Obie Bowman2019-11-06T00:12:08+00:00

Ten Architects of Consequence

Obie Bowman2019-11-06T00:12:08+00:00September 1, 2019|

This Journal entry is a repost of the original April 2, 2011 entry.

I recently completed a series of ten portraits of some of the architects that have impressed me over the years.  I used a variety of sources for the likeness and allowed my personal expressiveness to determine composition and technique.  All are crow quill pen and ink – with some incorporating extensive use of ink wash(es).  They appear here in the order in which they were produced along with explanatory captions.

Louis Kahn: At his best achieved an intense timeless quality.

Christopher Wren: In the 1600s Wren was forced by governing agencies to add two unnecessary columns to his design- it wasn’t until damage inspections following WWII that it was revealed that both columns stopped just short of the ceiling (!!!).

Malcolm Wells: Probably the foremost advocate of earth covered roofs and “gentle architecture”.

Louis Sullivan: Able to capture a spiritual quality in some of his work.

H H Richardson: An enormous architectural appetite – no holds barred.

Emmet Wemple: Teacher and mentor to many Southern California architects of my generation.

Paolo Soleri: A small man with a huge vision – architecture on steroids.

William Turnbull: A wonderful talent that has yet to be fully appreciated.

Filippo Brunelleschi: One of the great genius-architects of the Italian Renaissance.

Piranesi (father/son): Architectural drawing as good as it gets.