This article is about Chicago skyline #057Z Pen & Ink Drawing, 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. This is my brown pen & ink drawing of the Chicago, Illinois, skyline near Lincoln Park.

Chicago Skyline Pen & Ink Drawing #870. Key elements to this drawing are as follows:

• John Hancock Center.
• Brown Pen & Ink.
• Landscape.

1. John Hancock Center: The John Hancock Center is the focus of the drawing and as you see completely dominates the landscape. For this reason I have eliminated the famous exoskeleton in favor of gracious contour lines which work so much better.
2. Brown Pen & Ink: The brown pen & ink offers a soft response to the tree lined walkway. The brown tone does not make the demand on high contrast so much as black in.
3. Landscape: The landscape is centered on the walkway, in Lincoln Park, which leads right up to the cluster of skyscrapers that culminate with the aerials of the John Hancock Center. I have made the foliage on the trees and bushes as light as possible so as not to take away from the cityscape. If I were to make the trees dense with tedious line work they would totally dominate the drawing and displace the balance of the work of art. As large as the John Hancock Center is, this rendering of it has made it very light and a gracious architectural statement.

Chicago Skyline Pen & Inks Link

Chicago skyline pen & inks

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

This article is about Chicago skyline #056Z, 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. This is my brown pen & ink drawing of the Chicago, Illinois. The view of the skyline is looking southward from Lincoln Park, along Lake Michigan.

Chicago Skyline Brown Pen & Ink Drawing #869. Key elements to the fine drawing are as follows:

• Brown Pen & Ink.
• Lake Michigan.
• John Hancock Center.

1. Brown Pen & Ink: This drawing is done in brown pen & ink so as to compliment the soft tones of the drawing. Everything about this drawing flows gracefully and elegantly. The John Hancock Center, which is the centerpiece of the drawing stands aloft in triumph over the scenic cityscape. On the far left is Lake Point Tower, drawn with just the right line work and weight to give full account of that great residential building.
2. Lake Michigan: The presence of Lake Michigan is all pervasive in the coast drawing as she quietly dominates the lower portion of the drawing from side to side. It is along here that Lake Shore Drive nestles among the trees as it moves traffic along the lakefront.
3. John Hancock Center: The undisputed grand monarch of Streeterville, and among the greatest skyscrapers of history stands the John Hancock Center. The line work that portrays this great structure is exact and elegant at the same time, perfectly expressing with a few strokes this mighty structure. I have gently worked every detail of this building so as to bring out it excellent proportions, and in so doing leaving the giant exoskeleton out of the drawing.

Chicago Skyline Pen & Inks Link

Chicago skyline pen & inks, Chicago skyline brown pen & ink,

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

This article is about Chicago skyline #055Z, 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. This is my bamboo & red ink drawing of the Chicago, Illinois, skyline of Streeterville and the John Hancock Center. Key points of this drawing are as follows:

• Bamboo & Red Ink.
• John Hancock Center.
• Elevation.

1. Bamboo & Red Ink: This delightful drawing is drawn from a large bamboo drawing stick that I have in my studio. With the thick surface of the bamboo it makes a wonderful stylus to make firm thick contour lines and you can clearly see here. I have made the contour of the buildings a flowing wave that characterized the structures and the bamboo pen has made this possible.
2. John Hancock Center: The deepest red in the entire drawing is the apex of the John Hancock Center, a sort of “cherry on the cake” for the completion of the drawing which also ends this small series that I have done of Streeterville and the John Hancock Center.
3. Elevation: The elevation is right at sea leave to maximize the height of the John Hancock Center.

Chicago Skyline Pen & Inks Link

Chicago skyline pen & inks

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

This article is about Chicago skyline #054Z Red Pen & Ink Drawing, 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. This is my red pen & ink drawing of the Chicago, Illinois, skyline in Streeterville with the John Hancock Center.

Chicago Skyline Red Pen & Ink Drawing #854. Key points to this drawing are as follows:

• Red Pen & Ink.
• John Hancock Center.
• Negative Space.

1. Red Pen & Ink: This drawing is done in red in so as to compliment the small series that I have done here.
2. John Hancock Center: The John Hancock Center has been the focus of my small series here on red pen & inks of Streeterville. This famous building makes a wonderful centerpiece for all the buildings that cluster around it.
3. Negative Space: The use of fine red lines as an outlines give full body to the skyscrapers that make up Streeterville. I have drawn these in such a manner as to give heft and strength to the images. The use of negative space has been maximized to the extreme without any sacrifice to the robust buildings that make up this great city.

Chicago Skyline Pen & Inks Link

Chicago skyline pen & inks

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

This article is about Chicago skyline #053Z Pen & Ink Drawing, 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. This article is about my red pen & ink drawing of the Chicago, Illinois, skyline of Streeterville, and the John Hancock Center.

Chicago Skyline Pen & Ink Drawing #852. Key elements to the drawing are as follows.

• Red Pen & Ink.
• John Hancock Center.
• Streeterville.

1. Red Pen & Ink: This drawing is done in red pen & ink as a change from the standard black ink. I have used this color red to compliment the same red that I have used in the small series of drawings.
2. John Hancock Center: The John Hancock Center has been the focus of my attention on this drawing and the other that compliment it in this small series. I like how this section of Chicago, called Streeterville, has all of it’s skysrapers gather around the John Hancock Center which is at the very center and makes a great point of culmination.
3. Streeterville: This area of Chicago is called Streeterville and to most Chicagoans it is the near north side. This area is Chicago’s response to a “midtown” Chicago, but on the north side.

Chicago Skyline Pen & Inks Link

Chicago skyline pen & inks

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

This article is about Chicago skyline #051Z Pen & Ink Drawing Of Streeterville, 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. This is my brown pen & ink drawing of the Chicago, Illinois, skyline viewing Streeterville, and the John Hancock Center.

Chicago Skyline Pen & Ink Drawing Of Streeterville #850. Key points in this drawing are as follows:

• Brown Pen & Ink.
• Composition.
• Delineation.

1. Brown Pen & Ink: I have chosen brown ink rather than black to offer a different feeling to the site. Brown ink offers a softer touch than black and is not so stark. This scene is not so demanding or high contrast or dramatic lighting. All of the line work is even and smooth as are the skyscrapers.
2. Composition: I like having the John Hancock Center in the middle of the composition and then have the other structures gently cascade off from each side. The fact that the John Hancock center is so thin makes this a natural line recession. A large bulky structure would offer no flexibility of line or symmetry.
3. Delineation: The line work is all very even, there is almost no darkening area of shade and shadows with cross hatched lines. The light is up and clear so it does not push over into dark regions to shadow deeply.

Chicago Skyline Pen & Inks Link

Chicago skyline pen & inks

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA