Felix Doolittle Sketches

We are so excited to share with you a behind the scenes look at Felix’s process of creating a finished illustration!  Felix recently completed a project for one of our favorite organizations, The Friends of the Public Garden, which works to preserve and enhance the Boston Public Garden, The Boston Common, and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, a lovely mile long avenue lined with trees.

To prepare for the project, Felix did an in-depth study of the parks, taking over a thousand photos from all different angles, and even from a bird’s eye view!  And of course Felix created many sketches and studies of the parks. Below is one of Felix’s sketches (pencil and watercolor on paper) of the small island in the Boston Public Garden.

Here is the same island a little farther along.  A family of ducks has moved in!

This is a pencil sketch of the dock for the famous Swan Boats…

…and here it is farther along.  The same family of ducks can be seen at the edge of the pond.   Another favorite detail is the squirrel running across the wire.

This is a wonderful side by side comparison of one of Felix’s concept sketches next to a more completed version.  Every detail in the Felix’s illustration undergoes this evolution.

Below is the concept sketch for the Green and White Ball invitation, the centerpiece of the commission project.   The illustration is a  bird’s eye view of the Public Garden and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. These connecting parks are part of the “Emerald Necklace” created by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead to bring an oasis of tranquility, beauty, and enjoyment to the city of Boston.

Here is the completed full color illustration.  Although some artistic license was applied,  the paths and trees in the park are all addressed with great accuracy.  Next time you are in Boston be sure to look for George Washington’s statue greeting visitors to the Public Garden!

Here is a close up of the entrance to the Commonwealth Avenue Mall from Arlington Street before Felix incorporated it into the final rendering.

Here is one of my favorite of Felix’s studies- the forest of trees that Felix created separately. Each tree was meticulously illustrated first in pencil and completed with watercolor before  it was “planted” into the final rendering.

Similarly, Felix created detailed individual paintings of each building along Arlington Street which composed the front row of buildings on the illustration.

This is a beautiful part of Felix’s study of the Boston Common that did not make it into the finished piece, however we are so happy to share it with you here!

And finally, the finished product-  A set of invitations to the Green and White Ball that we hope will excite and inspire the supporters of the Friends of the Public Garden!

We hope you enjoyed this sneak peek into Felix’s process and that you one day get to visit the Boston Public Garden and enjoy it as much as Felix does!