Stinkin Tree Watercolor Studies

Early studies 1 & 2

About two months ago before the leaves arrived I spent alot of time
painting tree compositions.  So much so my two boys soon grew tired of the subject matter.  They called them "My Stinkin' Trees"  thus the name for this series of which I show a few here.

Wherever I looked I saw intriguing possibilities to study figure ground, the upward sweep of tree branches yearning for the sun's warmth.  Last year I spent a great deal of time sketching tiny pencil drawings in my Moleskin sketchbook which percolated for almost a year until one I needed to explore what I was walking by everyday and taking pictures of with my camera.  Call it an obsession or call it looking closely and learning to love what surrounds us.

Thus began a number of watercolor interpretations of natural and arranged scenes from the woods out behind our house to traveling on snow covered back roads in the hills around Montpelier.  I studied various color combinations with this work, along with gradations and various techniques involving intermingling of more sedimentary colors such as burnt sienna or prussian blue with transparent ones like cobalt blue for example.  Click on the individual images and zoom in to see what I mean.

Blue Yellow Study

Each image was a meditative experience for me providing a medium by which I could relax in the evening when the kids had gone to bed or on the weekend during calmer times.  There's nothing more joyful than participating in the interaction of water + color on paper and reveling in  how each image is it's own unique experience while resonating to over arching exploration of branches, figural space and implied shapes battling with abstraction.

The green blue study reads more abstractly as a series of lines or tree trunks cleared branches which were well overhead as these were larger more mature growth with more expansive trunks.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these.  More will follow from this series soon!

Green blue study

Net Zero House Watercolor Sketch, Work on the boards

Watercolor rendering by Stephen M. Frey, AIA

Design Process

I've been working on a house for a friend over the last half year.  Here's a recent watercolor sketch snippet of it. This post focuses on the design process of the watercolor sketch. 

3d Rendering by Bensonwood Homes

3-D to Watercolor

The 3-D perspective massing was built from a basic model from Bensonwood Homes which is collaborating with the owner and I on the project. They built it from the 2-D drawings I had created in AutoCADLT.  I imported it into Sketchup where I used it as an underlay with shade and shadow.   I created a pencil sketch where I embellished the finished materials such as siding, windows, and heavy wood timber framing followed by landscaping around the building showing how it fits generally to the site.  The building is partially about how it is situated in a clearing on a gentle mountain ridge with great views to the West.

Part of the fun of this kind of presentation sketch is creating a sense of heart and soul for the project through the act of rapidly synthesizing by hand site plan information, building orientation, and traditional architectural drawing info.  This avoids excessive computer modeling time noodling around with plantings, topography, contours, and model lighting within the computer.  For me, it's also about bringing the design idea, in this case, a home, to life through the hybrid actions of 3d modeling, hand drawing, and watercolor painting.

After creating the watercolor, then comes scanning the image into Photoshop and adjust the scan to match the liveliness of the watercolor work on paper.  I do this by manipulating contrast and tonality.  You can also touch up the image with color fills which I didn't do to help with shade and shadow.  Once you've scanned the image into the proverbial "box" there's lots you still do.  ....Or not which is the case here.

I'll be creating additional watercolor rendering images in the coming weeks of this project and sharing some of the backstory here.  What do you think about this drawing though?  Any suggestions on areas to improve?  Other techniques I should try?  Tell me about your favorite architectural illustration and why it was successful...or not so favorite.  What do you think about this composition?  Does it convey the idea I was hoping for?  Don't be shy.  I want to continue to learn and cultivate these abilities and compositional strategies. 

Interested in learning more? 

You can find us at www.arocordisdesign.com, the website of our Montpelier, Vermont-based residential architecture firm practice. If you want to contact us there, click on this link. 

#netzero #homedesign #arocordisdesign #vermont #vermontarchitect #architecture

Thunderbird Painting and a Memory with My Son

Watercolor Study of a Vintage Thunderbird

designcultivation fans, please enjoy this recent watercolor study of a car I painted with and for my younger son recently.  It started out as a photo I took at 4th of July Parade last summer.  He and I went to a local coffee shop where we hung out together.  He read a favorite book  and I drew this in pencil and began to paint this image for him filling in the basic shading and color fields.  I later finished it over the course of the next few days.

You know it amazes me when you really look at a photo and try to convey shade and shadow, reflection and colors, there's always something you missed upon a second, third and 15th look.  Now I see the proportions of the drawing are a little out of whack but hopefully the spirit of the car and the moment is there.  As is the memory of sharing this process with my Son!  Now I've got to figure out what to paint for my older son!

Exploring tonality_Ink washes and natural subjects

Here's some recent ink wash drawings I made over the last week or so. I recently picked up a Sumie Ink Wash brush and was enjoying trying it out on some subjects close at hand. I often am painting in full color with watercolor so working only in tones was a treat and very informative to me. With the Stones image, I found the ink wash behaved very differently on the 140 lb cold press watercolor paper than on the 90 lb drawing paper. On the heavier paper it blended so nicely and moved through the sizing in very interesting and somewhat unexpected ways.

On the lighter paper, with the Flowers,the ink wash laid more on the paper surface with a more spotty, dappled light effect. I had to layer successive wash tones atop one another to achieve a greater tonal range. But very interesting still the same. What do you think? Any suggestions?

I often believe all I need are stones, trees and water as my subject matter. The compositional and conceptual opportunities with just these three are endless and continually inspiring. I find relief not to be thinking about buildings but rather get lost in elements of the landscape such as these. I spend a lot of time designing buildings and spaces. I look to natural influences like these stones and flowers to provide respite and renewal emotionally, creatively and professionally.

Images of the Imaginary City and Waste Oil

A few years ago I painted this blue on blue image of any imaginary city with various levels of clarity. It's haunting blue coloration has stayed with me with it's simplicity and striking mood. When I was making it I was imagining how I felt during 9/11 which certainly wasn't very settled or happy, but rather downcast and confused, although now I can see I was trying to structure and control the uncontrollable with a composition of four figures against the sky.

Contrast this with the following more expressive painting of oil cans I made demonstrating the alternative and eirie beauty of painted words found on oil cans in Rutland, VT leaning against a Garage wall. I wanted to create a message with the piece causing the viewer to reflect on the

idea of beauty from such a ordinary and ugly fixture of our oil dependent society.

What are your thoughts or readings?

Sunday Poem

The sounds of the cello vibrate

loosening the chords of memory

bringing painful moments gingerly

to the open air

With gladness I greet them

finally able to see what I was missing

the darkness so obscured

the simple answers overlooked

Now what to do but to move on

with a knowing, tired smile

a warmer heart for sure

the music strenghthens dampened spirit

The dawn beckons with its light

here in the quiet darkness of night

oh, what to do but to write

bringing forth insights long dulled

Fingers on the bow poised for flight

Seaside Atmosphere Painting and Knowing When to Stop

In Watercolor, how to show mood or ambiance with minimal strokes or over-working a piece?

One idea I tried while taking a class with Frank Constantino, an architectural rendering and illustration and most of all artist mentor friend of mine, was to think of a mood or poetic, reverie type moment and attempt to convey it. Less is truly more in terms of strokes and a reduction of thinking and working a painting, something I often have trouble with.  

I found more here by strongly of thinking of a memorable image or combination of memories of places I've been to find this one image.   I held the gestalt in my mind while I began laying down initial light blue overall wash wetting the entire paper and then applying all of the successive  layers of color and washes.

While the image matured in the course of an half hour or so I slowed down and began to realize it was nearing completion and eventually stopped.  Working with the wetness of the paper and laying down colors is an unforgettable and engaging process.  When it's done, it's done.  It is very satisfying to know when to stop.

Building & Landscape Continued

This is dreamy watercolor I painted a few years ago where I was trying to blur the distinction between building and landscape.  The surrounding Vermont landscape with its multitude of barns, fields and tree inspired the imagery.

I used a flat brush to cut in the building shapes and dileneate roof lines and minimalist details.

A simple warm color palette was used with complimentary color highlights intermixing into the warm hues.  Designing building into the land and land into the buildings is no easy feat.  Careful attention to contours, earth work, adjacent vegetation and scale of elements intermixed with one another are critical. A balance of building form, mass, openings against adjacent natural is essential.  

Recent house design drawings

These watercolor studies illustrate a design showing a small lakeside dwelling with connections to the outside and evocative of natural rugged materials. The interior focuses on a substantial hearth and gathering area while allowing ample daylighting, gracious dining and being within nature.

Interested in learning more? 

You can find us at www.arocordisdesign.com, the website of our Montpelier, Vermont-based residential architecture firm practice. If you want to contact us there, click on this link. 

#netzero #homedesign #arocordisdesign #vermont #vermontarchitect #architecture

This is a study of a composite of some homes we're designing in our office in an idealized setting.