*

*
Pecos Pueblo

Saturday, October 28, 2023

Two watercolors by architects


Two watercolors by architects. I have recently purchased these two paintings by relatively unknown architects. I love the artwork produced by architects because their draftsmanship and attention to detail is non pareil.  Pardon me but both pictures were taken through glass and there is some glare.

The first watercolor is by the late Northern California designer Fred E. Brooks (1914-1992). He was a partner in the Sacramento firm Rickey and Brooks and an early member of the NSID. 

It depicts a pier in San Luis Bay, Avila Beach that is no longer extant. 

This is a classical way to paint watercolor, from the school of Sheets, Kosa and Phil Dyke. 

I love the perspective on the small figures in the distance and the way he uses the large pier silhouette in full shadow compositionally. 

Notice the bleed in the shadowed structure. Difficult to do and perfect. 

Work from this artist is scarce but everything I have seen has a wonderful clean and modern feeling.



The other watercolor is a view painted during the construction of the Hoover Dam by Doyt Early (1900-1992). 

It was painted on February 12, 1935 and shows the third tower under construction. 

His painting style is far less classical but I like how rather than painting the cables, he omitted pigment from those specific areas. 

You can see his excellent pencil work in the boom coming over the spillway to the right. Early had a degree from Ohio State from seven years earlier, 1925 and was known for his prints of bridges. 

He lived in the Monterey area and built one room schoolhouses across rural California until his retirement in 1960.

No comments: