Paris in September!

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Breakfast in Paris? Oui! There are only a few spots open in my upcoming perspective and watercolor workshop in the dreamy City of Light, and the discount price ends in only 2 days on April 20! If you are interested, information is here.

So why a workshop in this city? I can think of no other city in the world that offers such beautiful and abundant outdoor public parks and spaces (and people use them!), amazing architecture that seems to glow, elegant fountains and glorious details, not to mention incredible food, wine, cheeses, pastries…when Brenda from Studio 56 asked where I wanted to teach, my first choice was THIS city!

Did you notice that in this sketch in the elegant Places des Vosges, the fountain appears as a stack of ellipses, with the shapes above eye level looking different from the shapes below eye level? (There is a free demo of sketching this fountain on Studio 56’s YouTube page.)

This is why I LOVE to teach perspective! I can’t think of anyone else who really explains how and WHY perspective works. Sure, you can draw from profiles and edges, but that doesn’t really tell you about WHY what you see appears the way it does. And amazingly, this is the part that is skipped in most demos!!! This is why I teach perspective, I love seeing when folks finally understand how perspective works… it’s not hard once you know what to look for.

Take a look at this sketch from Amboise…can you tell it has multiple vanishing points? I’ll explain how that works in the Paris workshop!

So join me along the Seine for a toast with french wine, bread and cheese, sketchbooks in hand at all times, for a wonderful 5+ days in one of the most beautiful cities in the world! It will be a blast, and you’ll have so many ah-ha moments! À Bientôt!

(Sorry for the technical difficulties if you received this post without photos!)

Paris in September!

~ stephanieabower ~ Leave a comment

Breakfast in Paris? Oui! There are only a few spots open in my upcoming perspective and watercolor workshop in the dreamy City of Light, and the discount price ends in only 2 days on April 20! If you are interested, information is here.

So why a workshop in this city? I can think of no other city in the world that offers such beautiful and abundant outdoor public parks and spaces (and people use them!), amazing architecture that seems to glow, elegant fountains and glorious details, not to mention incredible food, wine, cheeses, pastries…when Brenda from Studio 56 asked where I wanted to teach, my first choice was THIS city!

Did you notice that in this sketch in the elegant Places des Vosges, the fountain appears as a stack of ellipses, with the shapes above eye level looking different from the shapes below eye level? (There is a free demo of sketching this fountain on Studio 56’s YouTube page.)

This is why I LOVE to teach perspective! I can’t think of anyone else who really explains how and WHY perspective works. Sure, you can draw from profiles and edges, but that doesn’t really tell you about WHY what you see appears the way it does. And amazingly, this is the part that is skipped in most demos!!! This is why I teach perspective, I love seeing when folks finally understand how perspective works… it’s not hard once you know what to look for.

Take a look at this sketch from Amboise…can you tell it has multiple vanishing points? I’ll explain how that works in the Paris workshop!

So join me along the Seine for a toast with french wine, bread and cheese, sketchbooks in hand at all times, for a wonderful 5+ days in one of the most beautiful cities in the world! It will be a blast, and you’ll have so many ah-ha moments! À Bientôt!

Studio or On Location? Which is better?

~ stephanieabower ~ 4 Comments

I’m pretty bad about keeping up a daily practice of just about anything…diet, exercise, sketching, blogs–you get the idea. But during these dark days of a Seattle winter, I realized that my sketching skills were getting a bit rusty. To keep the gears oiled, I decided to work from photos in a sketchbook in my studio. It’s been good practice, and I’ve been posting the sketches on IG and FB, but in so doing, I noticed that there is a big difference between the studio sketches and the ones I do on location. Here is a perfect example.

The sketch above was done on location one sunny morning sitting in a corner on the backside of the Catedral in Barcelona in 2019. Yes, I can feel the heat, remember the sounds of the people walking by…all those details that are magically infused into a live, on location sketch.

The sketch below on the right is the same scene, done a few days ago in my studio in Seattle from a photo that I took. A big difference that I didn’t realize until well after it was done. Why so different?

In many ways, working in the comfort of a warm and dry studio is easier than battling the elements, the truck that blocks your view and all the things we urban sketchers deal with when working out in the world. I think that’s why my studio image, while I like it a lot, is calmer, has more subtle watercolor washes, etc. But it also lacks the energy, contrast, and I don’t know what else that the on-site sketch has–that energy infused into a sketch is a bit part of why I love being an urban sketcher. It’s less about making pretty art and more about capturing the experience. But studio work is great to do too, and pretty art is wonderful…and it’s certainly good practice for me. We are always working on improving what we do, right?

And if you are curious, that is an Escoda sketchbook (approx. 5″ x 8″) that was given to me and small group when we visited the Escoda factory a few years ago. The paper buckles a bit under the wet washes, but it does take the color and pencil work nicely. I hope to fill this book with small studio sketches!

Anyone who has ever done one of my workshops knows that I love teaching how to analyze the proportions and perspective in any view I sketch (does anyone else do this?), so I had to include the analysis for this one. 🙂

Back to San Antonio. Yes, a Workshop.

~ stephanieabower ~ 2 Comments

GOOD BONES | SAN ANTONIO TX | an Urban Sketching Workshop| April 13-14, 2024

I always say that good sketches start with Good Bones! In this workshop, you’ll learn the simple steps to set up the foundations of a great architectural sketch in perspective and watercolor. How do you start a location sketch? Where is the darn Vanishing Point? Watercolor is too overwhelming!
Held in the beautiful and vibrant historic THE PEARL, an award-winning urban development along the famous San Antonio Riverwalk, this workshop offers 1.5 days of instruction in perspective and watercolor location sketching.

Day 1 | FULL DAY | Saturday, April 13 | 9am – 5pm* | Meet in front of Cure by 8:45am

  • Morning: Introduction to basic watercolor tools and techniques, using a simple palette of colors. Shade/Shadow.
  • Afternoon: Learn perspective basics and a simple step-by-step process to construct an architectural perspective sketch, how to build the sketch in layers and add architectural watercolor.
  • * One hour break for lunch.

Day 2 | HALF DAY | Sunday, April 14 | 9am – 1pm | More perspective and watercolor to cement the concepts.

GOOD BONES | SAN ANTONIO is open to 15 participants with any level of experience, but it’s targeted to sketchers who want to improve their basic sketching and understanding of perspective and watercolor. We will focus on how to sketch buildings and urban spaces, and The Pearl is the perfect setting!

Workshop Registration opens Friday, February 9 at 12noon CST (San Antonio) (NOTE: as a thank you for following this blog, you have early access to register starting Thursday, February 8 at 12noon CST (San Antonio)

To sign up, contact Stephanie by email at stephaniebower.workshops@gmail.com. The first 15 emails will be accepted—first come, first served. A waiting list will be created in case spots open up.

Workshop fee is $225.00 payable by Zelle or check once you are notified via email of a confirmed spot in the workshop. Instructions will be sent to all registered participants.

Cancellation In the unforeseen event the workshop is cancelled, all fees will be reimbursed. If you have to cancel your participation, please contact the instructor by email ASAP. If you cancel after March 15, 0% of workshop fee is reimbursed.
A materials supply list and additional information will be emailed to registered participants.

I hope you can join me! Lots to sketch, great setting, great food, great fun!

How to sketch Fountains!

~ stephanieabower ~ 7 Comments

Please join me this Wednesday, February 7 at 1pm EST (New York) for a FREE Online Zoom Demo on how to draw and paint fountains! Inspired by my sketch in Paris last summer at the beautiful Place des Vosges, we’ll break down the essentials of sketching fountains in perspective, including why it’s important to know where your eye level is!

There is no charge for viewing the demo, but you do need to register at Studio56, the host for this live presentation. Info and registration are HERE. À bientôt!

Finally!

~ stephanieabower ~ Leave a comment

Yes, back by popular demand (for real!) UNDERSTANDING PERSPECTIVE is a 3-class urban sketching workshop on perspective and watercolor that’s LIVE on Zoom in February. If you have ever feared or faked perspective, or just want to know more about how to paint, this workshop is for you! Info is here.

New Online Course on Sale!

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How many instructors actually teach perspective? And how many teach perspective AND watercolor? I can’t think of any others!!! In the past weeks, I’ve been looking at a lot of videos online with instructors struggling to talk about perspective or just ignoring it, but getting it right is so important to the Good Bones of your paintings and sketches. What to do? Perspective is easy, when you know what to look for!

I’m so proud of this online course, Perspective for Painters, beautifully filmed in Los Angeles this year for Terracotta.art. It’s over 6 hours of instruction, packed with information and many aha moments. It starts with a made-simple explanation of basic principles, then shows how these concepts relate to the things we see in the real world, and then applies everything into three, full pencil and watercolor demos that cover 1-point, 2-point, and multiple vanishing point perspectives. You’ll even see me walking the streets of LA explaining how perspective works in the real world!

*** Special for the holidays, it’s on sale this month only! Terracotta will take 10% off if you use the code stephanie10 at checkout, reducing the overall cost to $69.00. This offer expires December 31, 2023.

Here’s what is unique about this course. I’ve found that diagrams like this are in fact the most important part of setting up your paintings and sketches, and most demo instructors leave it out!!!?? It’s these diagrams that help you analyze your view and set up the foundation of your paintings and sketches. I show LOTS of examples and diagrams throughout the course so that you will learn how to analyze your views. Your perspective is unique to you!!

If you finally want to really understand perspective, I hope that you will sign up and view the course at any time…I know that you’ll learn a lot! Makes a great gift (just sayin’)!

Happy Birthday, The World of Urban Sketching!!!!

~ stephanieabower ~ 6 Comments

Yes, it’s one year old today, I can’t believe it! What an amazing opportunity to assemble and write this book, to get to know all these sketchers (156 contributors from 39 countries!) during the depths of the Covid quarantines. On any given day I was exchanging messages with artists on 3 or 4 continents. I worked on it 7 days a week for over a year and a half, but it lifted my spirits and inspired me every day. I loved every minute of it.

Heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful contributors, and to acquisitions editor Joy Aquilino at Quarto publishing, and everyone there who worked on the book, and to everyone who now has it as part of their library. What an honor this is.

And…if you love this book as much as I do 🙂 please consider leaving a comment or a rating on Amazon (it really helps!) where it still rates FIVE STARS!!!

At the Louvre bookstore! I can die a happy woman! Translated into French, German and Spanish…so far…Chinese on the way.

To Paint or Not to Paint? That is the Question.

~ stephanieabower ~ 23 Comments

Did you happen to see my post on IG and FB of this sketch done at…Stonehenge? Our Oxford workshop group in July tackled sketching in both Bath and Stonehenge in one day, which meant that by the time we got here, we only had 15 minutes to draw! It was amazing to see this incredible site (and check it off my bucket list), but it was so frustrating to have so little time to sketch and absorb this ancient, historic place.

In the post, I described my dilemma, showed my unpainted drawing, and asked folks, would you add paint to this sketch later to “finish” it or leave it as it is? I have to say that I was surprised at how many people said to “go ahead and paint it,” “there are no rules in art”, etc. Some suggested that if I add more later, off site, I can post it, just not to Urban Sketchers or USk (as a rule, both only show sketches done on location.) Others suggested drawing a second version and painting that, but doesn’t that change the essence and intent of an urban sketch?

I have always preferred to draw AND paint on location, but I have known for a while that some urban sketchers draw on site and paint later, I just always assumed it wasn’t very many people. For me, working on site, in the moment, on the spot, infuses a certain energy and spontaneity into the sketch that is nearly impossible to duplicate later in the controlled comfort of a studio. I feel that working a sketch later changes it’s purpose, from capturing an experience to creating a perfect piece of art…nothing at all wrong with that and we certainly want our sketches to look nice, but I’ve realized that capturing the experience is more important to me personally. Sure, it would probably look better if I painted it later as it’s really difficult to paint on location, but I feel a deep sense of accomplishment when I finish a sketch on site. My sketches are something of a visual diary, a record of my adventures…it’s why I don’t sell them.

In writing my last book, THE WORLD OF URBAN SKETCHING, I spent LOTS of time sorting through LOTS of artists to find ones that were true location sketchers. There are countless fabulous sketch artists out there all over Instagram, but you have to dig deep sometimes to see if they are really working on location or in a studio. It can be hard to tell the difference, especially if they are studio painters who erroneously post to USk official sites. I would write to some artists and ask if they work on location, and if they said no, then they didn’t make it into the book. It’s also why I tried to show photos of sketches on location, with the context in the background–to really show it is a true urban sketch! I was documenting the world of Urban Sketching after all!

If working on location is at the core of what Urban Sketchers is about, born from reportage sketching, should we draw and paint on location? If I only had 15 minutes and no time to paint, isn’t the unpainted sketch saying something about the experience? Or would it be better if I add color and had a nicer looking image in my sketchbook? I suspect the answer is based on why each of us sketches.

This is something that urban sketchers rarely, if ever, discuss, but I’m curious what others do and what they think about this issue. So, what do you think? Is drawing on site and painting later OK? What’s more important to you, the work of art or the experience? What should an urban sketch be?

And should I add paint or leave it as it is?????

Sketching in Paris 2024

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Sketching in Paris is honestly like a dream come true. So many picturesque spots, such beautiful architecture…I LOVED being able to sketch in France this year, so when Studio 56 asked me where I’d like to teach next year, at top of my list was PARIS!

You are invited to join me in September 2024 (after the Olympics in Paris) for 5+ days of sketching instruction and touring the sites. Information on this amazing vacation workshop is here. Sign up quickly as this workshop will probably fill tout de suite (fast!)

And to get you dreaming of Paris, here are some sketches from this past summer! I can still taste the almond croissant!