Turn-of-the-Centuries: A New STAUNTON Virginia Drawing for Bridge Day: A Week-long Work-in-Progress

Saturday, April 26, 2014

A New STAUNTON Virginia Drawing for Bridge Day: A Week-long Work-in-Progress

It's Bridge Day in Staunton Virginia! And I'll be selling this NEW DRAWING, among other Prints and Postcards. It's a gorgeous day - I am super anxious - but I am happy to have finally brought this drawing to fruition.

After looking at the Bridge from all sides, on-site and in photos, I began drawing. Here is a picto-journey of the drawing process:

Monday April 21: I figured the BRIDGE would be the best place to start!

Then, I had so much fun rendering the rocky cut that allowed the tracks. i may have embellished the angularity of the rock just a bit! And, of course, the old water tower.

Tuesday April 22: That curve of the tracks and the station awning and the train....

I drew the quintessential STAUNTON station sign.

Tuesday afternoon I visited with Kay Shirey of Rachel's Quilts, a neat, colorful shop and workshop in the Depot. She had just finished hanging the last of the white bunting that signals BRIDGE DAY! She'd marked the spots from last year - impressive - so it's hung just the same. I gushed about how much I loved the bunting last year - I used it in my other Staunton drawings.

So, the bunting started to go up in my drawing - with a little artistic embellishment in Bridge Day colors. The Sears House too on top of Sears Hill!

Wednesday April 23: The Depot is an amazing building in all of its phases. It deserves a drawing all its own. To allow the Bridge to be the center star of this drawing, I rendered the depot in section.

The portion of the wharf across from the Bridge landing and toward Augusta Street is another favorite view, with the tops of Staunton's architectural icons - Masonic, St Francis, Courthouse, Mary Baldwin popping up above their parapets. This was kind of hard to draw, and then to place it behind the depot in section.

Thursday April 24: Something was missing...and the foreground was looking bare. Of course - the cabooses! Good thing I can just run down to the site again and study them...