Next Sketch Outing
Thursday, Sept. 4: Emerald Forest Theater
This past weekend was the opening day of boating season in Seattle and the Windermere Cup races at the University of Washington. Lots of people and boats, gray drizzle, but for me, the highlight was getting to sketch the interior of the actual UW Shell House made famous in both the popular book and the recent film, The Boys in the Boat.
That story–a true story–is about a ragtag group of University of Washington rowers who beat the national favorites and traveled to Germany to race in the 1936 Olympics. In front of Hitler, they WON the gold medal! A proud moment for our country and a legacy that is still celebrated here in Seattle and especially at the UW. Drawing this space was an emotional experience, I felt like I was connecting with that legacy and the young men who lived and worked in this very same spot.
This drawing was challenging! It’s an enormous, fairly complicated space that was initially used as an airplane hangar, and the backlighting from the windows made it very difficult to see. Scaffolding was in the way too, but I kept calm, measured with my pencil, and drew in each bay of structure. Then working left to right, I started to draw in the details…some I couldn’t see well enough to figure out, but I think I got close enough!
Rainy day at Fall City Farms...my family has been coming to this place for some 15 years,
We have watched our kids grow up in the photos we take each year in the pumpkin fields.
A real family-run working farm with soul created by welcoming owners/farmers Rob and Debbie Arenth--thank you for the many memories, including those from today!
I tried a new watercolor sketchbook suggested by Gail, a Pentalic, purchased at UW Bookstore, made by an Oregon company from sustainably grown trees. Better watercolor paper than the Moleskin!
Hello sketchers...
I started sketching back in architecture school at UT Austin
where drawing was (and still is) an important part of an architect's education. In my 3rd year review, 2
professors wrote I had "weak graphic skills" -- honestly, I think that comment only made me work harder to
learn to draw. That struggle also became my inspiration for teaching drawing
and perspective sketching--10 years at Parsons School of Design in NYC, briefly
with Gail Wong and Frank Ching at UW, and more recently for a number of years at
Cornish College of the Arts where I now
teach a perspective field sketching class. I have also taught sketching classes to
architecture firms here in
Seattle.
Although I got my architecture license while living in New
York, I have spent most of my career as
an architectural illustrator (www.stephaniebower.com) and have had the good fortune to work with
many wonderful offices. Although digital imagery now dominates the profession, I
believe hand drawing is still an
important design and communication tool. I truly hope it won't
disappear.
Last year I made 2 sketching trips abroad-- one to southern
Spain and a second to India/Nepal, where I filled 2 large moleskin watercolor
books (you can see a few of the pages on my flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/83075812@N07/. ) India was amazing, but it's a very challenging place to draw.
Simply opening a sketchbook literally brings people running! I hope
to continue traveling and "seeing the world one drawing at a time" -- it is
truly my passion.
I'm also exploring watercolor landscape painting and have had
work in a few shows. If you are interested in watercolor, the Northwest Watercolor
Society is a great resource.
As for personal info, I Iive in Seattle, am married to
an architect and have 2 sons, one at Garfield
High School and one just starting UW.
Even though I draw quite a lot, I feel that I still struggle
with my field sketches. It's so hard to master all the variables. The energy
and support the Urban Sketchers give
each other, in person and on the websites, is amazing. What a brilliant
concept. This group is helping to keep
hand drawing alive in a digital age -- around the world, no less!
The image I am posting is the one I'd grab if the house caught
on fire (OK, I'd grab the India sketchbooks too.) I spent my 25th birthday here
at Le Corbusier's cathedral at Ronchamp. Although that was LONG ago, it was the
magical day my drawing abilities came together.
So this is my first post as an official blog correspondent --
thanks so much, and see you at the crawls!
Stephanie
