Skyline Prints #132K is an article about cityscape reproductions, 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 skyline prints are great, their reproductions are great!
Watercolor skyline painting of downtown Omaha at sunset by artist Stephen F. Condren.Charcoal skyline drawing of downtown Philadelphia in FDR Park by artist Stephen F. Condren.
This fine pen & ink drawing of the Chicago skyline is seen from Monroe Harbor looking west. At the bottom of the drawing is the costal shoreline of the harbor up against Grant Park. This rendering is a segment of the large skyline of Chicago. On the left side of the drawing is the Midcontinental Plaza and to the right side of the drawing is the Aon Center on East Randolph Street.
Cityscape
Horizon
The drawing lends itself as a natural harbor city scene. At the center of the drawing, just above the water, are the trees that comprise the gardens of Grant Park. To the left of this area, and on seen in the drawing, is the famous illuminated Buckingham Fountain. This cityscape drawing is one of a series that I have done in pen & ink because this is a great city. Chicago has the second largest downtown in the country outside of Manhattan Island.
Drawings
Renderings
This cityscape drawing is done in pen & ink with a fine tip nib. I like doing a close-up rendering of the city because you can then recognize the different building much better. When you draw the skylines from a distance all you see is the outline of the city, rather than the individual buildings.
Skylines, Cityscapes, And City Scene Genres
Below are three links to genres of skylines and cityscapes that I have done to help you understand my process:
This article is about skyline art and cityscape art are the artistic expression of metropolitans areas and cities the world over, 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 skyline of a city is the unique barcode image of that site, and lets you know immediately what city it is. As a native of Chicago, I have grown up with famous towering skyscrapers and learned to love them. My father owned the 10 story Silver Smith Building at 10 South Wabash, in downtown Chicago. The Silversmith Building was designed by Peter J. Weber of D.H. Burnham & Company. I have made it my focus here at Condren Galleries Ltd., to categorize my skyline art. The categories are divided into four distinct groups; watercolors, pen & inks, drawings, and oils.
Chicago Skyline Pen & Ink Drawing At Night
Architecture
When I first started out in college I had wanted to be an architect. I was Mr. Pierce’s best student in his drafting class at Naperville Central High School. It was here that is where I aspired to be an architect. However, as time passed I saw my true calling of Art. I pursued studies in Architecture taking the required courses. Structural Detailing, Engineering Graphics, and Architectural Delineation classes at the College of DuPage, in Glenn Ellen, Illinois. It was in Mr. Jorgenson’s class on Architectural Rendering that I did the famous Loeb Mansion, renderings of the Leopold & Loeb murder trial of 1924 with Clarence Darrow. These renderings are now in the collection of the Chicago History Museum.
USS Midway CV-41
After my studies at the College of DuPage, I took time off to serve in the United States Navy. I was stationed aboard the aircraft carrier, The USS Midway CV-41. While on board I was appointed as the ship’s artist and did all of the artwork for the ship Cruise Book. This gave me the opportunity to draw the portaits of the Admiral, Captain, many other officer’s and crew in their respective trades on board the ship. All of the artwork that I did for the cruise book was done in pen & ink. Unfortunately, due to the printing process and publication I was told that the original works of art when submitted would not be returned to me. I knew that I would never see these works of art again, but I am pleased that they could be used for the publication which is eternal.
School Of The Art Institute Of Chicago
Upon my honorable discharge from the Navy I got married and then matriculated to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. While at the Art Institute I majored in Drawing and Painting and I never looked back. I learned a tremendous amount at the Art Institute and I always look back on the wonderful year. While I was there, I had the blessing to attend with my aunt Marie Schoonhoven (my mother’s sister). Aunt Marie was an artist the focused on prints and etchings. At the Art Institute I bloomed as an artist.
College Instructor &Â Applied Technology High School Teacher
Within a few years I was asked to join the faculty of the College of Lake County to teach Architectural Rendering and Engineering Graphics. In later years I became certified public High School Teacher. This time really honed my skills as an expert teacher and architectural draftsman & illustrator. In those year I did many projects for Architects and Engineers. The impact of all these thing further enhanced my drafting skills. I have now combined my drafting skills with my Fine Art. The impact of the this union of skills are wonderful architectural skylines.
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Watercolor of Chicago skyline at sunset.
Skyline Art ~ Watercolors
Watercolors have always been a favorite medium of mine in any subject area, and skyline have truly work here for me. The wonderful thing about watercolor is that they are translucent. Thus, you can work with pen & ink or pencil in conjunction with the watercolor to give linear qualities to the skylines. The watercolors give a whole new dimension to the work of skyline art.
Pen & ink drawing of Houston skyline.
Skyline Art ~ Pen & Inks
Pen & inks are my favorite mode of artistic expression, when I hold a pen in my hand I feel like a poet. The wonderful thing about pen & ink is that it is immediate and the impact of the image that you make with them is strong. The pen & inks make excellent reproductions with their bold linework. I make use of hatching and cross-hatching to work the various degrees of shade and shadows. The high contrast nature of pen & inks lend themselves to a strength of line that cannot be matched by pencil. Charcoal can match the degree of darkness but never the fine lines. This strong line work is ideal when drawing architectural images for they bring out the fine ornamental details and contour lines.
Atlanta skyline pencil drawing of downtown at night.
Skyline Art ~ Drawings
Drawings are the very core of my life. When I touch the paper with my pencil I am instantaneously in one spirit with it, an almost existential experience. The unique thing about pencil drawing is that they make use of a long series of shades. You can draw a building and then play with the gradual diminishing of the lead to make the light move into darkness.
Atlanta Skyline Oils At Night.
Skyline Art ~ Oils
Oils are the most difficult medium to work with when it comes to painting skylines for you cannot really delineate as you can with pen & inks and pencil. I treat oils as though they were pencils in a sense and work with the gradual transition of colors and tones, not delineation. When it comes to skylines it is difficult to surpass Manhattan and Chicago.
Many of my skyline have been use for closing gifts by Realtors and for presentations to Architects and Banks for new construction. Coupled with skylines are house portaits which are a popular housewarming gift.
This article is about Chicago skyline 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.
This article is about Chicago skyline #085Z color pencil drawing with 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. This is my color pencil drawing of the Chicago, Illinois, skyline of the near north side with the John Hancock Center. Focus is on the color pencil medium. The color pencil lines give a strength to the drawing because the line work clarifies the architectural elements. Also, the use of many different colors make the body of the drawing more robust and finished. The color from the pencils also provide an excellent enhancement to the tones of the setting sun.
John Hancock Center: The John Hancock Center is a large scale office building and high rise residence. This building is the anchor of this color pencil drawing of the Chicago skyline. The John Hancock Center, which stands firmly behind. The Drake Hotel and the Palmolive Building, both historic gems of Chicago architecture.
Construction: Originally, the construction of the John Hancock Center was planned to be a complex with two separate towers connected by the parking helix. However, the Casino Club on the north east corner of the property would not sell. Thus there was not enough land area to build the tow towers and so redesigned the plaza to house the giant single story building that we all know so well today.
