Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Alley, DeMenil Place, St. Louis

An alley is literally a back of the house view but offers the sketch hunter the visual challenge: How do you represent the scene in an accurate yet appealing way. In this case I like the deep perspective. The alley extends the length of three city blocks all the way from DeMenil Place to Lemp Avenue.  The cast the shadows laying on the pavement and climbing up the wall under the bushy overhang also caught me eye. The final touches were linear.  The guy wires, utililty poles and bare tree branches tie the whole sketch together.
Alley, DeMenil Place, 04/11/2012; Michael Anderson, water brush, water color, Canson 140lb cold press, 7″ x 9″.
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9 comments:

  1. Marcia Milner-BrageApril 17, 2012 at 11:26 AM

    Lovely sketch. And great companion to your previous with the graffiti wall. Back alleys--what excellent places to snoop around and sketch! The scrappier side of property, for the most part. And maybe ultimately more interesting. (at least to me!)

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  2. Kate (Cathy Johnson)April 17, 2012 at 4:59 PM

    The shadows on the wall are beautiful! I love alleys, too...urban, neighborhoods, you name it. Most newer developments don't have them, and I miss that.

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    Replies
    1. Michael AndersonApril 18, 2012 at 12:28 AM

      You are right Kate. In most new developments everyone has a big garage door on the front of their house. There are some recent New Urbanist style projects that do utilize alleys and garages are plced behind the house. Thanks for your comment, m

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    2. Kate (Cathy Johnson)April 18, 2012 at 9:06 AM

      For a while there, the garage (usually 2-3-car!) stuck WAY out in front of the main entrance, which was dwarfed by it. Looked like the cars were much more important than the people. What WERE they thinking!

      I've painted out little alley, and others around town...fun subject!

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  3. Jeanette, Mistress of LongearsApril 17, 2012 at 7:18 PM

    Sensational! I think watercolor makes everything more beautiful!

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    Replies
    1. Michael AndersonApril 18, 2012 at 12:30 AM

      Jeanette, I like that. May I quote you? Thanks, Mike

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  4. Kathleen NeffApril 17, 2012 at 8:08 PM

    A really outstanding rendering...Watercolor is the ultimate sketching medium along with watercolor tints and ink sketches. And power lines, telephone lines, clotheslines are the anchors in the alleys and backyard views of neighborhoods like this!

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