Inscope Arch

Inscope Arch, in the southern end of Central Park, near the zoo and the pond.

Central Park has an intricate system of bridges and arches that were designed to accommodate both pedestrian and equine traffic. These spans allow one form of traffic to pass over or under the other. Originally, there were 27 arches and bridges constructed between 1859 and 1866, with others added later. Each bridge and arch has a unique design, all designed by Calvert Vaux, some with assistance from Jacob Wrey Mould.

The Inscope Arch, built in 1873, is one of the newer bridges. It was built in response to a bottleneck of pedestrians and horseback and carriage drivers on the East Drive near the Pond. Vaux and Mould designed it in the then-popular Ruskinian Gothic style, facing the Tuscan arch with pink and gray granite. Built on swamp land, it is 12 feet (3.7 m) tall, 13 feet 7 inches (4.14 m) wide, and 34 feet (10 m) long. It was restored in the 1970s and then again in the early 2000s.

Process:

As usual, it was drawn on site in pencil, then inked with Pigma Micron pens, and then painted in layers, mostly with water soluble pencils and watercolor washes.

Kolstein & Son - 58th St.

 On display in the window of Samuel Kolstein & Son, the Manhattan showroom of a Long Island-based business that repairs and restores violins, violas, cellos and basses.

Samuel Kolstein was born to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents in the Lower East Side in 1915. He was accepted to Juilliard as a piano major, and chose bass as a second choice instrument. He came to become a renowned luthier and bowmaker, and established his first shop on 56th St and 6th Ave. in 1943.  His son, Barrie, joined the shop in 1971 and eventually succeeded his father, and in 2918 passed the business on to his mentee, Manny Alvarez, another immigrant son.

Happy Star Wars Day

My annual Star Wars drawing for Star Wars Day.

Road Saw

I've wanted to draw one of these big road saws for a long time, and I finally came across one parked at a place when I had some time to draw. Vermeer is an Iowa-based manufacturer of industrial equipment. As far as I know, it has nothing to do with the Dutch painter.

Some process pix:

1963 Airstream Bambi Travel Trailer

Wally Byam was born on the Fourth of July in 1896 in Baker City, Oregon. He loved the outdoors and had a keen sense of wanderlust. But his wife did NOT. So in the late 1920s, he had the notion to attach a tent contraption on top of a Model T chassis, in order to provide her with some more comfort on their trips. He eventually built a proper trailer, and in 1931 opened the first Airstream trailer factory in California.

The business survived the Great Depression and World War II, and business started to boom after the war. He pitched the trailers to the average person, "With no worry as to where you are going to stay or how the means are going to be when you get there . . . you have plenty of carefree time to see the sights instead of hurrying through them." He also led Airstream Caravans across the globe, traveling through Mexico and Central America, Europe, Canada, and from Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt. The Airstream Caravans produced a group of owners who formed a club to maintain the friendships they'd made during the trips. In 1955, the first Airstream Club was founded.

This 1963 Bambi was the company's smallest model, a single-axle trailer roughly the same length as the average passenger car. Its areodynamic body is all lightweight aluminum. Byam had worked in the areonautics industry, and took inspiration from airplanes in designing the Airstream body.

 

Wally Byam promoted his Airstreams with a rather beautifully idealistic manifesto, which reads in part:

In the heart of these words is an entire life's dream. To those of you who find in the promise of these words your promise, I bequeath this creed . . . my dream belongs to you.

• To place the great wide world at your doorstep for you who yearn to travel with all the comforts of home.
• To keep alive and make real an enduring promise of high adventure and faraway lands . . . of rediscovering old places and new interests.
• To open a whole world of new experiences . . . a new dimension in enjoyment where travel adventure and good fellowship are your constant companions.
• To encourage clubs and rallies that provide an endless source of friendships, travel fun and personal expressions.
• To lead caravans wherever the four winds blow . . . over twinkling boulevards, across trackless deserts . . . to the traveled and untraveled corners of the earth.
• To play some part in promoting international goodwill and understanding among the peoples of the world through person-to-person contact.
• To strive endlessly to stir the venturesome spirit that moves you to follow a rainbow to its end . . . and thus make your travel dreams come true.

This video gives a glimpse to the interior of an 1960s Airstream:

More history of Wally Byam and the Airstream: https://www.airstream.com/blog/the-creed/

Volkwagen Type-1 Beetle

 Almost through my series of MoMA Automania drawings.

The Volkswagen Beetle, along with its sibling, the VW microbus, is an icon of the 1960s Woodstock generation, and one of the most beloved cars ever made. In 1972, when the 15 millionth Type 1 was assembled, it surpassed the Ford Model T as the highest-selling car in history. It was quite the turnaround from some ignoble beginnings.

In the mid-1930s, Adolf Hitler ordered German carmakers to develop an automobile for the common people. This 'people's car,' or 'volkswagen,' was to be mechanically simple, inexpensive to produce, fuel efficient, and capable of accommodating a family of two adults and three children. Its production would be subsidized by the state, and consumer purchasing would also be subsidized through a state-run savings plan. Along with the development of the Autobahn, the Volkswagen program was Hitler's initiative to promote automotive culture to the German people.

In 1938, the first Volkswagen factory was built, however World War II delayed the launch of the car. After the war, the factory was turned over to the British. The factory began producing them for the occupying British Army, and they began to gain popularity throughout Europe, being faster and more fuel-efficient to other cars like the Citroën 2CV. It became known in Germany as the Käfer (German for "beetle"), the Coccinelle ("Ladybug") in France, and of course, the Beetle or Bug in America.

It began to be imported to the United States in 1949, and while it was slow to catch on, it started to gain popularity by 1959 and exploding in popularity in the early sixties. It eventually became the longest-running and most-manufactured model car ever made, remaining in production until 2003 and producing 21,529,464 cars.

History and Reference:

Hemmings: The Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle Marks Its 75th Anniversary

1957 Lincoln Premiere

This car is NOT a part of the MoMA Automania exhibit. In fact, I had a day off from my museum job and went out looking to draw something OTHER than cars, but wound up finding this guy anyway.

The Lincoln Premiere was produced between 1956 and 1960. It became Lincoln's flagship model, offering luxury options like power brakes, power steering, power windows, a 'Quadra-Lite' arrangement of four headlamps, and, of course, lots of chrome and big fins.

For more history:

https://www.hagerty.com/apps/valuationtools/1957-lincoln-premiere

https://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z9218/lincoln-premiere.aspx