Process: The 511 Building

As a rule, I never talk about my commissioned projects before they're published. This is primarily to respect the privacy of the client, but also I don't want to jinx the outcome of the project in any way. Yes, I tend to have a superstitious mind.

That being said, yesterday I found that an illustration I had done in june for PNCA has just been published in the summer edition of their quarterly newsletter. The commission was for a rendering of the Federal Building, or 511 Building as it is now called. The turn of the century building currently houses the PDX outpost of the Dept. of Homeland Security, but in a few years time it will be the new home of the Pacific Northwest College of Art.



The hardest part of this illustration was determining the widths of the windows as they receded into the distance. I used standard 2-point perspective the determine the angles of the roof. I wanted the perspective to be accurate, but I also wanted the illustration to have a certain impressionistic quality. To achieve this I used nib pen and brush for most of the ink work, relying on my microns only to touch up certain areas. I put a lot of work into this piece and I'm stoked to finally see it in print. It's crazy to see my illustration over the words "$32 million." If you'd like a copy of the PNCA newsletter, they're available at the front desk of the school, located on NW 13th and Johnson.