Stacy Rowan's Stop and Draw the Roses: February 2010

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Finished Watercolor Poppy

I know this isn't a traditional Valentine's flower, but I shared the WIP image of this painting earlier and I wanted to show you the final piece.

Red Poppy

watercolor on Aquabord

This is painted on Ampersand Aquabord. It is my third painting on Aquabord and my second floral. I am really starting to like working on this support and I love that it can be framed without glass.

I was attracted to the saturated pinky reds in this piece and am pleased that I was able to achieve that color in the painting. I also loved sculpting all of the different petal forms.

Once the weather starts warming up I will spray this painting and frame it, hopefully in time for a show I have in April. Between now and then I also have to title it. Any suggestions?

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Day 37 - Chair

chair sketch

2B pencil in Cahier sketch book

Sketched from the comfort of my couch, this is a chair in my family room. It's a good reading chair especially when sun is streaming through the window. Of course there wasn't any sun on this day. This was drawn on the Saturday of the big snow storm. We were spared the bulk of the snow, receiving only about 8 inches, but still had a lot of gray, overcast skies.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Day 36 - Pear

After the fun I had with the clementine sketch, I decided to try my hand at a pear - another popular fruit in the Rowan house.

pear sketch

watercolor on paper

Although I used the same sketch book for this sketch as for the clementine, for some reason I struggled against the paper. It didn't want to grab my dark washes and when I went back in to smooth the wash what was there lifted. I worked around this difficulty as best I could, but by the end I was feeling a bit frustrated with the process.

The only thing I can blame for the paper difference is the fact that I painted on the back of a page. Normally both sides of watercolor paper work equally as well, but maybe not in this case.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Days 33, 34 and 35

I'm covering a few days worth of sketches at once here.

iron sketch

sepia pen in pocket cahier sketch book

First a drawing of an infrequently used small appliance - my iron. I remember that my mom ironed almost every night when I was growing up. Personally, I'm very happy for the invention of wrinkle-free fabrics, because I've been known not to wear an article of clothing that was too wrinkled instead of ironing it.

hand sketch

2B pencil in Cotman Field sketch book

Day 34 I had trouble finding a subject for my sketch. When lacking a subject what's an artist to do? Draw herself of course - or at least part of herself. That's what I did this day when I drew my hand. One of the best things about this sketch was that it finished up a sketchbook that I've been working in for several years. This is only the third sketchbook I've actually completely filled up. I used to have a habit of starting sketch books without finishing the previous one. I think this challenge may break me of that habit!

sketch of candles on shelf

sepia pen in pocket cahier sketch book

This third sketch is of a shelf in my hair dresser's salon. I had a full schedule that day so I was determined to get my sketching in early. The waiting during my hair appointment seemed like the perfect time to tackle my daily sketch.

What I didn't plan on was someone striking up a converstion as soon as I started drawing. It felt rude to keep sketching while they were talking, so I stopped. But then by the time they moved on I had to change my seat, which also changed my view of the subject. In the end I only did about a third of the sketch while I was at the salon. I finished the rest of it from memory when I got back home.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Day 32 - Snowman

snowman sketch

sepia pen in cahier pocket sketch book

I drew this little guy the first day of February. At the time we didn't have any snow. I remember watching the weather channel that day and they gave the statistic that something like 75% of the country had snow on the ground. But when they showed the map, we were in a little slice that wasn't snow covered, even though areas to both the north and south of us were.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Day 31 - Clementine

clementine sketch

watercolor on paper

Clementines are a new favorite fruit in our house. Sweet, juicy and easy to peel, we've been going through them pretty quickly. I managed to grab this one for a quick sketch before anyone else got to it.

I worked with a small set of half pans and a water brush and tried to stay a bit loose.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Days 29 and 30

cowboy boot sketch

sepia pen in Cahier pocket sketch book

A ceramic boot from a friend's house. It was a decoration in a highly cute bedroom.

pizza sketch

sepia pen in Cahier pocket sketch book

Pizza is one of my favorite foods. This night we got a veggie pie for dinner. The vegetables make it qualify as a healthy meal, right? Healthy or not, they sure made it yummy!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Day 28 - Stack of Clothes

sketch of pile of folded clothes