Castle Green is a Historic 19th Century hotel turned high end condo/appartments in old town Pasadena, CA. I caught the Sping open house last Sunday thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor who either was feeling magnanimous or wanted to save me from further self-abasement as I tried to haggle my way out of the outrageous $20 entry fee. I had time for a half-hour sketch of one of the main towers. The detail on the exterior is simply exquisite.
The interior while interesting was hardly worth my anonymous patron's Twenty. The rather voyeuristic experience of roaming through the open appartments of current residents felt a bit like an estate sale with even less of a pretense for snooping. The sub-set of the extremely wealthy who reside there, as one might expect, show a preference for well designed and antique furniture as well as small dogs and cats. Some of their art was quite breathtaking though. I walked into the home of one employee of Dreamworks Animation to a life-size original
Alfons Mucha lithograph worth hundreds of thousands. I never cease to be amazed at the vast range of humanity and expansive wealth that is concentrated in such a small space.
Update: I forgot to mention that I was surprised to see Fuller's own Islamics Scholar, Dr. Dudley Woodberry there deep in conversation with some of the residents. Though given his wide range of contacts among the power-elite and presumable interest in "moorish" architecture, I really shouldn't have been surprised to find him there.
I saw this was happening and so wanted to go. If I hadn't had to do a silent retreat for class, I would've been there.
ReplyDeleteWell then I'm glad I could provide you some vicarious enjoyment then. Still, I suggest you get the most benefit by simply walking around the grounds and observing the architectural detail from outside the fence.
ReplyDeleteLOVE then sketch! Eric and I wanted to go, but $40 for us both was too much. I'm glad you found a donor and shared with the rest of us!
ReplyDeleteDid you use watercolors or markers on the sketch? Reminds me of Joseph Stoddard's work.
@DM,
ReplyDeleteglad to share the wealth, or at least that guy's wealth. thanks for the comparison. I hadn't heard of Mr. Stoddard but I love the way he exagerates color.
I have been frustrated with my inability to do detail properly in watercolor and the castle is all about detail so I did the sketch with a very fine, water-safe ink pen then color and a bit of shade in watercolor. This is about a 30 minute effort.