Beckman Auditorium

 I was recently contacted by an administrator at Caltech about my watercolor paintings.  Of course I was thrilled and excited.  They needed a watercolor of Beckman Auditorium.  It would be for a celebration of life occasion for the former general manager of event productions at Beckman Auditorium.  They would be giving the painting to his family.  What an honor to have one of my paintings considered for this event.  

I hadn't tried painting Beckman Auditorium on any of our many paint-outs at Caltech.  It's a very unique and difficult building by architect Edward Durell Stone (1964).  The two people I dealt with furnished some photos to use for my painting which they needed very quickly.  I chose to combine two photos, including some Jacaranda blossoms in the main photo I used.  It was enjoyable to finally try painting this special building for their special occasion. 

8" x 10" Watercolor

The Watering Trough

 Our South Pasadena watering trough is officially Cultural Heritage Monument No. 7.  Designed by Norman Marsh,  and presented to the city in 1907, it's titled "The Watering Trough and Wayside Station".  It was a rest stop for people and horses as they traveled between Los Angeles and Pasadena. 

I've painted many times in this location, once the center of South Pasadena, but I hadn't painted the horse trough before.  Two paint-out friends were painting in this area so it was time to try it.  It was nice day and the lighting on the stones caught my eye.

5" x 7" Gouache