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National Mall Watercolors and Prints #004Z

Washington Monument watercolor painting with pen & ink lines.

This article is about National Mall #004Z Watercolors, which are for sale at discount with prints by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans. Then National Mall is a host to many famous museums and monuments. Below are some watercolors of the most famous places at the National Mall.

National Mall Watercolors and Prints. Key elements of this work of art are as follows.

  • Color
  • History
  • Landscape

The National Mall is the anchor or even the heart of the Capital of the United States. The Mall runs east and west and near the center is the grand obelisk of the Washington Monument, the world’s tallest obelisk. My interest in the National Mall is doing watercolors and prints of it.

Watercolor painting of the White House in Washington D.C.
Watercolor painting of the White House in Washington D.C.

When considering a site to do drawings and paintings of, consider the follow:

  1. Scale of subject to landscape.
  2. Light and time of day.
  3. Access to visible structural details.

At the east end of the Mall sits the Capital Building on Capital Hill. There are many important building surrounding the Capital but the two most important are the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court, both lie directly east of the Capital Building. In the center of the Mall on Pennsylvania Avenue sits the White House.

Other museums:

Directly on the Washington Mall on the north side nearest Capital Building are the two buildings that form the National Gallery of Art followed by the museum’s gardens. Continuing along the Mall you are at the National Archive and then the Museum of Natural History. On the opposite side to the south lies the National Air And Space Museum and Smithsonian Institute. These cluster of buildings make up the most important section of the Mall with is the educational and historical repositories of the nation’s capital.

Watercolor painting of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
Watercolor painting of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

At this point you come to a break in the Mall and are standing face to face the Washington Monument. Going past this point to the western side of the Mall are the memorials crowned by the Lincoln Memorial at the head of the west end pond. It has been general held that the Lincoln Memorial is the most beautiful memorial in the Mall for its proportions are exquisite and it follows that same forma as that of the Parthenon in Greece.

Watercolor painting of the Washington Monument in Washington D.C.
Watercolor painting of the Washington Monument in Washington D.C.

Related Links

Manhattan Skyline WatercolorChicago Skyline Watercolors, Philadelphia Skyline Watercolors,

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

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Chicago Skyline Paintings And Prints #003Z

Chicago skyline #627A pen & ink cityscape watercolor with the sunset reflecting on the waters of Lake Michigan.

This article is about Chicago Skyline #003Z, which is for sale at discount with prints by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans. Chicago has one of the most spectacular skyline in the world. The lakefront of Lake Michigan makes for a wonderful entry to this city famous the world over for it’s architecture.

Chicago Skyline Paintings And Prints. Key elements of this work of art are as follows.

  • Architecture
  • Color
  • Light

The Chicago skyline is something of a miracle that rose out of the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. It is my interest, as an artist, to do paintings, watercolors, and prints of this great American city.

When doing a painting or drawing of any cityscape or skyline, keep the follow points in mind:

  1. Distance of subject.
  2. Lighting.
  3. Sufficient detail.

In this horrific event the entire center city was burn to the ground and hundreds of people were killed. The fire is one of the greatest tragedies of American History. However, with the vision of men like Potter Palmer and Marshall Field the city grew. Chicago was able to take up its vision of being a great metropolis and moved forward to build what was at the time the most modern city in the world.

Art Institute of Chicago:

Across Michigan Avenue on the east side is the world-famous Art Institute of Chicago home to some of the most famous paintings in the world. I the collection the internationally celebrated “American Gothic” by Grant Wood. The Art Institute is the only permanent building permitted to be on the east side of Michigan Avenue.

Chicago Skyline Watercolors Link

Chicago skyline watercolors

Related Links

Chicago skyline watercolor sunset paintings, Chicago skyline at sunset, Chicago skyline watercolor painting at sunset,

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

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Philadelphia Skyline Paintings And Prints #002Z

Philadelphia skyline watercolor

This article is about Philadelphia skyline #002Z art watercolors at sunset, is for sale at discount with prints by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans. The City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is famous in American History as a leading cultural and artistic center; it also served as the temporary capital of the United States from 1790-1800. However, what draws my interest to Philadelphia is its magnificent skyline. As an artist, it is my interest to do watercolors, paintings, pen & ind drawings, and prints of this historic American city.

Philadelphia Skyline Paintings And Prints. Key elements of this work of art are as follows:

  1. Distance of subject.
  2. Lighting.
  3. Sufficient detail.

Unlike New York City and Chicago, which have massive sprawling skylines, Philadelphia’s is compact and has strong character. When you look at the skyline you will see that all of the buildings are in proportion to the mass of the structures around. In other words there is an even distribution of structures that cluster to the downtown leaving no gaps or uneven breaks. Whereas in Manhattan Island, you have the cluster of building both in Lower Manhattan and Midtown Manhattan. This is where you can see the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building, there is no continuity of structures between these areas. Central Park only causes a design problem for Manhattan because of its rectangle shape not permitting the landscape to weave around the city skyline. Similarly in Chicago you have the famous “Loop” which houses the largest mass of office towers including Willis Tower.

Philadelphia Skyline Watercolors Link

Philadelphia skyline watercolors

Related Links

Philadelphia skyline watercolors, Philadelphia skyline watercolors, Philadelphia skyline art,

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

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Chicago Harbor Lighthouse Pen & Ink Drawing #001Z

Chicago Harbor Lighthouse #979A pen & ink drawing on Lake Michigan with John Hancock Center and Navy Pier.

This article is about Chicago Harbor Lighthouse #001Z is a landmark drawing, which is a cityscape stylus sketch, is for sale at discount with prints by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans.  In this drawing I have chosen to draw the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse.  It is very similar to the watercolor painting that I have done of it, (Watercolor Lighthouse).

Chicago Harbor Lighthouse Pen & Ink Key Points:

  1. Charm.
  2. Lighting.
  3. Safety.

This wonderful structure sits on the northern rim of Burnham Harbor in Chicago, Illinois. The distance of the lighthouse from the shore is approximately one mile due ease of Chicago.

The drawing that I have done is in pen & ink and it reflects the movement of the waves coming from the shoreline of Lake Michigan.

In the background you can see the Chicago Navy Pier and as a backdrop the Chicago skyline makes a wonderful support with the John Hancock Center dominating the center.

Lighthouses

Lighthouse Pen & Inks

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Chicago skyline at sunset, Chicago skyline drawing with John Hancock Center, Chicago skyline pen & inks, Chicago Skyline Pen & Ink,

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

Chicago Harbor Lighthouse pen & ink
Pen & ink drawing of the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse in Burnham Harbor by artist Stephen F. Condren.