Architectural Illustration and a Holiday Interior Illustration

Architectural illustration often presents me with unique and enjoyable challenges.

Architectural Illustration - Home Insurance Company of New York Building

Years ago, I was commissioned to create an illustration for an insurance company’s Holiday Greeting card. The Home Insurance Company of New York has been liquidated, apparently. It’s a terrible name for a web search in any case!The assignment called for an illustration of their building, with a snowy street and large wreath on the building. It was a big project!Here’s a detail:I had fun with it. Notice the icicles on the ledges. A lot went into that drawing. My favorite parts of this illustration were the cloud-ridden sky and the snow on the roof.Well, they liked it enough to return the next year for another greeting card illustration. This time, we were going inside. They provided a rather complicated old photograph of the office from around the turn of the century. It was interesting to look at, and challenging to pull out some detail, especially where the background figures were none too clear. This is where my attention to detail becomes a real plus:

Architectural Illustration - Home Insurance Company of New York Interior

As you can see, the composition includes a lot of minutiae—- the carpet and wallpaper surfaces were something of a burden to replicate! Here’s a detail:I used my skill drawing WSJ hedcuts in crafting these two gents. My aim was to bring some spirited expression to their faces. Check out the pineapple wallpaper. It was quite the challenge!I hope you enjoyed this trip back in time. More next week…