Step Back for the Big Picture

With regards to my artwork, I am typically better known for detailed pieces than for sweeping views. But I have found that sometimes taking a step back and getting the bigger picture is necessary.

Take today for instance. I went to a portrait drawing session offered by a local art group. I chose to set up at the back of the group. One of the other artists expressed concern that I might be too far from the model. But I saw the situation differently.

portrait sketch

charcoal on Mi-Teintes paper

approx. 12" x 10"

©2012 Stacy L. Rowan

Being further from the model keeps me from getting tied up in and distracted by the details. The position makes it easier for me to focus on the shapes of highlights and shadows.

When I sit close to the model I tend to label the parts as I draw. My mental chatter focuses on "What shape are the eyes? What are the lips like?" Labelling the features as I work makes it more challenging to ignore the mental symbols of those features and draw what I see.

When I sit further back I can't really see the details of the features. With a little squinting I can focus on the big shapes. And by drawing the big shapes the features sort of magically appear.

Definitely a situation where stepping back and seeing the big picture works better for me than getting up close and focusing on the details.

Our model today was the sister of one of the artists. She was very good both at getting back in to position after a break and at consistently holding the position. Not an easy task with 20 artists staring intently at you!

My sketch was completed in three approximately 20 minute sessions.

Jumping Off Point - Tap Dance Series Charcoal Drawing

"Jumping Off Point"

18" x 24" charcoal on paper

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan

Available

This is my newest charcoal drawing. I finished it earlier this month and then had to wait for a bright day to snap a photograph of it. (And I might try again since I'm not 100% happy with this shot.)

I had so much fun working on this drawing. As with the rest of the series, my "jumping off point" for this drawing was the motion. I love how everything is moving in the drawing except that front foot, and I love the contrast between the sharp detail of that foot and the softer lines and edges in the legs.

This drawing is bigger than my other charcoal pieces in the series. I wanted to create a sense of space for all of this motion to take place in without feeling cramped. I also worked to create a feeling of distance between the front foot and the back foot. It is a big movement and I wanted to convey that to the viewer.

My model for this drawing is my friend and tap teacher Rochelle Haynes. I met her when I began taking the Tap Ties advanced tap class and I was blown away by her talent. She has a style of dance that is very intricate and that squeezes so many sounds into a single eight count. But somehow her dancing never looks hurried and she manages such clarity in each of the sounds. She makes it look and sound easy, but I can tell you from experience that it is not!

In addition to choreographing some wonderfully complex and intricate pieces she occasionally also pulls out some mad tricks to challenge the class. The reference for this drawing is a shot of her landing after one of those special moves. It might have been some kind of wing, but I was watching through the camera lens so I'm not really sure.

Rochelle was an awesome muse and I have many references from our photo shoot. I am sure you will be seeing the product of some of those references again in this series.

Thank you Rochelle! When I grow up I would be thrilled to be half as good at tap as you.

Majors at Daylesford Abbey Art Show

This is the last weekend for the Daylesford Abbey Art Show in Paoli, PA. It is open today and tomorrow from 1pm until 4pm.

As I mentioned in my last post, I am showing artwork in both the miniatures and the majors categories. So as not to be accused of playing favorites, I thought I would show you some of the major works as well.

Each artists is allowed to bring up to 5 major pieces. You have already seen 3 of the ones I am showing - Icebreaker and Keep on Your Toes from my tap dance series, and Peter's Missing Snack which is the carrot painting in my blog header.

Here are the other two pieces.

"Sacrifice"

18" x 8" watercolor on paper

©2007 Stacy L. Rowan

"Ten Minutes Peace"

28" x 22" charcoal on paper

©2008 Stacy L. Rowan

Tap Drawings at the Daylesford Abbey Show

I thought I would post some of the art I have on display at the Daylesford Abbey Art Show for those of you who either can't make the show, or who want to see what I am displaying before you make up your mind.

I decided to start by sharing the three drawings from my tap dance series which are in the show.

"Dancing Feet"

8" x 10" graphite on paper

©2010 Stacy L. Rowan

This is the first time I am showing "Dancing Feet" on the blog. The drawing was created from one of my reference photos of the lovely and very talented Germaine Salsberg. I did this drawing as a preliminary piece to a much larger watercolor (which I promise to share here soon).

"Icebreaker"

14" x 18" graphite on paper

©2009 Stacy L. Rowan

My "models" for the other two drawings are both Tap Ties company members - Melody Kline (above) and Amy Smith (below). The Tap Ties ladies have been wonderfully supportive of this series of drawings and paintings and have allowed me to photograph a number of their rehearsals, for which I am forever grateful.

"Keep on Your Toes"

18" x 14" charcoal on paper

©2009 Stacy L. Rowan

Straight Talk - Tap Dance Series Charcoal Drawing

Straight Talk

18" x 14" charcoal on paper

©2010 Stacy L. Rowan

Available through William Ris Gallery

Straight Talk is the second charcoal drawing in my tap dance series. It may look familiar since I showed the start to it here.

Although this drawing shows a simpler step with only one foot in motion, the movement is still what attracted me to the reference.

I love that the foot on the right is a balance of movement and sharper, almost still areas. The best tap dances also have a balance of movement and stillness. A perfectly placed pause gives the steps a chance to breathe and will feel as loud as a stamp when it follows an intricate series of steps. A little well placed silence will help a piece shine much like the way the sharp highlight of the toe tap provides contrast to the movement of the dark shoe in this drawing.

I completed the drawing last year. It is currently being shown at the William Ris Gallery in Stone Harbor, NJ along with several other works in this series. Please contact them through the link above or the one in the right column if you are interested in purchasing this piece.

Seeking Recommendations

banana sketch (Day 140)

sepia ink in Moleskine cahier pocket sketch book

©2010 Stacy L. Rowan

I was lucky enough to receive as a Christmas gift a gift card for the local art supply store. (Okay, so maybe it wasn't all luck since I asked for it, but I was lucky that someone actually followed through on my request!)

I need to replenish some of my standard supplies, but I should also have enough money to pick up some new materials to experiment with. I am looking for recommendations from my fellow artists to help me choose between all the options.

There are two things in particular that I want your opinions on.

1) Paper for Charcoal Drawings -  I currently use Rives BFK paper for my charcoals, but I'd like to try another paper. In particular I'm looking for a paper that allows me to easily achieve subtle value changes. I'd also like a paper which is easy to tone since I typically start my charcoal pieces by laying down a consistent mid-value tone.

What papers do you like working on when you use charcoals or pastels?

2) Watercolor Sketchbook - I have been doing more sketching with watercolors lately. Last year I finished up a small Canson book and now I am about half-way through my Moleskine watercolor book. I actually like the Moleskine paper and will probably buy another of these, but I would also like to try a new watercolor sketchbook.

What is your favorite sketchbook for using watercolors or other liquid mediums?

Now I am pretty sure that every artist has one or two things they can't live without. For instance, I find that I repeatedly turn to the Faber-Castell Pitt pen with sepia ink and a brush tip for sketching. And I love my Winsor & Newton Sceptre Gold round brushes for painting.

If you feel strongly about any of your materials and want to share the love, I'm listening. After all, there is always Christmas next year once this gift card is done.

Thanks for your input! I can't wait to go shopping!
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For the record, I am not in any way being compensated by the companies above or by Dick Blick (the links I provided). This is just the stuff I regularly use.

Virtual Open Studio 2010 - Post #3

From the dining room, head into the kitchen.

This is where the all important snacks are, including the impossibly adorable mini cupcakes that my neighbor* brought over.

Yes, there are paintings of cupcakes in my future. Why do you ask?

In addition to real food, there are paintings of food, including Uncle John's Peppers ,

The smudge on the bottom left of the mat does not really exist. It is the result of my less than stellar Photoshop skills. I used Photoshop to remove the glare caused by the sliding glass doors opposite the painting.

 Familiar Blush.

 and Coffee Break.

Other pieces found in the kitchen are A Good Day to Wear Wool, which is another local landscape,

and Echinacea Buffet, one of the miniature drawings I recently completed.

All images ©2010 Stacy L. Rowan

------------------------------------------------

*My neighbor recently started up a business baking the most delicious and beautiful cakes. If you live local and are looking for a special cake, drop me an email. I am more than happy to pass along her contact information.

Virtual Open Studio 2010 Begins

Welcome to my Virtual Open Studio! So glad you could make it!

I will give you a guided tour, broken up into several manageable segments (posts). Then I will leave you to browse. Please take your time and don't be afraid to ask questions. All of the artwork featured in this Virtual Open Studio was created by me and is available for purchase unless otherwise stated. Enjoy your visit!

When you first enter, this little table is on your left. The papers provide information about me - Stacy Rowan - and my art. This year I also included a print out of my "Why I Am and Art Collector" blog post. Above the table hangs the watercolor "Seasons' Reflections".

Proceeding into this room you see the wall directly across from the entry. Hanging above the sofa is a grouping of three pieces - two graphite drawings and one charcoal. They are "Kitchen Reflections", "Icebreaker" and "Ten Minutes Peace".

The spacing for this groups of works is not ideal, but I was trying to minimize the number of extra holes I put in my walls. Remember these works typically aren't hung here. People are sometimes surprised that I don't live with all of my paintings hung around the house, but I still regularly exhibit this work and I don't want to stare at a blank space when a piece is off at a show.

On the table next to the sofa is this matted original watercolor of a jelly jar. The other small, original painting which is flat on the table was sold during the Open Studio. If you were standing in front of this table and turned your head to the left, you would see another graphite drawing titled  "Want to Play".

Across from the sofa is this corner of the room where two paintings are displayed - "Poinsettias" and "Detwiller House - Center Square, Easton". Below the "Detwiller House" painting, I displayed a basket of note cards as well as some matching note pads.

That concludes the first section of the Virtual Open Studio. Please feel free to leave any questions in the comment area. And a reminder, anyone leaving questions or comments will be entered for the door prize drawing.

Autumn is Here!

Hello loyal readers! I'm zipping in today for a quick update in case some of you were wondering if I was extending my summer break into the autumn months. As lovely as that might sound when my alarm first goes off, by the time I'm fully awake I find that I'm happy to be back in the swing of things.

Much of my time right now is being put towards preparing for my Second Annual Open Studio (details below). In addition to matting up some paintings that have been patiently waiting in the "complete and ready to mat" pile, I have also been trying my hand at some miniatures.

I seem to have picked up quite a collection of little, bitty frames. Their cute size and agreeable price make them hard to resist. And although I only pick up one or two at a time, their numbers have multiplied to a point that I could no longer ignore them.

So I've been sitting down with my charcoal and graphite pencils and having some miniature fun! The timing couldn't be better since these pieces will allow me to offer some lower priced original works at my Open Studio.

Echinacea Buffet

charcoal on watercolor paper

3.5" x 2.5"

©2010 Stacy L. Rowan

Now about that Open Studio... It is being held this Friday, September 24th and Saturday, September 25th in my home (because that is where my studio is). Unfortunately, since it is in my home, I'm not comfortable opening up the invitation to the general public. While I know that all of my readers are normal, sane people, there are some ... ummmm ... let's just say less sane people out there on the internet.

I promise I will share pictures and an update of the event and throw in a little extra surprise to make it up to you. Think of it as a virtual version of the Open Studio.

If you happen to be a local collector, and for some reason did not receive your invitation in the mail, please drop me an email. My address can be found in the column on the right. Thanks!

Symbolic Still Life Group Show

Kitchen Reflections

10" x 13" graphite and charcoal

copyright 2005 Stacy L. Rowan

I am pleased and honored to announce that my art is part of the Symbolic Still Life Group Show at the Newberry Gallery in Santa Monica, CA. The show opening was held last night. I couldn't be there so I am anxiously awaiting pictures and an eye witness report from Michael Newberry (artist and gallery owner) and Robin Neudorfer (friend and fellow artist).

The show also features the art of:
Robin Neudorfer
William Wray
Mary Woodul and
Michael Newberry

Symbolic Still Life is a show of still life paintings, drawings, and pastels by contemporary artists expressing their personal iconography through using symbolism. Powerful imagery, dynamic compositions, beauty, and a personal message, either obvious or subtle, are the ideas guiding the selection for this show.

The show runs through June 4, 2010, so if you are in the area please stop by and enjoy the wonderful art and the stories behind the works.

I am also in the process of adding some static pages to this blog. (Thank you Blogger for this new feature!) One of the first pages I have added is a "Now Showing!" page. This page will point you to the galleries and shows were you can see my art in person. The pages can be accessed from the tab links found directly below the title bar.

Tap Dancer Drawing - Keep on Your Toes

I am currently working on two new tap dancing pieces - a charcoal which I showed the start of here and a new watercolor. I am nearly finished the charcaol and am getting excited to share it. While thinking about that, I realized that I never posted my last drawing. Today seemed like a good day to remedy that oversight.

Keep on Your Toes

14"x18" charcoal on paper

copyright 2009 Stacy L. Rowan

available at the William Ris Gallery

This is my fifth drawing in my tap dancing series and the first one that I did in charcoal. (If you've missed the other drawings in the series, click the link above or type "tap" in the Blogger search bar on the upper left and the search results will show you all the tap related posts.)

Again my model for my reference photo was one of the lovely ladies of the Tap Ties company. In fact with this drawing I reached the milestone of having drawn all four pairs of feet. Surprisingly, they knew whose feet were in each drawing without me telling them!

While dancing, the tap dancer needs to keep on her toes - figuratively speaking. It is like participating in a fast moving discussion. She has to be ready for quick movements and sudden weight changes. Hesitation will be heard. Achieving a crisp sound requires everyone in the group to be perfectly synchronized. The dancer needs to know if the step requires her to keep her weight on her toes, like the cramp roll shown here, to keep the weight on her heels, say for toe taps, or to keep her weight right in the middle. Concentration, agility and grace are required to make the performance look effortless.

If you are interested, this drawing is being offered for sale through the William Ris Gallery of Stone Harbor. In fact I am very pleased to announce that they have recently added images of my tap drawings to their website.

Portrait Practice

Lately I have been feeling the need for speed.

Well, more truthfully, I have been wanting to improve my combination of drawing speed and accuracy. I believe I could draw anything I wanted given an infinite amount of time. And on the flip side, there is very little (if anything) that I could draw accurately in say 30 seconds.

So when I found out about a portrait group help by the Bethlehem Palette Club, I decided to give it a try. The group is for club members and is held every Wednesday morning during the colder months (January through April I think).

Each week we have a different model to draw. The models are all volunteers, but I have to say that so far each one has done a fantastic job. It is surprisingly difficult to sit without moving for 20 minutes at a time!!

Prior to joining this group, I had drawn or painted a grand total of 2 portraits. The first one was of my Grandfather. It was a gift for my mom. I drew it in graphite using an old photograph as my reference. I was pleased with the outcome, but it definitely fell in the "I can draw anything given an infinite amount of time" category.

My second ever portrait I did in watercolor at a workshop. I worked on it for a full day and added some finishing touches the next day. You can read about the experience and see the finished portrait here.

The first week of the portrait group I decided to use watercolors since I had had success with the watercolor portrait last year. Unfortunately, I didn't have a hair dryer with me, and I only had about two hours of total painting time. This made the portrait significantly more challenging and it shows in the results, which is exactly why I won't be sharing that portrait here.

Since there really isn't a good place to set up a hair dryer, I decided to try charcoal on colored ground for week two. The good news is that I felt the portrait was an improvement over week one. The bad news is that I was working on Mi-Teintes paper for the first time and I forgot that one side had a pretty pronounced textural pattern. Guess which side I drew on.

Also, earlier in the week I had been working on a graphite drawing. I don't typically use any blending tools when I work in graphite, but I do like to blend with charcoal. Of course, I forgot I liked to blend charcoal until about two thirds of the way through that session. Needless to say, I'm not sharing that portrait either.

But this week, this week I was prepared. I made sure to use the smoother side of the paper. I blended early and often. And I listened to my iPod to distract that inner critic. And the result... a definite improvement - not a masterpiece by any means, but something I am willing to share.

9" x 11"charcoal portrait on colored paper

Working from a live model under a time constraint is a great way to sharpen my skill at getting the pertinent information down in a timely fashion. My goal for joining this group is not to become a great portrait artist, but to see improvement in my portraits over the course of a few months. I am thrilled that I have already seen improvement in three weeks, and I hope I continue to improve from here.

Autumn Tree - Nov VSD

I really loved this reference when it was posted. (Thanks Jeanette!) But it turned out that I couldn't get into the flow with it.

First I started it in graphite. I loved the strong shadows in the reference and how they worked against the brightly lit trunk. But once I had my line drawing done, I decided I didn't have the patience to build up the values in graphite.

graphite line drawing
6" x 9"

So I moved onto charcoal. Charcoal spoils me with its quick and easy darks. After drawing out the image again, I started my shading. But I felt I was fighting to get a smooth tone for the sky and good form for the trunk.

crop of charcoal WIP
crop approx. 7.5" x 9"

Being the fickle girl that I am, I set aside the charcoal with a whispered promise to come back later when I wasn't under a time crunch. And then I turned to my old stand-by... watercolor. I decided to try a limited palette of aureolin, quinacridone red and french ultramarine blue. Rather than draw the image a THIRD time, I transferred my graphite line drawing from my sketchbook to my watercolor paper.

watercolor on paper
crop approx 5" x 8"

I painted the sky first and it went down with no problem. I foolishly thought I was home-free. Next I moved onto the tree. I loved the neutral I mixed from my three primaries and how it separated some as it dried, but I ran into the same struggle over form that I had with the charcoal.

At this point I finally took some time to figure out why I was struggling. It was that strong light that was creating the fabulous leaf shadows. Since it comes from almost directly in front of the tree, the form of the trunk looked flattened. Now that I had identified my problem, I had ideas about how to resolve it, but -BUZZ - time was up. Oh well, win some and lose some.

And all was not lost, because I did learn some valuable lessons.

First, don't try to tackle any painting or drawing when distracted by other things. I never slowed down to focus on this reference and form a plan. I just kind of jumped in. Had I given the charcoal my full attention I wouldn't have jumped to watercolor so quickly.

Second, although I like dramatic lighting, this type of lighting brings with it it's own set of issues which must be skillfully dealt with. The knowledge I gained here will help me the next time I work with the combination of strong shadows against bright light.

And third, as much as I love dramatic lighting, I can't sacrifice the feeling of good 3D form for it. Turns out good form is pretty much at the top of my list of priorities. Who knew.

I really love how these challenges push me. They push me to try new subjects, to complete paintings under time constraints and to work around obstacles and learn new things. I can't wait for next month!

Virtual Sketch Date - July

Sunquats

11" x 14" charcoal on Stonehenge paper
Stacy L. Rowan

Here is my entry for the July Virtual Sketch Date. It is a charcoal drawing of sunquats. The reference was supplied by Leslie Hawes and can be found here. A list of entries will be posted on the Virtual Sketch Date blog tomorrow.

A Sunquat is a citrus fruit and is a cross between a kumquat and a lemon.

As soon as I saw the gray scaled version of this reference I knew I wanted to attempt it in charcoal. I admit that I may have been a little ambitious when I whipped out the 11" x 14" paper, especially given our current circumstances, but that didn't stop me from trying. Overall I am pleased with how much I got done and how the drawing turned out. Although, if you look closely you will notice it is not signed yet. I am reserving the right to tweak it later.

This is the first charcoal I have attempted on Stonehenge paper. I am pleased with how the paper performed. My only complaint is that I had a hard time getting my brightest highlights back. For that reason I still prefer working on Rives BFK paper.

In case anyone is interested, I thought I'd share a little bit about my process.

Normally if I am working on a charcoal from life, I'll start the process by doing some small, quick value sketches. In this case, I was working from a gray-scaled reference so I skipped that step. However, I did take the reference into Photoshop and posterize it. Posterizing reduces the number of different values and simplifies the reference.

Using my two references, I decided where I wanted to change values and where my three lightest and three darkest values would be. I made this decisions based on composition and focal point instead of following the reference exactly as it was presented.

After the computer work was done, it was time to start drawing.

When I start a charcoal, the first thing I do is apply an even mid-tone of charcoal to the whole sheet of paper. As a watercolor artist who is used to saving my whites like they are gold, the first time I had to tone a paper I was petrified. I've gotten over that fear, but still find this step the most boring part of the whole drawing. I use a compressed charcoal stick to apply the charcoal and a combination of cotton balls and paper towels to even out the tone. I am not particularly gentle during this toning process and yet, both Stonehenge and Rives BFK hold up well.

Once the paper is toned, the real fun begins. I lightly sketch out the composition with my charcoal stick and then add and subtract charcoal as needed to get the values I desire. For my darker values I use a range of charcoal pencils from 2B to 6B. For lighter values I use long handled cotton swabs, tissues and my trusty kneaded eraser to remove charcoal.

One of the things I love about charcoal is how easy it is to make changes. I can darken and lighten repeatedly without damaging my paper. Using the flat side of my kneaded eraser I can remove large areas of charcoal. If I want to erase lines or small areas I can use the edge or shape the eraser into a point. Tissues and clean cotton balls are great for smoothing out an area of tone while lightening it. A cotton ball or swab that has already been used is good for smoothing out tone without much lightening. They can also be used to darken a light value. For my brightest brights, I use a pink pearl eraser. It pulls more charcoal off the page than any other tool.

Charcoal allows me to work freely and quickly while still achieving realistic results. And in the warmer months, when I am surrounded by so much natural color, I find a real attraction to its black and white tones.

When I was preparing this image for posting, I played around with cropping it. I'd love to hear if you like the full sized image or cropped image better.

Sunquats - cropped
Stacy L. Rowan

And please remember to visit the other Virtual Sketch Date participants...

Leslie Hawes, Laura's Watercolors, Miki Willa, Sharon, Doug Hoppes, Melissa Muirhead, Kay Susan, Michael, Jeanne Grant, Kylie, Paulette, Maryann Cleary, Maggie Steifvater, Jeanette Jobson who served as admin this month, and the woman who started it all Rose Welty. (More entries may be posted before the end of the day. The final list of participants will be posted tomorrow on the Virtual Sketch Date blog.)

Finished Charcoal Drawing

Hello all! You have been very patiently looking at my recent sketches and workshop paintings and photos, so I thought it was time to share a finished piece with you. Yes, I do actually finish pieces, believe it or not! I would love to share my most recent watercolor painting, but that will have to wait since I entered it in a local competition.

charcoal on Rives BFK paper
15" x 22"
Stacy L. Rowan

Instead, I am sharing another piece I am excited about, this charcoal drawing which I finished earlier this year. I completed it as part of my mentorship work with Michael Newberry. It may look familiar since the idea came from one of my graphite thumbnails that I shared earlier. I also did several other graphite thumbnails to investigate lighting and values. I’ve even done some color thumbnails of this same set up. I have to say this is the piece which taught me the true value of prep work!

The story behind this charcoal drawing is that it represents a scene that is found on many winter evenings in our house. After dinner, while the children are upstairs cleaning up and getting ready for bed, hubby and I often sit on the couch for “10 minutes peace”. Loosely translated that means ten minutes of adult talk time without the interruptions from said children. Since I am typically cold all winter long, I often have a cup of hot chocolate. And since sweets are a personal weakness, especially in the winter when my body thinks it wants to be hibernating, I also have two Oreo cookies to dip in my hot chocolate more times than I care to admit. Hey, at least I wait until the kids are upstairs so they don’t see my bad example.

These ten minutes of peace are when hubby and I reconnect and talk about our day. A little breather in a hectic life that we really look forward to, and that keeps us strong as a couple. I even feel more peaceful just looking at the drawing and telling you about our routine.

I’m still working on a title for this one. If you have any ideas, please feel free to share.

Edit: On my screen the image appears to have some pink in it . I have no idea why. I promise you the image I resized and uploaded had no pink in it. It is way past my bedtime, so unfortunately I have to leave it for now. I will try to correct it later, but other than uploading the image again, I have to admit I am stumped as to what to try.

Steppin Out

Today I took a big step out of my comfort zone and did a sketch of my daughter. The closest I have come to sketching people in the past hasn't been very close. But in my quest to be comfortable creating a travel journal of our vacation this summer, I am willing to sketch subjects I have never sketched before. I have also had the desire to capture my kids' images before they are fully grown or too cool to waste time sitting with mom.

charcoal sketch approx. 5.5" x 5.5"

Stacy L. Rowan

Now, for those of you who know my daughters, I realize that this really doesn't look anything like either one. At best it is an approximation of how my subject will look in a few years. I thought by catching her watching TV she would be pretty still. Foolish me. Actually I started sketching the other daughter first and two lines in she laid down. Maybe with more practice, I will get better at sketching and they will get better at being still. (I can hear you laughing you know - at least no one fell off the couch during this sketching session!!)

This sketch was done using an HB charcoal pencil in my spiral bound sketch book.

My Newest Adventure

My family knows that I am good at keeping secrets. If you tell me something and then say, "but don't tell anyone", I really won't tell anyone. I also like to try out new experiences quietly and only talk about it once I see how things are going. This drives my mom a little crazy. Maybe because my sister tells everything right away. When we were teenagers, my friend Trish used to to tell my mom things too. Sometimes things I hadn't told Mom and that I didn't really want her to know. Luckily in addition to being good at keeping secrets I'm also pretty good at forgiving my chatty friends for spilling them.

Recently, I filled my family in on my latest adventure. That means I can

now share it here. (I couldn't let Mom hear my latest secret by reading it on my blog, now could I?)

In May I signed up to be mentored by Michael Newberry. I met Michael when he taught an online class on Wet Canvas. After that class, some of my fellow classmates signed up for mentoring. They spoke so highly of Michael and are producing such wonderful work that I couldn't miss the opportunity of working with Michael too.

So far I am extremely pleased. Michael is a professional artist living in New York City. He is very knowledgeable, a super nice guy and easy to get along with. But don't be fooled, he knows how to make you work. The thumbnail I posted a couple of weeks ago was done for the mentorship. So were the two in this post. My next assignment is to develop a very similar thumbnail into a large charcoal drawing. I will also be working on some thumbnail sketches in watercolor.

So, if you don't see me posting much artwork, have no worries. Michael is cracking the whip and making sure I am working, I may just not be ready to share yet. You know, I like to see how it's going first. I wouldn't say I'm secretive...how about we use the word patient instead.

thumbnails copyright 2007 Stacy L Rowan

An Assortment of Sketches

Well, it might not be as good as an assortment of cookies, but I decided while I was on the topic of sketching, I'd post some more sketches. These were pulled out of my (finally full) sketchbook. The oldest one probably is from four or five years ago, but I'm not really sure since most of the sketches weren't dated. Note to self - make sure you date all of your sketches from now on!



I wanted to share this sketch because I remember it being the first one where I thought, "Holy cow! That actually looks kind of like what I'm drawing!" You will notice that it isn't really finished. As I was looking through my sketchbook I found a lot of sketches which weren't finished. I'm not sure what that is all about. All I know is that now that I recognize this trend I am going to try to break it.



This second sketch is of a conch shell that my husband found on the beach. It is a looser sketch. I admire people who have a loose, free style of sketching. A lot of times when I try for that style I end up with a sketch that looks hurried and sloppy, but this one turned out half decent.



I don't often sketch people, mostly because I am afraid I'll get caught and the person will be angry. But I did find these two sketches that I did on the beach. The people were far enough away that I didn't have to worry about being noticed. You can probably see where I lowered the guy's head. I didn't worry too much about erasing my mistake because I wanted to focus on capturing his whole body before he moved. I also left my construction lines. I like seeing the underlying work in a sketch. It shows off the process more than a finished drawing would.



Is anyone noticing a trend here?? I do a lot of my sketching while I am on vacation. I rarely seem to be motivated to work on larger works while I'm away, so it is a good time to keep my sketching skills up. And I don't feel guilty about not working on any of those unfinished projects, because I make sure to leave them all home!! These two sketches were done with my trusty 005 Micron pen.



This last sketch was done for a Wet Canvas composition class that I participated in. Obviously it is a more finished sketch than any of the others. Another difference is that I used charcoal pencils. I was pleased with this sketch for two reasons. One, because I set the still life up all on my own and really worked on getting an interesting composition before I put pencil to paper. And two, because it makes a great value study for a future painting.

I had planned on sharing some old, embarrassing sketches with all of you as a form of encouragement to those just starting down the sketching/doodling path, but most of them weren't finished enough to really make any sense out of. So you will just have to trust me that my first sketches smelled like three week old garbage.

All sketches copyright 2007 Stacy L. Rowan

I was Tagged

So I must apologize since this isn't an art related post. My sweet older sister tagged me to blog on the topic of six idiosyncrasies I possess. As if I have anything strange to talk about? (I can hear you laughing, you know.)

After much thought and contribution from my loving husband (why was he so willing to help I wonder?), this is what I came up with.

1. I am a chocolate purist. Now it's not my love of chocolate that is strange Most women I know love chocolate. It's the fact that I don't like my chocolate contaminated with any other flavors. Don't even think of putting caramel on my chocolate brownie or pretty raspberry swirls around my chocolate cake. Just give me chocolate - straight up!


2. In our house foods have strange names. Mostly this is my husband's fault, but I went along with it so I guess I am partly to blame. You see he decided early on that our kids would be more likely to eat something if he marketed it well. So tortillas are called fun bread, cavatelli and broccoli - Roley Poly pasta, fresh spinach - leaves from the yard. I guess it worked because our kids eat really well. However, now that they are older, when we introduce a new food they almost always ask, "Is that what it is really called?"


3. I hate to be told I am unable to do something, especially if the reason you think I am unable to do it is because I'm a girl! And once someone tells me I am unable to do something, I am going to try really hard to prove them wrong (unless it's something I don't care to try to do). I think this comes in part from having no brothers. My sister and I were raised to do the girls' chores and the boys' chores. Lucky us, huh? It also comes from majoring in a predominately male field in college, a field where women weren't especially welcome.


4. I don't like the number 4. When I was growing up, my neighbor, who was one of my best friends, told me that the word for 4 in Chinese is the same as the word for death in Japanese (or vice versa, I can't really remember). Ever since then I haven't liked the number four and I take steps to avoid fours. For instance I never give my husband four kisses. I either stop at three or give him an extra to make it five. Strange I know, but this isn't supposed to be a post about how normal I am.


5. At some point in my life I want to save an old stone house. There are many of these houses in our area. They were built mostly in the 1800s and they are beautiful. Well most of them are beautiful, some have seen better days. Unfortunately, sometimes these beauties are torn down to build new houses or shopping centers. I saw them tear one down and then crush the stones into gravel!! It broke my heart. Some call tearing down these old places progress. I call it insanity! So someday I want to save at least one and bring it back to it's former glory. I'm not sure yet how I am going to do this since it would probably cost a fortune, especially since neither my husband nor I are what I'd consider handy, but I'll find a way.


6. And my last weird thing is...wait for it...my toes! Yes, I said my toes. As my husband kindly put it, it is more like I have four hands. I can pick things up with my toes. You'd be surprised how much that comes in handy. I can also spread my toes abnormally wide. This freaks certain people out. (Yes Mark and Liz I am referring to YOU!) And when my feet are relaxed there is space between each of my toes, they don't touch at all. Just to prove my talent to you, below is a drawing I did of my foot. It shows me holding a pencil with my toes. Before you think I am really strange I will let you know I drew it for a class assignment.

Anyway, there are my six strange things. I hope my weirdness doesn't chase anyone away and stop you from reading my blog. After all, it's normal to be weird, isn't it?

Now for the fun part, I tag bluelilac and silvergirl. Have fun ladies!!