Workshop: San Antonio, TX | March 2020

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Hi y’all! Yes, I’m doing another workshop at the fabulous Pearl in San Antonio, TX. Registration is open now, so contact me ASAP at stbower@comcast.net to be pencilled in!

GOOD BONES SAN ANTONIO Texas | Perspective + Watercolor Sketching Workshop
March 13-14 + 15, 2020
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 amazing historic PEARL DISTRICT along the Riverwalk, this workshop offers 2 full days of instruction. The first day is devoted to learning the fundamentals of on-location perspective through demos and sketching on-site. Day two introduces basic watercolor mixing and techniques. Day 3 is a half day that puts it all together in an open sketch meet up!


GOOD BONES Day 1 | PERSPECTIVE | Friday, March 13 | 9am – 4pm* | Meet in front of Cure   We will learn perspective basics and a simple step-by-step process to construct an architectural perspective sketch, how to build the sketch in layers; learn what to look for when sketching perspective on location—how to find your eye level and vanishing points to provide the good bones of any sketch; learn how to measure proportions and relationships of spatial elements.
GOOD BONES Day 2 | WATERCOLOR | Saturday, March 14 | 9am – 4pm*·      We will learn: an introduction to basic watercolor tools and techniques, using a simple palette of colors; learn how to use watercolor to enhance the sense of architecture and space in your sketches; in the afternoon, put perspective and watercolor together.                                             * One hour break for lunch.
GOOD BONES Day 3 | OPEN SKETCHWALK | Sunday, March 15 | 10am – 12:30pm  Anyone can join us! An important, optional half day to cement what you’ve learned, joined by other sketchers.

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.
Workshop Registration is open now. To sign up, contact Stephanie by email at stbower@comcast.net  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 $250.00 payable by check once you are notified via email of a confirmed spot in the workshop.
Cancellation In the unforeseen event the workshop is cancelled, all fees will be reimbursed. If you have to cancel your participation, please contact Stephanie Bower at stbower@comcast.net     By February 1, all fees reimbursed; By February 15, 50% of fee reimbursed; After March 1, 0% of workshop fee reimbursed.                                    
A materials supply list and additional information will be emailed to registered participants.

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This workshop is in a FABULOUS location! The Pearl District in San Antonio is one of the best urban spaces in the country. Beautiful renovated old buildings, farmer’s market, cafes and shops, great tex-mex, interesting architecture, all along the glorious San Antonio Riverwalk. I hope you can join me!!

Workshop: San Jose, CA | May 2020

~ stephanieabower ~ 3 Comments

We’ve been planning this one a long time, so it’s exciting to finally be able to announce this workshop! The 3 S’s are together! Here’s the info:

People | Places | Color

A Sketching Workshop by Suhita Shirodkar | Stephanie Bower| Shari Blaukopf

May 15-16, 2020 | 10am-5pm | Downtown San Jose, CA

About the Workshop: This is a rare opportunity to learn location sketching from three globe-trotting Urban Sketchers specialists, doing what they do best!

Suhita Shirodkar (USA) will teach quick sketching of people in motion.

Stephanie Bower (USA) explains the basics of perspective sketching.

Shari Blaukopf (Canada) teaches her masterful use of watercolor.

Each participant will get a half-day/3-hour session with each of the instructors. The final afternoon session will put it all together in a joint sketching class taught by all three instructors. Maximum class size is only 12 people.

We are also adding an optional opportunity to join other sketchers on Sunday morning, May 17, for a Sketching Meet-Up that is open to all sketchers. Another chance to cement what you have learned!

Additional information about locations, recommended sketching supplies and more will be sent to registered participants at a later date.

COST: $300.00US/person. Payable by check (preferred method) or PayPal ($310.00US including additional transaction fee.) Payments will be coordinated by Stephanie at s.bower.arch@gmail.com.

How to sign up: Registration starts precisely on Sunday, December 15, 2019, at 12:00noon West Coast Time (no sooner, please.) First come, first served, in the order your email is received. To sign up, email s.bower.arch@gmail.com. Workshop payment is due January 1- February 1, 2020.

For more info about this workshop, contact the instructors directly. See you in California!!

Workshop: SEVILLA | April 17-23, 2020

~ stephanieabower ~ 3 Comments

When workshop organizer Brenda Murray approached me months ago about doing a workshop ANYWHERE–yes, she said “anywhere” in the world–my first choice was Seville, Spain. I was there in 2011, and it continues to call to me.

Here’s the chance for you to join me! The Studio 56 Boutique workshop info is HERE. It’s five days of focused instruction (the workshop info link shows the itinerary and amazing places we will go), including a field trip to the hill town of Ronda, and more. Registration is open now!!!

Would you believe that in 2011, I had just re-started sketching after a 25 year hiatus called “work and raising kids”? At that time, I was only sketching in pencil–no watercolor– and I had no idea that Urban Sketchers even existed!!!

This is part of why I’m so eager to go back, as the architecture of southern Spain is INCREDIBLE–gorgeous colors, charming streets, textured tile roofs, amazing detail and tilework, and it’s all infused with a strong and beautiful Moorish influence. To compare with my sketches of today, here are a few from 2011.

And here is one from this past summer in Barcelona. Things have definitely evolved!! Color adds so much, but it’s also much more difficult, especially when painting on the spot! We will of course draw and paint on location…

Please consider joining me in beautiful Spain! I can promise we will eat too much, see amazing places, sketch everything (including the tapas), and have a great time! (The best tapas I ever ate were in Seville…maybe that’s why I want to go back??)

A 21st Century Problem

~ stephanieabower ~ 51 Comments

If you happen to follow my sketching on this blog, Instagram or Facebook, you will know I’ve been more than a bit focused lately on the release of my new book!! I really appreciate and am so grateful to everyone who has been so supportive and welcoming of this year-long labor of love.

That said, this week I’ve learned the hard way that first impressions really are important, and as the publisher said, the first reviews online of a new book are critical to its success or failure. What happened has me so stunned, I am compelled to share it with you all. It’s definitely a problem of our times.

The first two reviews posted to Amazon are awful. One person says they received a mis-printed copy, which if that happened is truly unfortunate…but, the post states they received a digital/Kindle/e-book, not a hard copy book. Hmmm.

The second review is truly bizarre. It’s written by someone who states there are only men represented in this book, that there are no women, and that they plan to send it back because they value the input of women. Did they even look at the book? Last time I checked, I’m a woman, as are Nina, Simone, Suhita, Shari, Sue, Monali, Zainab, Alicia, Eleanor, Maru, Alena, Rooi, Rita, Katie, Angela, and Anna. The work of women is everywhere throughout this book. So what gives?

Sadly, the damage is done unless Amazon deletes these reviews. To that end, I’ve clicked the “report abuse” tab, but I don’t hold out much hope they’ll be removed. AND remember how your school GPA works? You can make A’s all semester, but one C will pull it down so far, it’s nearly impossible to get it back up to an overall A. Same for Amazon ratings, which means these bizarre reviews are a big, bad hit, as people really do look at the number of stars.

So, I appeal to you with this shameless request: If you like this new book, if you learn one new thing, if you have an “ah-ha” moment, and if you are willing, please post a positive review on Amazon–especially if you purchased your book through Amazon. It will make a big difference, and I’d be so grateful for any help. I’m taking deep breaths and fingers are crossed, and I promise to get back to posting sketches!!

Sketching like an Architect.

~ stephanieabower ~ 15 Comments

If you follow my work on Instagram (@stephanieabower), you know that my focus the past few weeks has been on launching the new book, 101 Sketching Tips! It’s so exciting and to be honest, very surreal!!

I also want to be sure to post practical and useful information to this blog and to use this as a teaching platform. To that end, this is a post from a few years back that got more views than any other on my previous blog. It shows the process I use to sketch each and every sketch I make, starting with reducing what I see to a few big shapes. (OK, shameless plug: it’s also one of the tips in the new book, “Tip 50: Sketch like an Architect. Start with the big shapes.” I think this post will show you what I mean, as it’s a different way of thinking compared to many folks who have an art background. More on that in a future post.
I LOVE to teach perspective because it’s something so many people fear, ignore, or fake, but there is no need if you understand a few simple principals.

Here’s the view in Suzzallo Library reading room on the University of Washington campus in Seattle. It was a regular USk Seattle meet up event.

Step ONE, Looking at the view ahead of me, I simplify what I see to a very basic shape, starting with a rectangle. This is basically what I call the “shape of the space”, as if you were to slice the room like a loaf of bread, this is the shape of one slice. Here, it’s the shape of the end wall. I measure the height and width with my pencil, then I transfer that shape to my paper. I place this shape very low on my paper, as I want to be able to draw a lot of the ceiling.

Next I locate my eye level and mark it in my sketch by drawing a horizontal line all the way across my paper…notice how LOW my eye level is relative to the shape of the space drawn. almost on the floor. On the eye level line is the vanishing point, that tiny dot just to the right of center (not the smudge right above it!) That spot is directly in front of me as I face the back wall of the space, and it’s the point where the many receding lines will all converge, making this a one-point perspective sketch.


Step TWO–by drawing in the three elements of step one (big shape, vanishing point, eye level), I have everything I need to do this drawing accurately in perspective. I can use the vanishing point to start drawing in the big lines, the major architectural elements of the space.  For this, I use a small plastic triangle, as it speeds things up to be able to snap accurate lines QUICKLY…


Step THREE– you can see I’m putting more of the bones in…the verticals represent the columns, or each structural bay of the space.  I start to tilt the lines closest to me to exaggerate the sense of height.

Step FOUR– I start working on putting in the ceiling…big shapes get broken down into smaller shapes, then I break those shapes into even smaller shapes…that is how structure works!  I also start to put in the chandeliers, as they cover up a good bit of the ceiling. Each one relates to a structural bay in the ceiling, and the lamps on the left relate to the lamps on the right.


Step FIVE– here is pretty much the complete line drawing.  I try to build up the focus with detail and linework at the back, allowing the lines closest to me to fade out.  I also added the book shelves, as that builds up the sense of activity at the pedestrian level and helps to ground the sketch.  Notice how FLAT the tables are because they are so close to my eye level. Notice how details are just suggested, I don’t take the time to actually draw in every detail.


Step SIX–Color…I started by putting an underpainting layer of Yellow Ochre on all the areas I want to be warm, usually the surfaces that advance spatially or are in the sunlight (what little there was!) , making sure to intentionally leave lots of white, unpainted paper for sparkle and light. Then I layer in more colors…mostly grays, as nearly everything in this space was gray to beige…I also build up the color carefully at the end of the space, the focal point of the perspective and the sketch.

And here is a scan of the final image, complete with signature and reminder of where I was!  I often lose a lot of the linework once I add color, which always makes me a little sad, as I LOVE the pencil work. It’s tough to hit that perfect pencil line –paint balance.

So there it is, beginning to end. It took about 1 hour and 15 minutes, sketched and painted on location. Paper is a Fluid watercolor block 8″ x 16″, Winsor & Newton watercolors, and my favorite Escoda Reserva size 10 travel brush. Also my 1″ angled synthetic brush for broad strokes in big areas at the beginning.

I hope you found this post helpful…if so, please leave a comment. And how does it look? Is the font size too big?? AND if you have ideas for what you’d like to see in future posts, just let me know. Thank you again for following this blog, and please also check out my workshops page…dates are being set now for 2020, Civita is already full!! I will post future workshops announcements on this blog first!

Tips, tips and more Tips

~ stephanieabower ~ 1 Comment

In less than two weeks, the new book will be on the shelves of bookstores everywhere! What a dream come true this is…and it all started only a few years ago when the founder of Urban Sketchers and Seattle Sketcher Gabi Campanario, was kind enough to put one of my sketches in each of his two books, the first two in The Urban Sketching Handbook series. I’m forever indebted to Gabi for what happened next.

It was a Seattle Urban Sketchers typically monthly outing, Gabi was sketching near me, and I was compelled to thank him for putting my sketches in his books. What an honor!!! He looked down at me (I was sitting on my teeny stool) and simply said, “You should write a book. Do you want to write a book? Should I put you in touch with my editor?” After literally picking my jaw up from the ground, I think I nodded and mumbled, “Sure.” But I was thinking, “Me? A book?”.

True to his word, a few days later I got an email introduction to his editor, Mary Ann Hall, who said I should write a proposal. That book proposal simply spilled out of me, and in 20 minutes or so, it was done. Off it went to Mary Ann, she showed it to the powers that be, and voilá…the rest is history.

I’m going to do a few post to feature some of my favorite parts of the new book. These are tips I’ve acquired from many years of teaching college, and later workshops and on Craftsy (now Bluprint, which is having a half-price sale right now, by the way.) I have learned so much from teaching, especially from the most challenging students. I had to figure out simple, relatable ways to describe complex subjects (perspective can be pretty complicated at first!), and many of these tips have made their way into the book.

Here are two of my favorites (plus bonus tips in the boxes–I hope you can read these!):

That’s right, think EYE LEVEL, not Horizon line…this will help you in so many ways. There is an entire chapter in this book devoted to ways your eye level line can help you sketch. And basically, the famed Horizon Line is ALWAYS at your eye level. I like to say, “The road really DOES rise up to meet you!”

Finding Balance: Line and Color

~ stephanieabower ~ 6 Comments

Thank you so much for signing up to follow this new blog! I thought for starters, I’ll talk about the sketch on the header…it’s sort of like starting your meal with dessert, as it was one of the last sketches of my 3 (!!) separate teaching trips to Europe this summer! This is a view from Dubrovnik, Croatia, looking toward the belltower and entry into the old city. Yes, this city was Westeros in Game of Thrones.

This trip started in Venice (more sketches to follow in more posts) and ended by traveling with my husband in Croatia. I love teaching, but as every instructor knows, it’s impossible to find the time and focus to do your own thing before or during a workshop…our job is to focus on our students, of course! So as I book my trips of late, I’m trying to factor in some time to do my own work.

It always takes me a long time to warm up, that is to get the feel for where I’m sketching. There are so many variables to consider…the temperature and humidity, the paper, what colors to use, paint, etc. I like to do sketches that look the place I’m sketching, so that the style doesn’t overpower the content. Changing any one of these variables changes everything! Have you experienced that? Warming up also means hitting that sweet spot that is the perfect balance of line and color. I seem to often do a line drawing I love, then paint it so that the linework completely disappears — argh!

I’m also starting to realize that I like working BIG. I always tell beginning sketchers to start small, that your work will naturally get bigger when it feels right. So in Venice and Croatia, most of the sketches I did for myself were on large, 8″x 16″ (double-square) pieces of Winsor & Newton 140lb. CP watercolor paper, a paper I had really never used before. It was a bit of a risk and it certainly takes longer than filling a small piece of paper, but I started liking the results as I figured out how to work with it. It’s soft enough that it takes layers of paint well (harder papers sort of repel the paint a big, and lift off the color as you attempt to add layers), but it’s also hard enough that I could draw decent pencil lines with my trusty mechanical pencil and 2B lead. The results were soft sketches with color that didn’t overpower the linework. I rather liked painting the non-colors of the creamy white buildings and shiny ground in Dubrovnik. Had to decide if I would push colors to a warm yellow ochre, or a gray, or a blue purple…or a combination of them all.

These sketches took some time. For this one, I sat near a cafe, and the waiters kept coming out to see what I was doing and nod their approval or make suggestions (yes, one did that! He thought it looked like winter with snow on the mountain.) Then there was the issue of the masses of tourists blocking the view. Had to work around that too. As I worked, I went into a trance as I found my pace, my flow…time stopped, and I was just hyperfocused on what I was doing…I love that feeling, it’s rather like a meditation.

I’m super happy with this result…I hope I can capture this feeling on my next trip, and I hope it doesn’t take all summer to find it! Anyone interested in a workshop in Dubrovnik next fall? I’d go again in a heartbeat…

[Detail view…that’s Daniel Smith Quinacridone Burnt Orange dropped into that shadow when the paint was wet…it works GREAT to get the glow! I don’t leave home without it!]