House portraits of childhood homes and keeping special memories alive . . .
Turning a battered old photo into a work of art No matter how insurmountable the task is, I hate to turn away a person who needs my help in capturing their family home . . . and all those treasured memories. Their goal is to memorialize the house the way it looked when they, their siblings, or parents, as the case may be, grew up there. As a house portrait will be in the family for generations to come, it's important to me to honor the true spirit of that special home. The circumstances are always different, but in many cases the home has now been sold to new owners and no longer looks anything like it did in the past. Or worse still, the family home, with all those…
The love of front porches and watercolor porch paintings
Watercolor portrait of a welcoming porch. . . One of the things I love most when I create watercolor paintings of homes, is to include welcoming front porches. I always take the time to add the unique details of each porch: the furniture, the bird feeder, wind chimes and more. From time to time, I am also asked to create commissioned watercolor porch paintings. If you investigate the past, front porches were the most welcoming feature of homes for more than 150 years – whether grand wrap-around verandas, second-floor balconies or simple covered sitting and resting spaces. They were also the treasured gathering place for families and friends. Way back in the early 1800’s, Andrew Jackson Downing – who was thought to be one of the founders of American landscape…
Summer Gardens and House Portrait Give-Away!
While summer color fades. . . a summer house portrait lasts a lifetime We enjoy life's garden. Life is the flower for which love is the honey. -- Victor Hugo I hope you are enjoying the magic of this time of warmth, color and growth. Being that I have now painted portraits of homes and historic buidings in every state across the USA, I can say that a pretty garden, lush trees and and lovely landscapng, makes all the difference when creating a portait of a…
My growing international house portrait collection
The Power of Word of Mouth . . . Since I began capturing the personalities of architectural subjects in pen and watercolor a decade ago, I have truly come to appreciate the power of word of mouth. Nothing makes we prouder to getting referrals from my clients and I would like to thank all of you who have helped spread the word about my work. As you know, my focus has been on architectural paintings of homes and historic buildings in all 50 states across the USA, and indeed my coffee table book, Hand Painted Homes: An Artist’s Pen and Watercolor Journey Across America, documents that story. However, I realized the other day that through word of mouth alone, I have now created over 20 commissioned paintings of interesting homes…
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…