New! 5-day intensive Fairground Art course booking now

It's now 30 years since the legendary fairground painter Fred Fowle died. One my first jobs during my apprenticeship was to restore and repaint a Hall & Fowle piece, and it gave me a huge appreciation for their skill and talent, and taught me a lot about the construction of the designs and the way they were painted. Due to popular demand, I've decided to give you the same opportunity, using one of the Fowle-painted panels from Carters Steam Fair as a basis for a new 5-day intensive fairground art course.

This unique course will teach you the basics of the fairground painting tradition, from lining and shading to scrolls, gilding, marbling, flamboyant painting, layout and design. You will be provided with a large prepared board and will have the opportunity to make your own version of this beautiful panel painted by legendary fairground artist Fred Fowle, which you can take home at the end.

If you would like to have a go at painting a miniature galloper horse instead (see pictured), get in touch. They cost an additional £400+VAT, and we need to buy them in in advance of the course. Alternatively, if you would rather work on your own piece, you can bring it with you (please contact us to confirm beforehand).

All materials are provided for the duration of the course, except for gold leaf which will be available at cost price if you would like to add it to your design. You will have the opportunity to buy your own equipment at the end of the week.

The course runs from 9am till 5pm every day, and lunch and hot drinks are provided. The courses hold a maximum of 14 people, and we work on a first-come, first-served basis.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE AND TO BOOK YOUR PLACE

Scrolls

 

Scrolls are motifs which are familiar both in fairground painting, and in other British folk art styles, from Romany caravans to farm carts. The top two are in a simple style, quickly painted and lined. The bottom two are more complex, with subtle shadows and shading.

Art deco style panel

This painted panel is on the Dive Bomber ride. There's subtle marbling around the border and blending in the colours which gives it a bit of punch.

The ride has a few nice deco touches, all done in enamel and gilding.

Restoration of old sideshow paint

This is one of ten trellises which go around the top of the swanney, or "hook-a-duck stall". The trellises were originally made of plywood and were painted by the legendary fairground artist Fred Fowle in the early 1960s. But from years on the road, the plywood had started to delaminate, and the paintwork was getting damaged, so Aaron and I made some new replacements. This is one of the new ones, copied in the style of the original. It is done with aluminium leaf and enamels, with varnish.

Scrolls and swingboats

I have two sets of swingboats - a large one and a smaller, juvenile one. They're painted in the traditional way, with lining on the scalloped beams and scrolls on the boats themselves. This style of decoration goes straight back to the carriage builders' workshop, where some of these early entertainment devices were made.

Living wagons

At Carters Steam Fair we have a number of vintage living wagons, mostly dating from the 1940s. They're painted by hand from undercoat to varnish, with a brush. The lining is done in gold leaf, and the decoration usually is restrained - in a showmanly way!

 

Traditional decoration on doors in gold and lined in enamel:

 

 

These traditional scrolls are on the "belly boxes" underneath the wagon, which are like storage cupboards:

 

Ghostly scroll

I found the outline of this scroll while I was stripping back the paint on a living wagon. Somehow over the years the design had become etched into the aluminium sheet, so I was able to reproduce it in gold leaf and enamel.