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Atlanta Skyline Watercolors #162Z

Atlanta skyline #867A sunset cityscape watercolor is popular because of it's view of Piedmont Park.

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. 

Atlanta skyline watercolors and brown pen & ink drawing
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.

Atlanta Skyline Art Link:

Atlanta Skyline Art

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Atlanta watercolor sunset of Piedmont Park, Atlanta skyline watercolor painting of Piedmont Park, Atlanta skyline watercolor of Piedmont Park

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

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Atlanta Skyline Art #159Z

Atlanta skyline #867A sunset cityscape watercolor is popular because of it's view of Piedmont Park.

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

Atlanta skyline art in watercolor with sunset scene of Piedmont Park overlooking Lake Clara Meer.
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 art in pen & ink drawing of midtown in Piedmont Park
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 art in pencil drawing of downtown at night.
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 oil painting of downtown at night.
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!

Atlanta Skyline Art Link:

Skyline Art

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

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Atlanta Skyline Sunset Watercolor Of Piedmont Park #030Z

Atlanta skyline #867A sunset cityscape watercolor is popular because of it's view of Piedmont Park.

This article is about Atlanta skyline #030Z 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 midtown Atlanta, Georgia.

Skyline Sunset Watercolor Key Points:

  1. Sunset
  2. Water
  3. 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.

Atlanta Skyline Watercolors Link:

Atlanta Skyline Watercolors

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Atlanta Watercolor Sunset Of Piedmont Park #029Z

Atlanta watercolor sunset Piedmont Park

This article is about Atlanta skyline #029Z 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:

  1. Delineation
  2. Blue colors
  3. 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.

Atlanta Skyline Watercolors Link:

Atlanta Skyline Watercolors

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

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Atlanta Skyline Watercolor Of Piedmont Park #028Z

Atlanta skyline watercolor Piedmont Park

This article is about Atlanta skyline #028Z 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:

  1. Water
  2. Landscape
  3. 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.

Atlanta Skyline Watercolors Link:

Atlanta Skyline Watercolors

Atlanta Skyline Pen & Inks ~ 6/17/2018#161Z

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Atlanta Skyline Watercolor Painting Of Midtown #022Z

Atlanta skyline #848A pen & ink watercolor is popular because of it's view of Midtown.

This article is about Atlanta skyline #022Z midtown 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 watercolor painting of the midtown Atlanta, Georgia, skyline.

Atlanta Skyline Watercolor Key Elements:

  1. Watercolor
  2. Landscape
  3. Pen & Ink

Midtown Atlanta, is located adjacent Piedmont Park and inside the park is the love lagoon name Lake Clara Meer. The setting of this park and lake make for a wonderful vista to paint your cityscape. Common views of midtown, Atlanta are seen looking across Lake Clara Meer. There is no doubt that this is a quiet and tranquil setting which makes for a great juxtaposition with the hustle and bustle of the vast city of Atlanta!

I have chosen to make this watercolor from the lawns leading down to the lake, which cannot be seen here. Resting upon the grove of trees stand the towering skyscrapers that make midtown Atlanta so famous. I have made the skyscrapers the dominant element in the watercolor and used just the tops of the trees for the buildings to rest on. I am very pleased with the result for the buildings actually compliment the landscape rather than crush it.

Atlanta Skyline Watercolors Link:

Atlanta Skyline Watercolors

Atlanta Skyline Art ~ 6/16/2018#159Z

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA