Jeep Ride to Tacoma Marathon, x 2.

Drawn while Jackie drove us to Tacoma for the Marathon. Twice. Because we got all the way there and I realized I'd forgotten my money. She was not happy. I felt horrible. But I had time to do a drawing in the bumpy jeep. I still feel bad. Sorry, Jackie!

Woke up in Paris this morning (someone pinch me)

As I'm traveling alone, I had to pinch myself.  Groggy from jet-lag, I awoke today to a chilly, wet, gray Paris morning, rather like the Seattle I'm used to.  But the similarity stops there...this is no Seattle!  

Yes, it's finally here...the opportunity of a life time to sketch, paint, draw, study and experience the architecture and urbanity of this amazing city, thanks to the incredible generosity of one George Parker Jr. and the jury who saw fit to award this year's Gabriel Prize to moi. To them, I am profoundly humbled and grateful--grateful to my core--and I hope I can honor this legacy by producing some beautiful work over the next three months.

I also awoke to a state of shock...yes, I've left my husband and two kids back in Seattle for a big chunk of time. Yes, I'll be on my own most of the time in Paris (have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit alone in a romantic Parisian cafe?) And yes, the pressure is ON to find my artistic self at last, draw and paint non-stop, and produce something worthy of this incredibly, unbelievably rare opportunity. I hope I rise to the challenge.

Today in the rain, I made my way to the nearby Jardin du Luxembourg, peppered with young people in romantic poses at one end and with small groups of tourists in the other.  It was raining, but under the canopy of the dense rectangularly-trimmed trees, it was very dry, so quite a few people were huddled together listening to the rain hit the leaves overhead.  It was lovely.

I pulled out sketchbook number one, turned to the first blank page, and plunged in. 

Palais Luxembourg, Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris  May 16

Above is the first post from Paris on my blog "Drawing Perspectives" www.stephaniebower.blogspot.com...I figure I'll post a few images in the next three months on the Seattle Urban Sketchers website, but I'll refrain from inundating the Seattle blog with images of France.  However, if you are curious to see how this sketching adventure goes, I soooo invite you to check out the postings on the blog.

Also, I'll be meeting Paris Urban Sketchers this Sunday--I am so VERY excited to meet them, so grateful to be met by a welcoming community.

Last--does anyone know how to get a good jpeg of a sketch without a proper scanner?

Bon Nuit!

Bluff View @ Richmond Beach

Last Thursday evening, my wife and I decided to get take-out and go to Richmond Beach Park to enjoy the sunset.  The air was warm and the view spectacular looking down the Sound toward Shilshole Bay.  Later we walked to the bluff (left side of sketch) so as to get a fantastic view toward the Olympic Mountains and the sun finally setting.

Sketch Outing Sunday May 19th Pike Place Market 10:00 am -12:30pm

Join us for the May Sketch Outing 

Sunday, May 19: Pike Place Market!

10:00 am to 12:30 at Pike Place Market

Meet Under the Post Alley Sign next to where the  Seattle's Best Coffee shop use to be.  You won't miss it.  It is a diagonally cross the street from Sur La Table and across from the Inn at the Market.    

1530 Post Alley at 10:00 a.m.   See you there!

Boston Common - Oldest Park in the US

Wow, what a long day, or days. We caught the red eye from Seattle to Boston, getting in at 7am and we hit the tourist streets running in an effort to get on Eastern time. This sketch was done late in the afternoon of the second day without sleep. Let's face it travel to a rarely visited city makes up for the lack of Zs'

Bike 'n Sketch in Fremont

How could I NOT bike on a glorious day like we had Friday, May 10?!?  So perfect!  We met at the Lenin Statue, decided where we'd meet in 2 hours, and went our own ways.  I turned to walk up 36th St. and stopped.  That Fremont Cigar building  in bright yellow was calling to me. Why look further?

I sat on a hump of dried grass at the base of a tree, and enjoyed the process.  After an hour or so   in the shade, I knew my next location needed to be in the sun.



 I walked my bike barely 100 yards, and almost immediately,  I got hooked again.  This time it was the brilliant orange California poppies!  By stepping back a bit, I was able to include the bar 9 Million in Unmarked Bills in my sketch.  Interesting building that fits into the triangle formed by Fremont Pl. N and N 35th St.

I do love pencil sketching, so in this sketch, I started with 2 Derwent Inktense pencils, followed by ink highlights with Platinum Carbon ink.
I was able to add some w/c later at home.





















After we had gathered to show our work, I went over to Peet's, sat outside with my latte, and sketched the McKenzie Building, which now houses Dusty Strings.  I've never been in there, but I have 2 friends who have worked there.  Can you believe it was hot?! too hot to stay and try to add color, so I packed up and biked UP Stone Way to home. WHAT A GREAT DAY!!!

Ad Hoc outing to Fremont

We met in the Center of the Universe, aka Fremont.

Despite having lived just south of Seattle for 13 years, I'd never walked around Fremont.  It was great fun!  My first goal was seeing the Troll.   I only did this one sketch during the official part of the sketch outings because I had too much fun talking to other people who came to see the Troll. 


I tried to put into practice what Gail Wong taught in her recent workshop about reserving the white spaces in the sketch.

We met to share out sketchbooks.

One person is missing as there were 13 of us today.

The rest of the photos of sketchers in this set

After lunch and more walking around Fremont, I did another sketch.  The Fremont Rocket is 1950's surplus from AJ's Surplus in Belltown.  It was acquired in 1991 but not installed until 1994.  It bears the official Fremont crest and Motto:  "De Libertas Quirkas" (Freedom
to be Peculiar).

Sketching in the Center of the Universe

5/10/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Stillman & Birn sketchbook

With ideal – no, pluperfect – sketching conditions (for me, that means wearing a T-shirt and sandals but not breaking a sweat while sitting in the sunshine), a good turnout of Seattle sketchers showed up for an ad hoc meet-up in the Center of the Universe.

 

The Fremont Troll has long been on my list of favorite Seattle sights to show out-of-towners. The Troll, who lives under the Aurora Bridge, was created in 1990 by Ross Whitehead, Steve Badanes, Will Martin and Donna Walter. When I started my sketch, the only other person there was sketcher/photographer Gordon, who climbed behind the Troll’s shoulder to take a picture of me across the street. But by the time I was finishing up less than an hour later, I had lost track of the number of tourists who came by – some in taxis with the meter still running; others on tour buses; still others on foot. I know the Troll is supposed to be scary, ominously clutching a hapless VW Bug. But as I sketched him, I realized he has very human hands and seems more curious than scary.

Urban Sketching at Harborview Medical Center

Harborview Medical Center Trauma Emergency entrance, watercolor and ink by Carleen O.Zimmerman

I met Gabi and was introduced to "urban sketching" less than a year ago. Last fall while waiting for my eye clinic appointment, I looked out the window and saw this view and realized it was a "sketch moment".                                                                                                                     I had my little Moleskine sketchbook in my pocket and quickly did an ink drawing of the scene below. I was struck by the awareness that for so many people, this corner is a pivotal moment in their lives.                                                                                                                                   I have since re-painted this scene, donating the latest sketch to the Emergency Administration department. They asked to purchase it for printing note cards, but I requested instead that any and all proceeds go to the Pediatric Trauma Fund.                                                                                                               My sketch and the plug about urban sketching is a feature article in the exhibit brochure (my name is misspelled). The exhibit runs from April 20 to May 18 in the cafeteria.

Thanks to all of you for continuing to inspire me to tell the stories of my community, where we live and work.

My Bag Gets 15 Minutes of Fame

My day job is freelance writing, so I gave myself and urban sketching a little publicity: The Summer issue of Studios magazine published an article I wrote about my bag – my “portable studio.”

 

In part, here’s what I wrote:

Urban sketching is taking the world by storm! Unlike traditional plein air painters – who are often portrayed in fields with easel, palette and beret – contemporary urban sketchers take a more portable approach. For these thousands of sporadically nomadic artists worldwide, their “studios” have to fit in pockets, backpacks, purses or everyday bags.

That’s because, at least for this urban sketcher, a sketching opportunity can occur at any time – during a lunch break, while waiting in a dental office, or at a brief stop between errands. So I like to have my gear with me wherever I go.

The article includes photos of the contents of my bag, my attachable watercolor kit and a couple examples of my sketches.

I wrap up the article with how I came to be an urban sketcher:

By now you’re probably wondering if I even have a “real” studio at all. For the past 10 years, I have worked as an abstract artist in a variety of media that require traditional studio work, so I do have a small home studio.

But the other side of the story is that for most of my life, I simultaneously felt both the fear of drawing as well as the desire to learn how to draw. In 2011, partly because of my desire to learn and partly because the Urban Sketchers movement resonated so strongly with me, I decided to overcome my fear.

In particular, I was inspired by Urban Sketchers founder Gabriel Campanario and his weekly column in The Seattle Times. His sketches of Seattle – my birthplace and lifelong home – depicted sites I had been to many times yet had never truly seen. I wanted to learn to see and experience those places more thoroughly. And I couldn’t do that if I never left my studio.

Now my studio comes with me wherever I go, and I’ve never looked back.

The Summer 2013 issue of Studios magazine can be purchased digitally or in hard copy.

Lovely London

My husband and I just returned from London, where we met our brand new grandson, Harvey. (He is perfect, by the way!)  London is amazing, with sketching opportunities everywhere! But time was limited and I only managed a few. We rented a tiny flat in the neighborhood of Belsize. The flat was plain but the neighborhood oozed charm. Here is the closest shopping area, gracefully tucked off the residential street so as to not ruin the architectural symmetry.

There are others on my Flickr site,  www.flickr.com/photos/locationdrawings/

I love the view that Gail just posted and have drawn little watercolors of it many times. This is from the dock on the water where my niece lives. I went past there today and it was full of activity. The whole city seemed to be celebrating the warmth and sun.

Beautiful Seattle

I haven't been doing much on location sketching or painting these days.  But I had time to go out this morning and sketch from a spot I walk past with a friend.  We always stop at the top of the hill and admire the view.  I always say, "I have to come back here and sketch this!"  This time I did and what a beautiful day to sketch!  This is a view from the top of the hill in Portage Bay looking toward the Husky stadium and Montlake Bridge.

Montlake Cut

Edmonds Marina

Sketching on site in the wind!

Edmonds marina from the pier

Edmonds marina and the pier

This was an exercise in trying to find the best perspective for my composition, trying to add my lines and trying to selectively add watercolor highlights.

Watercolor highlights added later out of the wind..too much.

And this was the result of not knowing when to stop.

It was also a futile attempt to scan my 5 x 8 Moleskin on my scanner.

At least I saw a Gray Whale!

Statue of Jimi Hendrix



5/3/13 Sailor fountain pen, Stillman & Birn sketchbook

I’ve never been much of a rock fan, but I know the influence that Jimi Hendrix has had on rock music, and even I can listen to his riffs and appreciate his innovation.

 

The bronze statue of Hendrix on the corner of Broadway and Pine on Capitol Hill has been on my list of memorials and monuments that I want to sketch. Sculpted by local artist Daryl Smith, the statue captures the intense passion that I imagine Hendrix must have expressed during concerts. Leaning up against a wall of the Blick Art Materials store as I sketched, I felt that passion, too.

Pipes near a condo in Magnolia.

I walk by this hardware at least four times a week on my strolls to Ballard. When the light hit it just right it was time to draw.