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 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!

Greetings Sketching Friends!

I’m finally back in Seattle for a while after teaching trips this year to Mexico, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Zealand, France, England, Italy and Texas, plus Sketcher Fest in Edmonds WA and the University of Washington Landscape Architecture program close to home. Thanks to all who were able to participate in these workshops. WHEW! Yes, I am exhausted, but I’m soooo grateful for such wonderful opportunities.

Here’s what’s happening now and what’s up next…

2023

Perspective for Painters NOW–Online video course . Earlier this year, I was honored to film a wonderful class for Terracotta, a Seattle-based firm that has a stable of probably the best watercolorists in the world. “Perspective for Painters” is 6 hours long, full of instructional content on perspective including how and why it works (where else will someone tell you WHY perspective works the way it does?), plus three full watercolor demos in one-point, two-point and yes, even multiple vanishing points. It’s a gorgeously crafted class for all levels or artists and sketchers. For more info, click on this link.

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Sketch Like an Architect, Sketching Retreat | October 24-29, 2024 | Sketching Retreat is a FREE (until October 30), 6-day online event with 30+ video workshops on architectural sketching and drawing by popular artists around the world. Assembled by Prague-based David Drazil, I’m thrilled to be part of this year’s event. You can see my 30 minute demo on one of my favorite teaching topics, sketching arches in perspective. To view my workshop and many others during those six days, please use this link to see the line up of instructors and to register! 

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2024

Sketching Workshop in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico February 26-March 3, 2024 | I loved it so much this year, we’re going back for more in 2024! This town is on everyone’s bucket list as it’s an amazing UNESCO World Heritage site rich with character, colors, delicious food, and much more. This 5-day workshop is organized by Studio 56, for more information or to sign up, click on this link.

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Perspective Sketching Masterclass at Madeline Island School of the Arts August 12-16, 2024 | Madeline Island, Wisconsin | A rare opportunity, this full 5-day workshop will be an immersive experience in all things perspective. We’ll work both in the studio and on location, draw and then paint in watercolor (it’s really two workshops in one!) and you’ll learn everything you ever wanted to know about setting up a sketch with easy, accurate, believable perspective. MISA has featured workshops from some amazing sketchers and instructors, I’m honored to be part of next year’s line up. Info is here. (And the image is not Wisconsin but Spain! 😉

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Sketch Paris in September 2024 | Also organized by Studio 56, we were originally looking at June, but due to the 2024 Olympics in Paris and through-the-roof costs, we’ve bumped it to probably mid-September. Workshop locations will include the Place des Vosges, Jardin du Luxembourg, and the Seine. If you are interested, contact tour organizer Brenda Murray at studio56boutique@gmail.com.

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Also in the works for next year, San Antonio TX and possibly ROME or OXFORD… would anyone be interested? Please email me, as if there is enough interest in Oxford or Rome, I will to put it together…!

Thanks to all for your interest!

Alas, it’s been a while since I posted! In August, I’ve taken a much needed break to recharge after four back-to-back international teaching trips this year (and to focus on my day job), as my fifth trip starts when I head to Italy on Sunday morning! Whew!

I have stacks of sketches to post, but I’ll start with my favorite two from the entire year, maybe ever. I did these before my 5.5 day workshop in Oxford with Studio 56, and I think all the travel sketching from prior months helped to get me warmed up for these sketches. I picked a spot in the center of beautiful Oxford near the famous Bodleian Library and Sheldonian Theatre, sat down and quickly got into a “flow”. Instead of rushing, I let take it’s own course. I worked slowly and deliberately, only interrupted by LOTS of people who wanted to chat. I think I sat there for 3.5 hours, really long for me, but we can easily take off an hour for chatting!

So why do I love these sketches? The vibe in Oxford was amazing–school was just finishing up for the students, so it was cool to see them running around in their final exam clothes, happy and enjoying friends. I also loved the architecture here–the scale, the amount of detail and complexity, the color of the famous Oxford stone that glows were all just right for the way I sketch. In terms of technique, I always struggle with hitting the right balance between the pencil linework that I love and the watercolor…my tendency is to be too heavy-handed and overpaint so that the watercolor obliterates the linework. My goal is to hit that sweet spot that has the happy blend of both pencil and color, and for some reason, I managed to hit it with these two sketches.

Another change: I actually used a .03mm mechanical pencil with B lead…so tiny, I felt like a neurosurgeon, but it really helped me to get crisp details in the background. I used my usual .05mm for the foreground linework.

So, what do you think?

I should also add that I’m planning workshops for 2024 now too, with the first happening when I return to beautiful San Miguel de Allende, Mexico at the end of February to teach a 5.5 day workshop again with Studio 56. Info on that workshop is here.

And after that? Plans are for Paris in June (I’d love to return to Oxford and maybe go to Cambridge too!), in the USA Madeline Island in August for a perspective Master Class, Italy in September, and hopefully, the Urban Sketchers 2024 symposium in Buenos Aires, Argentina in October…where else should I teach next year??? Where would you want to go?

The first travel sketchbooks festival in the United States is coming to beautiful Edmonds, Washington! Mark your calendar for July 14-16, 2023. Registration opens this Friday!

What is Sketcher Fest?

Sketcher Fest brings together urban sketchers, travel sketchbook artists, art vendors, publishers and the general public during a weekend of workshops, exhibits and sketching activities in Edmonds, Washington, a waterfront city north of Seattle in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The first event of its kind in North America, Sketcher Fest blends the learning spirit of the Urban Sketchers Symposia with the festival atmosphere of the popular Carnet de Voyage events in France. The goal of Sketcher Fest is to celebrate art, travel and the practice of documenting people, places and culture in sketchbooks. Originated by Urban Sketchers founder, Gabi Campanario who is working with volunteers from Urban Sketchers and USk Seattle.

To learn about the workshops, go here Workshops.

A great line up of instructors, including amazing local sketchers, plus Mário Linhares from Portugal, Melanie Reim from New York, Rita Sabler from Portland, and Virginia Hein from Lose Angeles. I’ll be teaching and signing/selling books as well! Go here Guest Artists to see profiles.

Registration opens THIS FRIDAY, March 31 at 8am PDT sharp! It will fill quickly, so be prompt! Go to the website http://www.sketcherfest.com for more information and to register on Friday morning!

I’m just back from teaching in Mexico and starting to finalize the workshop in Italy!!!

Only four spots left in the annual DRAW CIVITA, set in the incredible speck of a town, Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy. Truly one of my favorite places in the entire world! Amazing views, wonderful food, warm people, great spots to sketch…

Dates are September 1-7, 2023. Yes, early Fall, a great time to visit Italy! Please email me directly at st.bower@icloud.com if you’d like more information!! Grazie! (AND I may add an additional one-day workshop in Rome on the following Sunday!)

Also, the Oxford workshop is full, but a few spots still open for the beautiful Loire Valley workshop, June 1-8 (we sketch markets, Leonardo da Vinci’s house, chateau Chenonceau…)!

In the sublime Chiesa San Donato, we sketch this on Day 5.

An Island in the sky… and yes, we have to walk up that long, tall bridge…but it’s well worth it!

Just announced a few days ago and it’s already filling up!!!!!!

Join me in beautiful, historic Oxford! And can you imagine, a day trip to Bath and Stonehenge too? Talk about bucket list items! I’ll be teaching perspective and watercolor sketching for 5 days…info is here.

And there are still a few spots open for the workshop in the UNESCO World Heritage site, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Info for that amazing workshop in January is here.

It’s looking like a busy year ahead!Thanks to Brenda Murray and Studio 56 for organizing these workshops!

And I invite you to take a look on Instagram and Facebook, I’m posting high quality scans of the sketches from the past summer in Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, and Holland!

Join me this Saturday, November 5 at 1pmEDT (that’s 10am in Seattle!) for an interview about my new book! A sneak peek, stories, how it all came together and more.

It’s free, online on Zoom, but you need to register in advance HERE.

And for those in the Seattle area, I’ll be giving a free, in-person talk and book signing at UW University Bookstore on December 5 at 6pm.

Hope to see everyone online or in-person soon! I can’t wait!

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I can’t wait for this!!!! The new book, The World of Urban Sketching, is out in Singapore NOW (where it was printed!), in the UK on NOVEMBER 1, and in the USA and other parts of the world on NOVEMBER 29!

Check out the current November/December issue of Artists Magazine for a story about the book with excerpts from some of my favorite sketchers. It starts with the introduction about sketching at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, and how we connect to what we sketch, how it becomes part of our DNA. Sketching is not about creating the perfect piece of art, it’s about capturing the experience!

Thank you to the magazine for this honor, and heartfelt thanks to all the contributors in this huge book project, especially David Morales H. from Colombia, DWA from Madagascar, Sandrine Laperche from France, and Alienbinbin from China who are featured in this article! The book is available to preorder now online or at your favorite bookstore.

And if you see the book or magazine anywhere, please take a photo and post it online and tag me! I’d love to see where you find it!

Yep, one more workshop in the beautiful heart of San Antonio, TX along the Riverwalk. One day of live, in person perspective and watercolor instruction in the tiny, picturesque old village of La Villita, only steps from the river.

And to thank those of you who follow this blog, you can register for this workshop one hour early, at 9am PDT, that’s 9am in Seattle, by emailing me at stbower@comcast.net. First come, first served. I’ll add you to the list in order of emails received and will reply with info on how to pay and workshop art supplies.

Hope to see you in October over a plate of yummy enchiladas!

And I hope that you’ll travel with me via Instagram and Facebook during the month of September. I’ll be teaching at a regional USk Symposium in Basel, Switzerland, then teaching a 10-day workshop along the coast of gorgeous Croatia with French Fusion Travel, then heading to Holland to see my family. I plan to teach on Zoom again in November/December 2022. In January 2023, spots are available for workshops in colorful San Miguel de Allende, Mexico with Studio 56 Boutique and the elegant chateau and wine region of France’s Loire Valley in June with the fabulous organizers at French Escapade, and Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy in SEPTEMBER 2023!! And of course, THE WORLD OF URBAN SKETCHING comes out in November (you can order it online now!!!!!) Whew!