A Church in San Antonio

I forgot to write down the name of this church when I walked by and took a few pictures. I am trying to find it. Google has not worked so far...

Watercolor, 5 x 7 ", Fabriano Paper

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Elizabeth, NJ is my American hometown. Although I was born and raised in Portugal, when I came to the US, this is where I first arrived - after JFK International - in 1974 and where I lived for several years. So it feels like home. This landmark Cathedral is on 2nd St. in the Elizabethport area.

Watercolor, 5 x 7" Fabriano Paper

Mission San Francisco Solano

Going back to Sonoma, this is a tiny sketchbook entry from a trip to California many years ago.

Watercolor, 3x5 inches

Backyard

I found this quiet backyard near Montour Falls, N.Y. in the beautiful Finger Lakes area.

Watercolor, 10 x14", Arches Paper

Country Church

This was a practice sketch for this painting. It helped me plan out the value pattern. I learned from one of my favorite watercolorists, the late great John Pike, that it is always a good idea to have a plan for the value pattern (lights vs. darks). He always completed a pencil value sketch before starting on his gorgeous watercolors. This is especially important with watercolor because the transparent paint makes changes relatively difficult.

Having said that, I only do it once in a while because I am kind of lazy and I am always anxious to get the painting finished.

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Watercolor 5 x 7, Fabriano paper

Church of St. Mark

This small church caught my eye because of the two castle-like towers and also its interesting design. It is located near Highway 72 in South Collierville, TN.
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Watercolor 8x12", Fabriano Paper Rough

St. Mary's Cathedral

Memphis has many beautiful churches and this is just one example. I chose fall colors for some of the trees to try to balance the cool tones of the walls and roof. This church is located on Poplar Avenue near Downtown.
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Watercolor, 12 x 16", Arches Paper

Friendship Churches

Village Church, by William Renzulli
Friendship Church, by Julio Rodrigues

Dr. William Renzulli is the best friend that I have not yet met personally. He has been a regular visitor to this humble blog and he has been very generous with his comments and encouragement. His artistic talent and versatility are in plain sight here at http://williamfrenzullimd.blogspot.com/.
We recently completed an interesting project: We both like old architecture as painting subjects. So Bill sent me some photos for me to pick one and paint. And I sent him photos for him to paint. We both gave each other complete artistic license and no deadlines. Today we are displaying the results of that friendly challenge. I have to say…I was unusually nervous painting my picture…but in the end I was happy with the result.
And Bill painted the church in my original hometown in Portugal in a way that I never would have thought, evoking an elevation/architectural drawing. I loved the concept and I think I came out on the winning end of this trade!

So Bill…a big THANKS.

Church, Asheville

This sketch resulted from a trip to Asheville, last year. It is a very picturesque town in the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains in Western North Carolina.
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Watercolor, 7x5", Fabriano Paper