Blackfriars Estate Revisisted: A Quiet Corner

An earlier post featured pen and ink drawings of some of the architectural details which attracted my attention while on a paint out with the Gallery Painting Group. Yesterday I finished this watercolour painting of a quiet corner of the garden surrounding the building. I use a limited palette to convey the quiet, almost dreamlike atmosphere I found here. I loved the morning sunlight and the shadows it produced on the wall near the structure of the fire escape.

Architectural Details Blackfriars Estate Condominiums

 This heritage home in a parklike setting along the Thames River was the location for two Gallery Painting Group paint outs this past week. These studies of a couple of the architectural details which caught my eye were done in pen and watersoluable ink, so I could go back in with a wet brush to soften some areas.
The home was originally built in the Italianate style by a man named Kent and later became owned by the Catholic Church and was used by the Bishop and named Blackfriars. The Catholic diocese sold the building a few years ago and it has now been converted into large condos, preserving the original architecture. The gardens are lovely and have statues, terraces, pathways,ponds and fountains. These paint outs will certainly be my inspiration for some paintings in the near future.