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Immortalize Your House:
Iain Stewart
Christian Gulliksen
01/01/2004
Atlanta-based Iain Stewart trained as an architect
at Auburn University, where his father was a professor
in the School of Architecture, before joining an
architectural firm that specialized in residential
design.
It did not take long for his colleagues to notice
his artistic ability. “They started using
me as their presentation guy,” he says. After
a few years with the firm, he struck out on his
own to focus on architectural rendering.
Iain Stewart’s rendering of a villa designed
by Frank Ryan Jr.
for the Phelps Brook development in Connecticut
epitomizes his work.
Although he works primarily with architects who
want to give their clients a clear understanding
of how their homes will look, Stewart also takes
commissions for house portraits.
The quality of his work transcends the level typically
seen in this form, and it is not surprising to learn
that he takes inspiration from the late Rowland
Hilder, who was the president of Britain’s
Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolors.
“There is so much going on in a landscape,
and a blank, blue sky doesn’t work for me,”
says Stewart. “I like movement. I like to
be gestural, to let the paint move around.”
When doing a house portrait, he will omit an unfortunate
design element or edit foliage. “My concern
is to provide an image that is well composed instead
of exactly right.”
And while he brings a degree of theory to his painting,
Stewart’s attitude is not overly cerebral.
“I liken it to riding a bronco. The drawing
is easy compared to the painting. I have to ride
this thing all the way out.”
Stewart declines to choose a favorite project, saying
that each has had its own rewards. “I have
to fall in love with each image to a certain degree,”
he says. “On the flip side, there is something
in every one that bothers me.” The sign of
a true artist.
Iain Stewart
404.622.4631
www.stewartwatercolors.com
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