My Watercolor of Kendall Hall, Chico State, California

“Today Decides Tomorrow” is above the entry to this building at Chico State University….It’s one of the most recognizable structures on the campus and is called Kendall Hall…When the heat of the summer sun hits these old brick buildings, you can feel the warmth and personality of the architecture….That feeling is what I wanted to capture with this watercolor painting….Trying to depict the intricate brick textures of this building’s facade was one of the challenges….There is a lot of subtlety within the massive forms due to small reliefs and projections….Architecturally this gives the building a less imposing and more approachable personality….The following description of the building is taken from the California State University Chico website:  “The administration building was built on the site of the Normal Building, which burned in 1927. The original cornerstone was incorporated into the building along with a new one. Chester E. Cole designed it in the Romanesque style, to match Laxson Auditorium and Trinity Hall which were built at that period.  It is a two-story building with a rotunda in the middle. It is constructed of brick with a Spanish tile roof and decorative columns and arches. Although the exterior has had only minor changes, the interior has been remodeled to contain more offices and the utilities have been upgraded. In 1964 a spiral staircase was added under the dome of the rotunda. There is a central hanging globe in the dome representing the earth. The underside of the dome was created to represent heaven so as you climb the spiral staircase you ascend past the earth towards heaven.  The motto “Today Decides Tomorrow” is above the central arch leading into the entrance”  This is a watercolor painting by Jeffrey Michael George, Architectural Illustrator.  Jeffrey works and lives in Chico, California and produces illustrations for many clients, mostly architects, located in California and beyond.  Some of his work is shown and sold at Chico Paper Company, an art gallery located in downtown Chico, California.