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Above: A full-scale detail of a section of Vanderbilt Gate at
Conservatory Gardens in New York's Central Park. The watercolor is six feet
long and nearly 2 feet high (available).
Top left: A full-scale elevation of the New York City trash basket in the atelier. Bottom left: Detail of the framing of a watercolor of a limestone bas-relief (available). Top right: The finished watercolor, today in the collection of The New-York Historical Society. Bottom right: The head of a mute swan, detail of a watercolor in Central Park (available). |
Available WatercolorsA sampling of available watercolors appears below, ranging in price from $3000 to $7000. For further information, e-mail us to inquire about specific watercolors. Note also that available watercolors appear throughout this site and are noted as such in captions.Notes on TechniqueA number of ideas have influenced the creation of our watercolors. The earliest and deepest influences are not actually architectural, but botanical and wildlife, drawings. From natural-history illustration comes an intense realism and attention to detail, as well as the white ground, which in the case of architecture both underscores the often expressive outlines of buildings and ornaments and serves to focus the viewer's eye without distraction. Depicting an object in elevation is in a sense more real than reality, since by definition an elevation is a perfectly scaled depiction of an object and thus a pure abstraction: one can never view an object in this way.As most buildings we depict are either destroyed or have been severely altered, we begin with period documents—plans if they exist, engraved or painted views and period writings. The process of drawing reconstructions effectively retraces the original architect's design process; all available information is weighed and sifted, then synthesized in initial sketches. The plan is paramount and elevations are generated from it. The drawings are refined and detailed as various discrepancies in structure, materials or proportion are addressed. Once finalized, the elevation is drafted on Arches 300 lb. hot-press paper and painted solely in watercolor. FramingAll watercolors are framed and we take great care to assure the most appropriate, well-protected presentation possible. Each drawing is signed on the verso and matted with archival materials, usually with French mats in subdued colors that complement the tonalities of the drawing, enriched with China ink framing lines and gold fillets. Frames are usually gilt period profiles— the design, scale and finish again determined by the qualities of the watercolor, and are hand-gilt and finished with true gold leaf.Central Park watercolors are framed in a contemporary manner. When used, mats are off-white museum board; frames are ebonized wood in abstracted American Empire profiles. The largest works are supported by a frame chassis. Within weeks after being painted, watercolors "fall" in intensity—colors mellow, some dramatically (these are known as fugitive pigments). After about a month, their values stabilize. With experience, we have adapted our technique to compensate for this eventuality, working at higher intensity and saturation to ensure that the drawings stabilize with the richness of color and saturation we intend. |
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15 x 19 in. framed |
(destroyed) 26 x 22 in. framed |
 14 in. square |
24 x 18 in. framed |
15 x 19 in. framed |
Schwarzenberg Palace, Vienna (destroyed), 14 x 19 in. framed |