Introducing another piece in my abandoned building series
Happy Spring my friends! It is no secret that I am passionate about saving historic buildings. I consider them works of art and after all, architecture is about people. Our built history is created by people and it is people that give life to brick and mortar. Instead, one of the key reasons I created my coffee table book, Hand Painted Homes - An Artist's Pen and Watercolor Journey Across America, (which I released in 2021) was to raise awareness of the fact that hundreds of historic homes and buildings are being torn down every day in this country. I decided to document beautiful vintage structures before it was too late. Sadly, many of the homes that I feature in my book, no longer stand today. Last August I moved…
The Despair of Abandoned Homes
Happy Valentine’s Day friends! It is no secret that I have a love affair with saving historic buildings. I consider them works of art and after all, architecture is about people. Our built history is created by people and it is people that give brick and mortar life. I moved to St. Louis seven months ago knowing that one of the biggest problems confronting this city is abandoned homes and buildings. And while the city and preservation advocates have worked diligently over the years to improve this situation, today out of a total of 129,500 properties, a whopping 25,000 are considered vacant and abandoned. As I drive around the city, it breaks my heart to see crumbling and discarded buildings, however their beauty and form can still be seen behind…
Watercolor House Portraits Celebrating Autumn
Welcome to Fall! It is now officially fall, and while we hate to say goodbye to summer, there is so much magic to be found in Autumn! Homes surrounded in golden color are so artistically inspiring. I stopped and thought about what I love most about Autumn and why it is so enchanting. I’ve also collected some of my original house portraits from all across the United States that truly celebrate the beauty of the season. This is what I came up with… I love the way the earth is transformed from lush green to golden shades of Autumn color. I love the falling leaves and the sound of crisp leaves rolling against the pavement. . . [caption id="attachment_31696" align="aligncenter" width="1990"] Bristol, VA[/caption] [caption id="attachment_6561" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Kensington, MD[/caption] I love…
A Happy Ever After Story of a Home. . .
From train wreck to grand painted lady! I get to meet a lot of great houses with my occupation, but I also have the pleasure of meeting many wonderful homeowners. This is one such homeowner in Wilmette, Illinois. The beginning of their “once upon a time’ story was July 7, 1995, when Tim and his wife Pam took on a dilapidated Victorian built in 1893. The home had unfortunately been stripped of virtually all its charming Victorian “gingerbread” features. And like others who tackle such a herculean task, the couple battled through whatever was thrown at them to make their home beautiful once more – while bringing up a family at the same time. Here's how their home looked when they purchased it. [caption id="attachment_31468" align="aligncenter" width="500"] The forlorn looking…
Celebrating Victorian Era Architecture
Happy Birthday Queen Victoria! Today we celebrate the birthday of Queen Victoria, who was born on May 24, 1819. She became queen at the tender age of 18 and gave the Victorian era its name. During her six-decade rule she was responsible for the creation of the British Empire, becoming one of Britain’s most famous monarchs. Description of Victorian Architecture Victorian architecture is an over-riding term that describes the many ornate architectural styles that came into being during Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 to 1901. Likewise, the Victorian era of architecture includes several different styles, including Gothic Revival, Greek Revival, Shingle, Second Empire, Folk Victorian, Romanesque Revival, Queen Anne and Italianate style. The Victorian era is marked with decorative details and ornamentation, rejecting the practical simplicity of previous architectural eras.…
Architectural paintings of homes – Before & After
Some of my most challenging watercolor house portraits . . . I'm making a plug for all artists who like me, make their living from ORIGINAL hand-crafted one of a kind art. Yes I am talking about the "old-school" way of doing things where only ONE painting was created of a subject, brought about by the skilled hands of artists and crafts-people alike. People today often talk about simply "photo-shopping" things away, or creating "digitally-modified" art. My view is that while this is the "easy" way to do things, there is too much reliance on this route. Here one good reason why. Have a look at this stunning Queen Anne home in Alameda CA which I recently completed. It was built in the 1870's and has been in the family…
House Portrait of a Denver Ranch Home
Transformation of a Denver home - inside and out! I had pretty well wrapped up my series of portraits of Denver homes but decided to review the collection one more time. There were Victorians, Tudors, lots of Craftsman, Colonial Revivals, Spanish Revivals, Cape Cod, Dutch Renaissance a few tasteful contemporary homes. . . then it stuck me, there was no Ranch style home! And yet, Denver, like all bigger cities across the USA, has an abundance of this practical, family oriented home. Ranch homes sometimes get dismissed as common cookie cutter homes you would expect in equally bland suburbs. But this is absolutely not the case if you look a little closer. Ranch homes can not only be stylishly stunning, but very welcoming too. Especially if the right owner comes…