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AS ANYONE ABLE TO GIVE ME SOME ADVICE PLEASE
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Message
Posted
<div>I am in the middle of painting this photo of mine but I am making some changes, i.e. making it look like a Victorian painting. People will be in Victorian clothing and I want to leave out the grass and put in cobbles (depending on how well I can paint them). Beyond the arch will be a different vista - more in keeping with the period. My questions are: The window in the roof on either side - would you think they were a modern addition? Also that window on top of the roof on the far right? Lastly, can't make up my mind about the guttering - I suppose they did have guttering in those times, but would it have been iron or is the present guttering ok? Of course I am not suggesting that any of your are that old!! 
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Posted
The white framed windows probably are replacements, but then you have no way of knowing what they would have replaced. In your place, I think I'd keep them but paint them in darker colours, eg to look like natural wood. These will be listed buildings, so the structure probably hasn't changed - there would have been windows there, just not picked out in white paint or (I really hope it isn't!) plastic.
You're taking on an ambitious task here; North Light's advice is good - you could concentrate on the main structure, the tower and arch, and artfully fade out anything you didn't want to be too specific about, painting the thing as a ....... damn: the word's gone - one of those paintings that fade out around the edges: vignette! (It took me ten minutes and a thumb through the dictionary to find that.... isn't old age wonderful?).
The house I live in is Victorian, and until recently it did indeed have cast-iron guttering, painted black - most of it's been replaced by the ubiquitous plastic now: just as well, since a (happily small) bit of the cast iron fell on me.
http://www.isleofwightlandscapes.net
http://www.wightpaint.blogspot.co.uk
Posted
Adele, what can I say, well here goes.... the guttering is so insignificant, I may at times indicate the occasional downpipe perhaps, but only if it helps the composition and to work in that much detail is not really necessary unless you are producing an architectural drawing.
My advice is to loosen up a bit and capture the overall splendour of this great building and forget about pointless trivialities, the windows can be drawn in a dark colour as they would have been iron more likely, sorry if that comes over a bit strong but that is my honest advice to you, anyway, whichever way you choose to go, good luck, it is indeed and inspiring piece of architecture.
Posted
Thanks for your help everybody. Good advice from each of you. Sylvia and Robert, a great idea to fade out although this has already been underpainted on board and I will have to re-think that. However if I don't use that idea in this painting, I will certainly use it in some future ones - of which I have too many in the pipeline. Pat, thank you very much for taking the trouble to look that one out for me - I have looked at it and definitely will also be helpful. Alan, you've probably guessed where my weakness is and that is my inability to loosen up. Might be the ghost of my former art teacher telling me to give up! Perhaps I am trying to prove something. Anyway all ideas gratefully appreciated. Thank you.
Posted
From what i can see - those roof windows are (definitely) modern, the roof itself looks OK (hard to see, it might be tiles replaced to look like the old ones)
Note - these buildings are controlled - any fixes have to be done to match the age of the building -- you need special permission to add modern things (they;d have had to get that for the roof windows and double glazings)
The black gutter on the left is new BUT it's still in keeping with what they'd have had back then - clay pipe or metal pipe, the shape and fittings looks like it matches others I've seen... so if it is modern, it donna matter.
The windows on the main middle section - use versions of them to replace the RHS window, remove the roof windows entirely, if you want a aged look, try to do the roof tiles a little less regular and fixed.
Posted
Thanks DD, Syd, Philk2 and Michael. All have very valid points. DD, never thought about the roof. I had googled Victorian buildings like DavidG4YVM had suggested, but like this building, they seemed to have modern additions. However I know that if they are graded, there are rules to be followed. philk2, absolutely right but it is hard for me not to copy and that's why I wanted to change a few things and, unfortunately one thing led to another and I got quite confused, so thought I would share it with all of you. Michael, that is exactly what my husband said this afternoon.
Thanks again for these helpful comments.