Becky Hawkins

That's What Reference Photos are For (aka Fun with Downtown Buildings)

Added 2025-12-30 02:39:16 +0000 UTC

This is from a family vacation last winter. I finally made time to draw this! That's what reference photos are for.

Hey patrons! I hope the holidays are treating you well. If not, don't worry: they're almost over and you've got this!

A friend of mine commissioned this postcard of her husband's office building as seen from the Hawthorne Bridge.

It's always an honor to provide someone's Christmas present!

I sent her a few photos from different angles to choose from. By the time I took this photo, the leaves were gone for the winter. However, I put some yellows and reds back on the trees. Portland in November is really gorgeous.

I got a little precious about this postcard. Because of all the details, it took longer than usual to get to the coloring phase, and I really wanted to do justice to the way the sun lit up the west-facing cinder block windows. I scanned the postcard several times while I was putting the finishing touches on, just in case my next move messed everything up. Looking at the near-identical scans side by side, I'm thinking this should be a triptych entitled "Artist Gets Stuck in Her Own Head."

I decided that the middle image is the "final" one. I think the details on the windows in the last one detract from the sense of "OMG SUN"

This is my favorite of the bunch.

I saw this view on a bike ride, took photos while I was stopped at a red light, and drew it over the next couple weeks. I'm so frickin happy with how it turned out! You don't often get to look at a finished painting and just think, "Yep. I did it."

In related news, Books With Pictures has started carrying prints of my building postcards! Some are Portland landmarks, like The Academy Theater and The Hollywood Theatre, and others are stores and apartment buildings that caught my eye. If you're in the neighborhood, check it out!

Thanks, as always, for supporting me on Patreon.

Happy New Year!