Tag: Philadelphia Skyline Art And Prints #120K

Philadelphia skyline art #120K is an article about metropolitan cityscape artwork, of Philadelphia, 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. Because Philadelphia skyline art is great, it’s prints are great!

Philadelphia charcoal skyline drawing along the Schuylkill River.
Charcoal skyline drawing of downtown Philadelphia on the Schuylkill River by artist Stephen F. Condren.
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Philadelphia Skyline Watercolors #174Z

Philadelphia skyline watercolor

This article is about Philadelphia skyline art 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. Watercolor of Philadelphia are a joy to do for it is such a beautiful city. Watercolors work well with architectural subjects as they incorporate lines as well as paint to make the work of art. Since Philadelphia has such a large and detailed skyline there is much to work with for the artist. The pen & inks of the drawing part of the watercolor bring out the details of the work of art. After the ink is in place I go over the paper with tones of color to bring out the needs tones of the subject.

As you can see from the watercolor above, the fine lines of the pen & ink can be seen on the smallest details of the gazebo. This is why pen & inks work so well with watercolor. The brush of the watercolor is good but no match for the exactitude of the ink line. There is some space for hatching and cross-hatching but with the added support of the watercolor there is no need to do much. If you look at the gazebo you can see a small amount of hatching between the Classical pillars that support the structure.

Philadelphia Skyline Art Watercolors Tones

The watercolors make excellent sunsets for the backdrop of the skyline. As you can see from the watercolor above the greenery from FDR Park blend in nicely with the yellows from the setting sun. The tone of the buildings in the skyline are earthen and compliment the landscape. It is prudent at all times to mix tones that work together and compliment each other. If I were to employ brash tones on the surface of the buildings then they would not be in harmony with the park or the sky. Blues and greens work well together and the best mix for shadows are red and blue.

Philadelphia Skyline Art Link

Philadelphia skyline art

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Skyline Art Link

Skyline Art

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

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Philadelphia Skyline Pen & Inks #173Z

Philadelphia Skyline Pen & Inks

This article is about Philadelphia skyline pen & inks, 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. The city of Philadelphia sends itself handsomely to pen & inks as it has a very robust skyline. Outside of Manhattan Island, Philadelphia has the second largest skyline on the east coast! The fine architectural history and ornamentation on many of the cities building are a treasure.

Delineation

The city of Philadelphia is very old and thus has a vast range of architecture form colonial times to the present. All in all there is a lot of details and ornamentation in the architecture of the city that come out beautifully with pen & inks.

Perspective

Architectural subjects are the most natural subject when it comes to perspective drawings. Though the cityscapes and skyline pen & inks that I execute here are not perspective drawings in the strict sense of the word. An excellent example of my perspective drawings are my famous renderings of the Loeb Mansion from the Leopold and Loeb murder trial of Chicago in 1924, see below.

Loeb mansion from the Leopold-Loeb murder case.
Pencil architectural rendering of the Loeb mansion of the Leopold and Loeb murder case of 1924 in Chicago. The mansion was at 5017 S. Ellis Avenue in the Kenwood/Hyde Park district of Chicago. This rendering was done by artist Stephen F. Condren for Condren Galleries product SKU# 5000.

All of the skyline pen & inks that I offer here are done freehand with 2-point perspective in mind.

Philadelphia Skyline Pen & Inks Landscape

The Philadelphia skyline pen & inks landscape starts with FDR Park, a landmark city park that has been a model to the nation since its inception early in the 20th Century. The boathouse and gazebo have been designated on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. It is sites like these that make pen & inks an excellent medium to create urban and skyline drawings with.

Philadelphia Skyline Art Link

Philadelphia skyline art, Philadelphia skyline drawings of downtown, Philadelphia skyline pen & ink drawing of downtown

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Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

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Philadelphia Skyline Drawings #172Z

Philadelphia skyline drawings

This article is about Philadelphia skyline drawings and prints, 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. Drawing can be done with lead pencil or charcoal. The later is more difficult in that the lines are rough and soft so that it does not leave crisp delineations. However, the other side of charcoals is their rich tone and unsurpassed granular tones. Complimenting charcoal is lead, for lead has the same tonal qualities but offers the precision of pen & inks. The lead of the pencil is so very natural when it touches the paper that you feel it was all meant to be. Prints & Scans Of This Drawing #172Z ~ Order Here.

Delineation

When I draw with lead pencil I general do a very light sketch first, very light. After this I then go to the center of the paper and start to align all of the elements of the scene on to the paper. This is a rather geometric task but has to be done to align everything. When working with architectural subject this is imperative. After all of the elements have been aligned I then start the process of “sculpting out” the image of the major structures in the skyline. Once I have these in place then I can proceed to delineation of the main buildings and use contour lines where necessary. I generally do not use contour lines excessively as they can flatten your images. Finally, when the delineation is complete I work in the shade and shadows.

Shade & Shadows

The best way to acquire good tonal range with pencil and charcoal is through slow and gradual pressure on the pencil to the paper so as to increase pressure. With the pressure comes a darker line that can be gently smeared to cast shadows and shading. Unlike pen & inks where you make use of hatching and cross-hating to cast all of your shading and shadows. Make shade and shadows with pencil can be similar for sure, but then you can gradually apply pressure and rub it along the paper to a wider range. This is something that you cannot do with pen & inks, for the are strictly and on/off standard.

Philadelphia Skyline Art Link

Philadelphia skyline art

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Philadelphia skyline pen & ink drawing of downtown, Philadelphia skyline pen & inks

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

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Philadelphia Skyline Art #171Z

Philadelphia skyline watercolor

This article is about Philadelphia skyline art and prints, 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.The city of brotherly love and the beginning of our great nation, this is Philadelphia! I grew up always loving this great city. I was, and still am, a lover of Classical music, and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy was unsurpassed. When I was 16 I did a 40″ x 40″ oil canvas of him, and it is still hanging in my home to this day.

Architecture

The city of Philadelphia is a vast metropolis dedicated to the spirit of progress. This hold especially true for it’s urban planning and development. FDR Park is a model inner city park that has set the standard for the rest of the United States. Running along the Schuylkill River FDR Park is a haven from the hustle and bustle of this giant city. In the background loom the towering skyscrapers the make up the world famous Philadelphia skyline.

Philadelphia Skyline Art Categories

I have produced the skylines of Philadelphia skyline art into three categories: Drawings, Pen & Inks, and Watercolors.

Drawings of Philadelphia Skyline Art

Philadelphia charcoal skyline drawing along the Schuylkill River.
Charcoal skyline drawing of downtown Philadelphia on the Schuylkill River by artist Stephen F. Condren.

I have always been at home with a pencil in my hand. There is a poetry with the drawing of an image that you see directly. It is just you and the pencil, like a poet jotting down verses. The elements of the scene naturally come out of my mind and on to the paper through the pencil. The lead is soft and hard, thus you can use it to make various degrees of light and dark for shade and shadows.

Pen & Inks of Philadelphia Skyline Art

Philadelphia Skyline Pen & Ink Drawing on the Schuylkill River.
Philadelphia Skyline Pen & Ink Drawing of the downtown district along the banks of the Schuylkill River by artist Stephen F. Condren.

The pen in my hand is second nature to me. There is something about pen & ink that I cannot explain except that it is second nature to me. I very much enjoy the process of moving the pen along the paper and have the ink gently follow out on to the paper, it is almost magical.

Watercolors of Philadelphia Skyline Art

Philadelphia skyline watercolor painting of skyscrapers at sunset.
Philadelphia Skyline Watercolor at sunset by artist Stephen F. Condren.

The translucent quality of watercolor naturally lend themselves to architectural subjects. The beauty with watercolors is that it give you the best of both worlds, the linear and color. Architectural subjects are very well suited to watercolors as you can draw out the fine details with pen & ink or pencil and then go over the drawing with water.

Skyline Art Link

Skyline art

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Philadelphia skyline watercolors, Philadelphia skyline drawings, Philadelphia 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 Watercolor Painting At Sunset #040Z

Philadelphia skyline watercolor painting of skyscrapers at sunset.

This article is about Philadelphia skyline #040Z Watercolor Painting At Sunset, 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 watercolor painting of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, skyline at sunset.

Philadelphia Skyline Watercolor Painting At Sunset #792. Key points of this painting are as follows:

  • Time of day.
  • Watercolor paint.
  • Horizon line.
  1. Time of day: It is dusk and the sun is preparing to set. This is the time of day that the sky takes on it’s greatest range of colors. However, since this time is at the end of the day you are dealing with a short window of time to accomplish your task of capturing the colors and cloud formation that you need. It is amazing in how just a few moments the color of the sky can greatly change, thus you have to be prepared to paint quickly.
  2. Watercolor paint: I have chosen watercolor paint rather than quash or oils because of the fresh and lucent appearance that it offers and also because of this lucent quality watercolor works will with pen & ink, not clouding up the integrity of the ink pigment.
  3. Horizon line: The horizon line is low in this painting because I want the sky to set the tone of the work of art. The skyline is beautifully rendered when it has such a gracious and warm backdrop to give it support.

Philadelphia Skyline Watercolors Link

Philadelphia skyline watercolors

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

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Philadelphia Skyline Watercolor Painting At Sunset #039Z

Philadelphia skyline watercolor

This article is abut Philadelphia skyline #039Z Watercolor Painting At Sunset, 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 watercolor painting of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, skyline at sunset. The downtown of Philadephia offers one of the finest city centers in the country, for it has a vast array of hotels, shops, night clubs, and museums. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is one of the finest art museums in the United States and has an encyclopedic scope of a collection. Prints & Scans Of This Watercolor #039Z ~ Order Here.

Key elements to this painting are as follows:

  • The focus.
  • Perspective.
  • Time of day.
  1. The focus: The focus naturally is the downtown of Philadelphia, which boast one of the most robust skylines in the United States. I have carefully executed the delineation of the pen & ink detailing of the buildings that make up the skyline. I had to do enough line work to give credibility to the appearance of the structures, while at the same time not detail too much so as to let the watercolor have it’s turn at expressing the scene.
  2. Perspective: This scene is done in One Point Perspective, a method of drafting that has all the lines that are parallel to the picture plane vanish to the viewer eye on the horizon line. This perspective works will for this scene for the height of the buildings is more significant than their girth. Though you cannot directly see the vanishing points as you would on a drafting table or CAD screen, you can still understand the substance of the structures because of the One Point Perspective.
  3. Time of day: It is sunset and the beauty of the sun is now showing at it’s best. Directly below the skyscrapers is FDR Park with lush landscaping making for natural beauty in the heart of the city. To my delight is the Classical Gazebo in the bottom right corner of the painting. I have detailed the structure of the gazebo in such a way as to let is show off the Classical theme that the park offers. I am very pleased with the handling of the hatching for the shade and shadows of the building.

Philadelphia Skyline Watercolors Link

Philadelphia skyline watercolors

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

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Philadelphia Skyline Charcoal Drawing With FDR Park #038Z

Philadelphia skyline drawings

This article is about Philadelphia skyline #038Z Charcoal Drawing with FDR 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 charcoal pencil drawing of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, skyline.

Philadelphia Skyline Charcoal Drawing with FDR Park #803. The following are important characteristics of the work of art:

  1. The drawing is done with charcoal pencil.
  2. The focus of the drawing is the dominion of the skyscrapers over the scene.
  3. The use of soft and light tones in the shading and shadowing of the drawing.

This drawing is done with soft leaded charcoal pencils that have been sharpened with a simple small artist’s sharpener that I keep with my drawing supplies. I have used charcoal rather than regular studio drawing pencils because of the soft line that is leaves with morsels of charcoal crumbs which can be seen close up. Also, the line is darker than that of standard lead pencils.

The focus of the drawing is of course, the skyscrapers of downtown Philadelphia. Here we see a strongly gather cluster of buildings juxtaposed with one another to form an elegant and gracious city scene.

Below in FDR Park, the Classical gazebo can be clearly seen, nestled in with the trees and landscape. In this drawing I have made a point not to intensify the shade and shadows around the gazebo because any darkness in that peripheral area will take away from the main focus of the drawing with are the towering skyscrapers. Rather, I have nicely shaded the gazebo in a tonal range that compliments the large trees to the left side and center of the drawing. In that way I have balance the “table” so to speak that this cityscape had a firm platform to that it can rest upon.

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

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Philadelphia Skyline Charcoal Drawing Of Downtown #037Z

Philadelphia charcoal skyline drawing along the Schuylkill River.

This article is about Philadelphia skyline #037Z Charcoal Drawing Of 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 charcoal pencil drawing of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, skyline. Prints & Scans Of This Drawing #037Z ~ Order Here.

Philadelphia Skyline Charcoal Drawing Of Downtown #802. The key points of the drawing are as follows:

  1. The use of charcoal pencil.
  2. The use of 2-point perspective.
  3. Building structural detailing.

The use of charcoal pencil had added a soft touch to the bold Philadelphia skyline. The line work give a gentle distribution of tones and line weight throughout the drawing. There is almost no use of hatching of any kind, but rather even fine single strokes that are applied carefully one next to the other so as to yield firmness and strength to a very strong skyline. Few cities in the United States can boast of such bold and robust cityscape.

The use of 2-point perspective can easily be seen here. The vanishing point of the left side is far off from the surface of the picture plane, whereas the vanishing point of the right side is within view but still off of the picture plane. The right side vanishing point is the dominant one as it permits us to see into the elements of the city.

The gathering of the skyscrapers into this formidable cluster clearly bespeaks strength and grandeur. When you sit back and just look at the drawing you can see how firmly the city rest upon the banks of the Schuylkill River.

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

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Philadelphia Skyline Charcoal Drawing of Downtown & FDR Park #036Z

Philadelphia skyline #799A charcoal cityscape drawing is popular because of the gazebo in FDR Park.

This article is about Philadelphia skyline #036Z Charcoal Drawing of Downtown & FDR 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 the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, skyline. Prints & Scans Of This Drawing #036Z ~ Order Here.

Philadelphia Skyline Charcoal Drawing of Downtown & FDR Park #799. The key features of the work of art are as follows:

  1. The bold outline forms created by charcoal.
  2. The tight cluster of skyscrapers.
  3. Shade and shadows.

The most striking element of this drawing are the soft bold lines created by the charcoal pencil. I highlighted the background of the Classical Gazebo, or “folly” as the Brits would call it, to give depth of field to the park which supports the towering skyline.

The four skyscrapers that loom over FDR Park stand as guardians of this great city that is the birthplace of freedom and democracy in our great nation.

The only use of cross hatching employed in this drawing is that of the shade and shadow behind the gazebo, otherwise the bold contour lines of the office buildings are rendered in solid form with firm single strokes from the charcoal pencil.

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA

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Philadelphia Skyline Charcoal Drawing Of Downtown #035Z

Philadelphia skyline #798A charcoal cityscape drawing is popular because of the beauty of FDR Park.

This article is about Philadelphia Skyline #035Z Charcoal Drawing Of 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 is my charcoal drawing of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, skyline. Prints & Scans Of This Drawing #035Z ~ Order Here.

Philadelphia Skyline Charcoal Drawing Of Downtown #798. Key features of this drawing are as follows.

  1. The drawing is done in charcoal pencil.
  2. The skyscrapers and not the landscape are the focus.
  3. No cross hatching is done.

The most important element of this charcoal drawing is the line work. This is the entire reason for the drawing. It was my task to bring out the images of Philadelphia in charcoal, which is softer in appearance then other mediums such as pen & ink, pencil, or stylus.

The landscape of FDR Park is the setting for the cluster of towering skyscrapers that dominate the Philadelphia skyline. The bold and solid line weight of the charcoal enhance the dominion of these towering giants.

Stephen F. Condren ~ Artist

312-303-0207

School of the Art Institute of Chicago ~ BFA