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

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.

Tap Dancer Drawing – Icebreaker

Icebreaker

18" x 14" graphite drawing on Canson paper

Stacy L. Rowan

This is the second drawing in my tap dance series. Tap dancing, like art, can act as a means of communication. One of my goals with my tap dance series is to bring tap conversations to a wider audience and increase the appreciation for this style of dance.

I have been titling all the drawings to go along with this idea of using dance to communicate. The first drawing is named “Riff”. According to the American Heritage dictionary a riff is “a clever or inventive commentary or remark.” A riff is also a common tap step. Its two sounds are created by brushing the ball of the foot followed by a heel strike on the same foot. Looking at the drawing, you can see the blur of the foot on the left shows the motion required to create the different sounds in the riff.

The drawing shown above is titled “Icebreaker”. An icebreaker can be a comment that eases tension and acts as a conversation starter. The dance conversation has to start somewhere as well. Why not with a strong, simple sound like a thumping heel to start the beat?