Custom Watercolor House Portraits of Historic Illinois

Custom Watercolor House Portraits of Historic Illinois

House Portraits, News
Illinois architecture captured in my hand-painted house portraits  The “Prairie State” of Illinois runs from urban in the north to rural in the south, and this diversity extends to Illinois’ architecture. The most obvious examples of Illinois' architectural variety can be found in the state's largest city -- Chicago. After the Chicago Fire of 1871, the city went on to influence the nation with its architectural innovation and originality. The  heritage of Illinois found in their historic homes and buildings  Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, achieved statehood in 1818. Its largest and most populous city, Chicago, became a booming metropolis due to its prime location on Lake Michigan and connection to eastern ports via the Erie Canal. In the second half of the 19th century, the need for workers in…
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House portraits of childhood homes and keeping special memories alive . . .

House portraits of childhood homes and keeping special memories alive . . .

House Portraits
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…
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The love of front porches and watercolor porch paintings

The love of front porches and watercolor porch paintings

House Portraits, News
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…
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Summer Gardens and House Portrait Give-Away!

Summer Gardens and House Portrait Give-Away!

House Portraits, News
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…
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My growing international house portrait collection

My growing international house portrait collection

House Portraits, News
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…
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Introducing another piece in my abandoned building series

Introducing another piece in my abandoned building series

Historic Perservation, House Portraits, New Art, News
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…
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The Despair of Abandoned Homes

The Despair of Abandoned Homes

Historic Perservation, House Portraits, New Art, News
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…
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A Happy Ever After Story of a Home. . .

A Happy Ever After Story of a Home. . .

Historic Perservation, House Portraits, News
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…
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Celebrating Victorian Era Architecture

Celebrating Victorian Era Architecture

Historic Perservation, House Portraits, News
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.…
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Architectural paintings of homes – Before & After

Architectural paintings of homes – Before & After

House Portraits, News
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…
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