This is about Watercolor house portraits #263Z, pen & ink drawings, which contains two renderings done for Realtor Megan Beechen, and written by artist Stephen F. Condren, BFA-SAIC, of Condren Galleries, a Fine Arts Gallery. Congratulations Megan Beechen!
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Properties Sold
544 Regal Lane, Bolingbrook, IL
1050 N. Ashbury, Bolingbrook, IL
Realtor
Megan Beechen
Real Estate Broker, Realty Executives Elite
| 630-632-5486 (Call or Text) |
| www.MeganBeechen.com |
| 15400 127th Street, Lemont, IL 60439 |
Pencil Drawing For Watercolor House Portrait #623Z
- Stylus Sketch
The very beginning of all house portraits starts with a fine line stylus sketch or drawing. Just like in Real Estate, so too in art, you have to have a foundation! The sketch is the basement for all practical purposes. As you can see from the image below the sketch does not offer much refined detail, in the same manner a basement is unfinished. Because the sketch is the starting point it is crucial for laying out the correct size, scale, and details of the house to be rendered.
This fine home is a two story house in traditional style. There is a bay window in the living room and a nice covered porch at the entry. The garage is attached to the side of the home. The second floor is the same size as the first and there is no third floor outside of an attic. The landscaping is handsome in that it offers a lovely stone wall to secure the boundaries of the front lawn and gardens. There is a large birch tree directly in front of the entry and a large maple on the right side of the property. These trees are both enclosed in the stone wall framework.
It is amazing how much information you can get form this simple sketch! Now the next step is to put the pen & ink to work.
Pen & Ink Drawing
- Stylus Sketch
The pen & ink drawings or stylus sketch is very demanding and also very unforgiving. When it come to drawing this is where you separate that men from the boys for you have to know what you are doing. There no room for error, when you put the pen & ink on the paper it is final, so you have to be sure that it is correct from the moment that you start.
Sketch As A Guide
Because pen & inks are so demanding you can appreciate the need for a sketch as a guide. To draw pen & ink on a blank sheep of paper is a whole different ballgame. As an artist, my clients demand and expect the best, as they are entitled to. These house portraits not only cost money they are a statement to the Realtor’s client. Therefore, it is serious business to do things right, and from the start.
As a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I am well educated on how to approach a work of art, which every house portrait it. Further, each house portrait is a commissioned work of art, thus the client is taking a risk that the rendering will be what he or she is expecting.
MLS Images
My approach to pen & ink renderings is to carefully take the pen and look at both the MLS list image and the paper. The funny thing about all of this is that I draw very quickly! It is difficult to explain, but as I see the image on the MLS page I only have moments to grasp that form and carry it over to the paper with my pen. For that reason, the longer that I take the more that I will forget. I need to move quickly. I carefully outline the entire structure and then start to fill in the detail.
Picture Plane
The thing that I draw first is the landscaping and any other object in the front of the picture plane. If you look at the pen & ink below you can see that the birch trees out front are going right up and not cut through with lines from the eaves of the house. This is because I had to layout the area for the trees before hand and leave that space blank for the trees. The same holds true for bushes and other object in front of the house.
Watercolor House Portrait
- Home Painting
Most importantly, the final step is applying the watercolor to make the house portrait or home painting. Just like the pen & inks, watercolor is also very demanding and very unforgiving. Once the brush touches the paper that is it! You cannot erase and when you attempt to rub it out with the paint brush the watercolor then look “worked”, a very bad and undesirable thing. Watercolor have to be fast and fresh.
Because you can see from my brush strokes below, they are worked together as I apply the paint. I put a few colors from my pallet on to the brush and then work them onto the paper. I never go over it and work it out. Light, fresh, and fast is the key to success!
Condren Galleries
- Fine Arts Gallery
I am honored that Megan commissioned me to do her renderings and I look forward to working with her again.
Note Cards and Housewarming Gifts
- JPEG & PDF Scans
Note cards and stationery as well as many other things can be made from the scans that I email to the Realtor. Simply email the scan to any local print shop and they can produce what ever you want. Scans are available JPEG & PDF formats.
Alt Image Tag
Watercolor house portrait #263Z