels before but didn't concentrate on one particular horse.

 

Cradle of Aviation Museum

Recently a friend and I went to the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City. It is on the former Mitchell Field where flights took off for various trips. The museum follows the history of flight from it's early beginnings to the present day. 

My first sketch was of a hot air balloon basket. I wish the balloon had been inflated inside, but it was fun to sketch it without it too.

A number of the exhibits are of local planes and pilots. This Republic P-47N Thunderbolt was built in 1945 at Republic Aeronautics which was located on Long Island not far from the museum.

There was a section on lunar modules and space transport. They had a room containing a setup of the first landing on the moon. This was a Grumman Lunar module built on Long Island at the Grumman plant.

It was a different location to sketch things a bit out of my comfort zone.

Cathedral Door

We had nice weather the other day so I took a ride to Dick Blick which is about 40 minutes from me. After shopping I went looking for a place to sketch. I remembered seeing the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City once, so I googled it. My friend, Suzala came and met me to sketch. It was hard to find a view where you could see the whole building where it wasn't overwhelming, so we sat in my car by the side door, and that was my subject.