Atlanta art #003K is an article about cityscape artwork and prints in Atlanta, written by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, at Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery. Because Atlanta art is great, its prints are great!
Watercolor skyline painting of midtown Atlanta in Piedmont Park at sunset by artist Stephen F. Condren.
Atlanta skyline pen & ink drawings of midtown and downtown focus on the fine line delineation of the drawings.
This article is about Atlanta skyline pen & ink 6/28/2018b, 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.
Pen & Ink skyline drawing of downtown Atlanta by artist Stephen F. Condren.
Skyline Delineation
The skyline of Atlanta is done in pen & ink. The pen & inks lend themselves to high contrast drawings. Since the lines are either black on nothing there is no room for compromise. The exactness and precision that the ink lines offer are excellent for architectural subject such as skylines. The lines in the drawing are all sharp and crisp due to the pen tip.
Hatching & Cross-hatching
The shade and shadows on this pen & ink are extensive. Lake Clara Meer is seen with all kinds of lines, the shoreline is heavily treated with hatching. The darkest part of the drawing is near the shoreline due to the lack of light.
This article is about Atlanta skyline pen & ink 6/24/2018E, 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.
Pen & ink drawing of Atlanta by artist Stephen F. Condren.
Skyline Delineation
The skyline sketch is first laid out in pencil then I go over this in ink so that you can more clearly see the angle and horizon line. The pen & ink help convey the substance of the drawing better than just pencil alone. Please note that all of these lines are loosely done and provide the suggested concept of the work of art to come. This is just the staring point of the rendering process and this sketch is on a separate sheet of paper from the original work of art to come.
Hatching & Cross-hatching
The shade and shadows on the sketch are to help denote the affect of light on the composition. One of the most effective ways to demonstrate shade and shadows are with hatch lines. Hatch lines are short parallel lines drawn in a row along a shaded surface to as to “cast” the shadow on the image in the drawing.
This article is about Atlanta skyline watercolors, 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. Watercolors are a very popular medium for cityscapes and skyline paintings, drawings, and prints. Since watercolors are translucent they work very well with pencil and pen & inks to delineate architectural elements.
Pen & Inks With Atlanta Skyline Watercolors
Pen & inks are the best compliment to watercolors because they offer a sharp and clear line. When the time calls for it, you can water down the ink to make it lighter and then make use of more hatching for shadows.Â
Pen & ink skyline drawing of midtown Atlanta in Piedmont Park overlooking Lake Clara Meer by artist Stephen F. Condren.
As you can see from the watercolor above the ink nice works in the details of the structures while the watercolor give a balanced tone to the work of art. Since both works above are on Lake Clara Meer in Piedmont Park it is easy to compare them. The pen & ink below without doubt show the beauty of the park, the pen strokes are small and gently reflect the water. A unique feature of Piedmont Park is that it has a very large lake (Clara Meer) right in midtown. No other major city such as Manhattan, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and Dallas have such a large body within the city boundaries.
This article is about Atlanta skyline art, 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. The city of Atlanta is rich in history and also rich with architecture. Often called the “Manhattan of the south”, Atlanta boast a prominent cityscape.
As an artist I work with four mediums for doing skylines: Watercolor, Pen & Ink, Pencil, and Oils.
Atlanta Skyline Art In Watercolor
Watercolor skyline painting of midtown Atlanta in Piedmont Park at sunset by artist Stephen F. Condren.
Watercolors nicely lend themselves to architectural subjects since they are translucient and let the delineation of the pen & inks and pencil show through. This is especially important when dealing with precise architectural details. As with oils, I look working with sunsets a lot with watercolors. The one think that you have to be careful of is how demanding they are. Watercolors, unlick oils, are very unforgiving. One you put the brush down that is it, you only have moments to work out your image. Oils on the other hand will let you scrape off the entire section and start over again!
Atlanta Skyline Art In Pen & Inks
Atlanta Skyline Pen & Ink Drawing of midtown at Piedmont Park overlooking Lake Clara Meer by artist Stephen F. Condren.
Pen & inks more than any other medium lend themselves so naturally to architecture due to the sharp crisp ink lines. These lines clearly bring out all of the architectural details. To make shade and shadows I make use of hatch lines and cross hatching for darker tones.
Atlanta Skyline Art In Pencil
Atlanta skyline drawing of downtown at night by artist Stephen F. Condren.
Pencil much like pen & ink lends itself to linear subjects. I have always enjoyed working with pencil and charcoals, I especially like to work them with night scenes.
Atlanta Skyline Art In Oils
Atlanta Skyline Oils At Night by artist Stephen F. Condren.
Oils are the most difficult medium to apply in architectural subjects. I will say that no medium is stronger than oils. The greatest quality that oil give are the wonderful blending of the texture of the pigment. The rich, thick oil is ideal for doing sunsets and Barbizon like artwork. The weakest part of oils and skyline is the lack of delineation. I use vague outlines of high contrasting pigments to give the contour of the structures. It take great skill and acumen to bring out the images of the buildings without losing the integrity of their various structures and end up with muddy looking sticks!
This is about Atlanta skyline #031ZÂ night watercolor downtown., 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 watercolor painting of downtownAtlanta, Georgia, at night. Prints & Scans Of This Watercolor #031Z ~ Order Here.
Skyline Watercolor Of Downtown Key Points:
Take extra art supplies and food with a blanket.
Study the city lights and take in all their ranges of color.
Look at the buildings as figures rather than structures
A most difficult task indeed, doing a watercolor of the city at night, but it is done. The one thing that I had to watch out for at all time was the loss of detail in the watercolor washes. In other words, as I applied the washes of color to the paper I had to do it in such a way as to keep the lines clear and not muddied over. It is amazing how even a light clear stroke can cloud up a pen & ink line!
It is all about lights and street lights to be exact. With the son far gone you need the source of the street and traffic lights to illuminate your skyline by reflecting their shine onto and around the building. The light of course pours into the sky but this is very difficult to catch because in the process you can muddy up details of the structure to capture a vapor. It is sort of like stepping on dollars to pick up dimes. Just go with the flow of light as you see it and then put it down on paper, do not be concerned with be so exact and precise ~ this is what watercolors are all about!
This article is about Atlanta skyline #030ZÂ sunset watercolor, 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 sunset watercolor paint of Piedmont Park in midtownAtlanta, Georgia.
Skyline Sunset Watercolor Key Points:
Sunset
Water
Pen & inks
This watercolor is a joy and reflects my feeling about the great and wonderful city of Atlanta. I wanted the color of the sky to be the dominant element of this watercolor from the start. Therefore, I had to diminish the detailing of the landscape and skyscrapers so as not to draw attention to them. The looser the better because nothing in this seen is looser than the gases of the atmosphere which is man manifest in the vast colors of the setting sun.
Elements
It is all about color and space not line. If you think of opera you will know that the musicians are the support element of the opera and the voice is the main element. Though the orchestral themes can be very powerful and grand they should never upstage the voices on stage. The same holds true in this context of watercolor painting. It is my intention to have the watercolor, especially in sky, be the voice of the painting, and that the line that form the buildings and landscape is the orchestra.
This article is about Atlanta skyline #029ZÂ watercolor sunset Piedmont, 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 night time watercolor of Piedmont Park, midtown Atlanta, Georgia.
Atlanta Watercolor Sunset Of Piedmont Park Key Points:
Delineation
Blue colors
Skyline
This watercolor was difficult to execute do to the fact that the water of Lake Clara Meed becomes the same tone as the evening sky. Thus, I had to work more with the ink to bring out the contour of the buildings in the background and the structure of the trees and bushes on the shore. I used extra ink via cross hatching along the shore’s edge to delineate the land from the water.
The bottom third of the watercolor is devoted to the lagoon. I have made the blue of the water a bit darker than the sky since it has no luminosity from the city lights to ease the darkness.
If you look carefully you can see that directly behind the buildings the sky is lightest and then as you move your eyes upward the sky darkens into the clouds. This is all due to the city light in the background and from downtown Atlanta, which is not so far off.
This article is about Atlanta skyline #028ZÂ watercolor Piedmont Park, 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 watercolor painting of the Piedmont Park skyline in midtown Atlanta, Georgia.
Skyline Sunset Watercolor Painting Of Piedmont Park Key Points:
Water
Landscape
Ink
This lovely watercolor is from the edge of Lake Clara Meer looking toward the midtown skyscrapers. I have carefully done the watercolor of the water so that it reflects both the trees and the buildings in the background.
I have made it a point not to use very much ink in this painting and let the watercolors have the stage.
The horizon line is gently below the center so that the base of the buildings would be adequately supported by the image of the trees and the reflections in the water. The green is heavily mixed with lemon yellow to give a lighter tone to the foliage.
This article is about Atlanta skyline #027ZÂ brown pen & ink drawing of Piedmont Park, 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 brown pen & ink drawing of Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia.
Atlanta Skyline Brown Pen & Ink Drawing Of Piedmont Park #863. This kind of drawing, it is recommended that you do the following:
Have extra supplies and snacks on hand.
Study the contour of the trees with the skyscrapers.
Make use of cross hatching for deeper tones.
The brown ink that I have employed for this drawing has worked very well for me. The tone of the ink goes will with the light brown paper and the shadows in the drawing all compliment this tone.
I am very will pleased with how well cross hatching has made Lake Clara Meer look so alive. When I look at this drawing all that I can see is the stirring of the lagoon.
The skyscrapers in the background almost seem to grow out of the landscape. The use of ink details in the shrubs and trees is very will executed and convinces the viewer that this is truly a tranquil place.
This article is about Atlanta skyline #026ZÂ pen & ink of midtown, 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 Atlanta, Georgia, skyline at Piedmont Park. Prints & Scans Of This Atlanta Skyline Drawing #026Z ~ Order Here.
Skyline Red Pen & Ink Key Points:
Have all of you art supplies in order and extra stocks of it.
Study the movement of the water.
Watch the time of day and calculate the time for the angle of the sun.
Regarding the angle of the sun, which is very important, be sure to have the rays of light working with you and on the subject. Do not have the subject in shadows. It is amazing how often I encounter artist drawing their subject in the shade. Much of the time this was due to poor calculation of time, for as the day passes the sun moves and soon they find that their subject is in the shade. Make sure that you give yourself time!
In this red pen & ink drawing I have made use of the suns rays which in this drawing are coming in from behind me over and to the right. The shade of the buildings in the back ground reflect this.
I am very please with my handling of the motion of the water. When you look at the center you can see how the strokes of ink have dissipated. Keep in mind that loose following lines work better for you on water than cross hatching. Hatching is best utilized in places such as under the trees on the shore line.
All in all the clarity of line work in the drawing is very good and has rendered the landscape of Piedmont Park admirably.
