Work

Observational Watercolor

Manual Rendering
Drawing

A watercolor study of form, shape, texture, light, and space, rendered from observed architectural moments around the VCU campus.

Watercolor rendering of architectural details on the VCU campus

Watercolor — Junior Advanced Interior Graphics I, Spring ‘24

For this lesson on rendering in watercolor, we were asked to photograph spaces on the VCU campus that embodied examples of the five key elements of design — form, shape, texture, light, and space. These renderings were driven by what we could see, what we couldn’t see, what did and did not exist in the space, and the specific vision of the space we wanted to capture.

For example, I chose the dome of the Sacred Heart Cathedral as a vision of form, the semi-enclosed outdoor space of the Pollak Building as a vision of light, the carriage home behind the VCU Scott House’s tudor-style detailing as a vision of shape, the outdoor covered walkway of Cabell Library as a vision of space, and an alley made of brick and cobblestone as a vision of texture.

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