Painting buildings in watercolor

152 Pages·1994·31.28 MB·English

by  Bye

Painting
Buildings
WATERCOLOR
IN
How
to create expressive paintings ofhistoric buildings, village scenes,
private residences and vanishing architectural treasures.
RANULPH BYE
TAINTING BUILDINGS
INWATERCOLOR
If you're like most watercolorists, you find
buildings to be intriguing paiming subjects.
But they also present some intriguing painting
challenges! This book will help you master
those challenges, showing you how to paint
watercolor landscapes that feature a wide vari-
ety ofbuildings, houses and structures. You'll
learn to capture the unique character of these
structures while avoiding the lifeless look of
anarchitectural rendering.
Aseriesofeight step-by-step demonstrations
teaches you how to make accurate, but lively
pictures of the buildings and houses you find
inyourowncommunity. You'll learnhowto:
Discover and appreciate the potential for
great paintings present in the houses and
buildingsaroundyou.
Make sketches to record the details of a
scene.
Make perspective work for you rather
than againstyou.
Use color to capture the quality of light
and time ofday.
Create interesting textures with some
unusual techniques.
Compose a striking painting using dra-
matic lightsand darks.
Capture the unique qualities of local
architecture without becoming "corny"
orcontrived.
Paint a variety of structures including
railroad stations, Victorian mansions, old
mills and factories, covered bridges,
lighthouses, churches, farm buildings
and landmarks.
BOSTON
PUBLIC
LIBRARY

PAINTING BUILDINGS
IN WATERCOLOR
DetailofCommercial Block, Ossining, NewYork (c. 1876)
Painting Buildings
WATERCOLOR
IN
RANULPH BYE
NORTHLIGHTBOOKS
CINCINNATI,OHIO
BRIGHTON
About the Author
RanulphByewasbominPrinceton, NewJersey, butgrew County, Pennsylvania, which is the home ofsome ofthe
upinSwarthmore,Pennsylvania,asuburbofPhiladelphia. nation's most beautiful Colonial architecture. His paint-
He graduated from the Philadelphia College ofArt (now ings of the "vanishing railway depot" both in Bucks
known as the University of the Arts) and also attended Countyandbeyond, are treasured fortheirartisticaswell
the An Students League in New York under Frank Du- as historic value. Fifteen ofthe "vanishing depot" paint-
mond andWilliam Palmer. Inhis earlyyears, Byeworked ings are in the collection of the Smithsonian Museum of
inhis father'sartrestorationbusiness andduringhisstint History and Technology. Eleven are in the collection of
in theAirForcewasingreat demandasaportraitpainter. the William Penn Museum in Harrisburg.
Bye taught paintingand drawingat the Moore College Thispaintingseriesled toabook, TheVanishingDepot,
ofArt in Philadelphia for thirty years. He was elected to in 1973. A second book, Victorian Sketchbook, was pub-
the American Watercolor Society in 1953 and in 1975 lished in 1980. Bye currently lives with his wife in Me-
became an Associate ofthe NationalAcademyofDesign. chanicsville, Pennsylvania,wherehecontinuestoseekout
He is most closely associated with the area of Bucks and paint interesting architectural subjects.
PaintingBuildingsinWatercolorcopyright© 1994byRanulphBye.
Printedandboundin HongKong. Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthis
bookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyanyelectronicormechani-
calmeansincludinginformationstorageandretrievalsystemswithout
permission inwriting from the publisher, except byareviewer, who METRIC CONVERSION CHART
mayquotebriefpassagesinareview.PublishedbyNorthLightBooks,
animprintofF&WPublications,Inc., 1507DanaAvenue,Cincinnati, TOCONVERT TO MULTIPLYBY
Ohio45207. 1-800-289-0963. Firstedition. Inches Centimeters 2.54
Centimeters Inches 0.4
98 97 96 95 94 5 4 3 2 1 Feet Centimeters 30.5
Centimeters Feet 0.03
LibraryofCongressCatalogingin PublicationData
Yards Meters 0.9
Meters Yards 1.1
Bye, Randulph
Paintingbuildingsinwatercolor/byRanulphBye. Sq. Inches Sq. Centimeters 6.45
p. cm. Sq. Centimeters Sq. Inches 0.16
Includesindex. Sq. Feet Sq. Meters 0.09
ISBN 0-89134-512-4 Sq. Meters Sq. Feet 10.8
1. Buildingsinart. 2.Watercolorpainting—Technique. I.Title. Sq.Yards Sq. Meters 0.8
ND2310.B94 1994
Sq. Meters Sq.Yards 1.2
751.42'244-dc20 93-2358
Pounds Kilograms 0.45
CIP
Kilograms Pounds 2.2
Ounces Grams 28.4
EditedbyRachelWolfandKathyKipp
DesignedbyBrian Roeth Grams Ounces 0.04
Dedication
Anotherbook for Glenda
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank a number of people—family and
friends—who helped me write this book, particularly
Stewart Biehl, who encouraged me from the beginning
and whose recommendation to the publishers steered a
goodwordforsuchabook. I thankmywife, Glenda,who
provided the impetus 1 needed to bring this book to real-
ity. I also appreciate the helpful advice and assistance of
my editors, Rachel Wolf and Greg Albert, and my step-
daughter, Sherri Reeves, who typed much ofthe finished
manuscript.
Detail ofNewHopeStation, NewHope, Pennsylvania