Chicago art #043 is an article about metropolitan artwork, written by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, at Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering prints and JPEG & PDF scans, which are on sale at low discount prices.
Watercolor painting of the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse with pen & ink by artist Stephen F. Condren for post #1089 and file 1000.
This article is about pen & ink cityscape drawing of the Chicago skyline #748B, which is for sale here, at discount with prints by artist Stephen F. Condren, SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans.
Key elements of the Chicago Skyline
Delineation
Time of day
Light
The innumerable hatching and cross-hatching lines are the hall mark of the rendering. The darkest region of the drawing is in the waters of Lake Michigan. After the water, the sky has the deepest tones of black. The most luminous area is around the banks of the lake and along the roadside of North Lake Shore Drive.
The light of the streets shows nicely from the base of the buildings. However, I was careful not to hat too much as the building got taller so as not to diminish their stature.
This pen & ink cityscape of the Chicago skyline #746B, which is for sale here, at discount with prints by artist Stephen F. Condren, SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans.
Key elements to Chicago skyline #746B:
Pen & Ink
Time of day
Light
Clearly this rendering is done at night by the mere title and dark drawing. However, the night time brings out an interesting quality to skyline. The darkness gives you freedom to work different forms with the images of the buildings and landscape. You are now more free to work the shadows and architectural images into a more cohesive composition. You are not locked into copying all of the buildings in their proper place and proportion. Rather, you can work with their forms and create an even strong cityscape.
For example, the bottom of the drawing is the darkest. I have done this so that it will visually support the images above. The intense use of cross-hatching frees me up to look for light reflected in the image from the sky. I do not have to worry about capturing the seascape or waves. The composition is more important than the details.
Because the center ground of the drawing is based on the Plan of Chicago by Daniel H. Burnham Harbor. Mr. Burnham is a famed Chicago architect and we both share the same birthday! In the middle and just above the harbor is the world famous “Chicago Loop”. This area has the greatest concentration of skyscrapers in Chicago. Notable buildings are Willis Tower, Trump Tower, and Aon Center.
I have made the sky with intense cross-hatching to let light emit from the sunset.
This article is about Art Institute #191B is a landmark watercolor of the Art Institute of Chicago, which is for sale here, at discount with prints by artist Stephen F. Condren, SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans. Growing up as a child from the south side of Chicago I would spend many years at the Art Institute of Chicago. In grammar school on weekends, my father sent me to art classes there. He owned the art supply company Favor Ruhl & Watson. At that time it was the largest art supply company in Chicago.
This Beau Arts building was erected as the World’s Congress Auxiliary Building for the World’s Columbian Exhibition of 1893. This was the only structure built for the exhibition outside of Jackson Park. The structure was intentionally designed to become the main building of the Art Institute after the closing of the exhibition.
Key Elements
My focus on the watercolor is Classical entrance of the building. The central block of the building was designed to have a dome over the center. However, since there were not enough funds available the dome was never completed.
Imagine the Art Institute filled with people during this catastrophe. The loss of lives would be staggering and the loss of many world famous works of art would be forever lost!
This article is about the Chicago Club collapse #249Z of the interior building on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, written by artist Stephen F. Condren, SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery, offering JPEG & PDF scans. As a former member of the Chicago Club I learned of an interesting chapter in the book of the club’s history. When I joined the club I was given a book on the club’s history as a new member’s gift. The title of the book is “The history of the Chicago Club”, by Emmett Dedmon, 1960. On June 17, 1928 the entire interior of the Chicago Club (formerly the Art Institute of Chicago) collapsed leaving the building in ruins. No injuries were recorded.Key points
Chicago Club Collapse 1/9/2019B
Chicago Club collapse 1/9/2019 is an historic event that impacts Chicago and the history of Art. The Chicago Club was the original home of the Art Institute of Chicago. It was on the Sunday afternoon of June 27th that the security guard suddenly heard loud and violent noises coming from within the clubhouse. In fear of the unknown the guard immediately left the building. He made an exit from the front entrance onto Michigan Avenue and then to Van Buren. Little did he realize that the sounds he had heard with the fracturing of the supporting beams!
Just a few minutes after leaving the building the entire interior of the structure collapsed. The Chicago Club at that time was closed on Sunday so fortunately no one was injured. The club has already built an annex build adjacent to the older building, designed by Daniel Burnham. The annex can be seen in the photo below immediately behind the main building. Since that time the club tore down the ruined building and completed the clubhouse in the same style as the annex building.
It should be noted that this was an architect’s error. The design of the building put the main beam of support on a hard surface thinking that it was bedrock. However, in truth there was a small cavern below that “bedrock”.
Had the building collapsed at a time when the structure was the Art Institute of Chicago the incident would have been a catastrophe. Not only would many people have been killed and injured, but the loss of priceless works of art would be gone forever.
Chicago Club ExteriorChicago Club Interior After Collapse
This article is about Chicago skyline pen & ink 6/24/2018D, 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.
Skyline Delineation
This skyline, which is one of my favorites is a view of Chicago looking south from Belmont Harbor. The center of attention is the world famous John Hancock Center.
Hatching & Cross-hatching
The use of hatching is worked in line with the water and the buildings. There are no deep shades and shadows in this rendering as the most of the structures are outlined.
Chicago skyline drawings #170Z, by artist Stephen F. Condren, SAIC, BFA, of Condren Galleries. Prints & Scans Of This Figure Drawing #364Z ~ Order Here.
Chicago Skyline
The drawing of Chicago from Lake Michigan is best, because it is the most famous view. Chicago is the third largest city in the country, because it fell behind in population to Los Angeles. The city is famous for its skyline, because it has very tall buildings. Chicago has some building over 100 stories tall, because they hold more people. The tallest building in Chicago is Willis Tower, because it has 109 floors. The city of Chicago has parks on the waterfront, because it was kept free of harbors.
Color Pencil Drawings
Chicago skyline drawings come in color pencils, because that is the demand. Doing watercolor with color pencil is good, because it give depth to the rendering. Most people like skyline art in color, because it looks organic. Pen & ink drawings are popular, because they have sharp lines. Pen & ink drawing do not show color, because they are done with black ink. Skyline drawing look good framed, because you can give them as gifts. Realtors like framed skyline drawings, because they are used for closing gifts. The most popular Realtor closing gifts are framed, because the gift is ready to give.
This article is about Chicago skyline drawings and prints, 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 drawing above is a color pencil drawing of the Chicago skyline. The drawing is more formal in character than the lead pencil drawing below. The reason for this in this case is due to the integration of color. If I were so be quick and bold as I am in the lead pencil sketch below I will lose coloration. To the left is the setting sun behind Willis Tower with the most intense use of line work. There is a bit of a compromise in detailing as the scrambling of lines that are competing for a voice in the crowed space.
The use of color pencils instead of watercolor and definitely oils has a very refined affect on skyline works of art. The quick study just above shows the poetry of lead on paper. The lead is quick, spontaneous, and precise. When I have the pencil in my hand I am at one with the paper and the image flows from me. The joy of drawing jumps out at you from the image just above. I move my hand quickly and freely to capture the image and there is not a moment to lose. The darkest tones are behind Willis Tower and the evening sky shout for joy with jubilant cross-hatched lines.
Chicago Skyline Drawings In Perspective
The case for perspective drawing come to fore when working with linear forms. The most common form of perspective that is used in architectural drawings is that of the 2-Point Perspective. This simply means that he drawing lines meet at the sift and right side of the horizon line in the picture plane. This is what you have here in both drawings that are shown.
This article is about the Chicago skyline pen & inks, 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. No other medium better expresses the landscape of a city than pen & inks. The elements of a skyline are architectural and thus lend themselves to delineation. The clean clear lines show all the intricate details of the buildings. The get the proper tones of shade and shadow hatching and cross-hatching is employed.
Hatching and Cross-Hatching For Chicago Skyline Pen & Inks
Since pen & inks do not make use of water to cast shadows the use of hatching is employed to provide this affect. Hatching is the process of carefully moving the pen & ink lines closely together all parallel to each other. This “screen” or “grid” is the matrix of the shade and shadowing process. The darker that you want the background to be the closer you make the lines. When you want to make things very dark such as in a sunset or night scene you make use of cross-hatching. This is where you drawing the pen & ink lines perpendicular to each other. This makes a screen like affect on the drawing and is very effective.
Architecture for Chicago Skyline Pen & Inks
The subject of skylines is architecture and the line is the backbone of this great topic. The pen & inks better than any other medium bring out the boldness of the cities great architecture. Pencils are excellent but they lack the boldness. Watercolors and oils are good as well but fall short when it come to delineation. It is the power and strength of the pen & inks that set the stage for outstanding architectural renderings and illustrations. When you have sections of a scene that require a lot of fine detail the pen & inks come to the rescue. With razor like accuracy the pen & inks zoom in on the details that you are seeking and produce them with clarity.
This article is about Chicago skyline watercolor John Hancock Center, 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. At the center of the watercolor stands the Palmolive Building and the Drake Hotel below it. However, the giant on the scene is the world famous John Hancock Center. Sadly however, the name has been dropped from the building and is up for sale. The current designation for the building is 875 N. Michigan Avenue.
Color Pencils
The watercolor is a mix of brushed watercolor paint and color pencils. I have made a point of leaving the lines to show clearly. Like a pen & ink, the colored lines offering us color rather than black ink.
This article is about the Chicago skyline watercolor #166Z of the near north side at sunset is taken from the south, 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 main focus of the watercolor is east Randolph Street. This amazing short road only goes east a few blocks from Michigan Avenue out into the lake. However, this short strip probably has the highest proportion of tall buildings per block than any other city including Manhattan Island.
