Home Portrait Continued

July 13, 2008

Well, I think for the most part this portrait is completed. I've added the driveway rock center, added shadows from the trees across the driveway and planted the hostas and grass in the foreground.

The foreground tree has been quite a challenge. It has enough detail to add interest to the portrait but I've had to be careful that it doesn't steal the show. I have a bit of gardening to do to plant some hostas around the roots and the driveway is left to do. Getting closer!

I've started working on the foreground tree here. The leaves are canopied to lead the eye to the house.

Here is an update to my current drawing. it's been slow developing but I really want to capture the wonderful details of this home. Springtime was a perfect time to take a photo as it allowed more open skies and the background trees are delicately placed in with light rendering.

The Many Faces of a Bridge

This is the view from my office. The Des Moines River has made national and international news this week for showing it's angry side. Over the past 11 years, I have seen the many personalities of this river and the bridge. The flood picture is from my window just yesterday morning…during the last trip in the building before they closed the area.

Here are just a few of the many faces of the Court Avenue Bridge and the Des Moines River…

Iowa Flooding

I have had a number of folks asking how I am faring through the Iowa flooding. I want to thank everyone for their checking up on me!

I am fine and my home is dry. However, my office building has made national news. It is located at 100 Court Avenue right next to the Des Moines River. It flooded on Wednesday evening, flooding out the Buzzard Billies Restaurant in the basement and destroying the power supply for the building. I have spent the past two days carrying servers, computers and printers out of the building and relocating to a temporary office space.

Here is an image from my office window just yesterday morning during my last trip in before they closed the area for evacuation....doesn't that look scary!? Just a few feet left before it goes over....

Home Portrait II

The landscaping really accentuates this house. Unique bushes decorate the front of the home.

After a slow start, I finally got into a rhythm of drawing the stones. Once I figured that out, the house has started to immerge on the paper.

The first step is to create a light outline of the structure and details. Placement and proportions are determined at this point. I then shade in the tone of the sky. This allows the white of the paper to be used only for the highlights.

I have been commissioned to draw another home portrait. This one is in Beaverdale and is a beautiful stone house. It has a lot of features that remind me of Frank Lloyd Wright designs.