Lights

Bethlehem Brew Works bar lights

graphite sketch in large Moleskine

I went out to lunch with my hubby today while the kids were at a birthday party. I took the sketch book along and did this sketch in one of our favorite places to eat. These lights hang over the bar in the Bethlehem Brew Works. I liked the metal cages around the glass globes and the way the first light in the line is a sphere but the others are more elongated. I intentionally gave the third light an unfinished feel. It's a quick sketch since we were already done eating and I didn't want to hog a table.

A Great Gift for an Artist

Being the nice person that I am, I am going to help those of you out there who are flummoxed over what to buy the artist in your life. Although the artist you love would probably be perfectly happy, maybe even thrilled, to receive some more blank paper or new paints, I understand that the average person gets bored giving the same gift over and over and wants to give something unique. So here's an idea for you.


This is a picture of a gift that I recently received from my sister-in-law and her family. (Thanks Sue!) It is beautiful, shell shaped sculpture that looks lovely on my studio shelves. Even better, the sculpture is made from graphite, which means it is more than just a pretty ornament - it actually writes too! The point is nice for drawing lines, whereas the smooth flat side is good for creating broad strokes. The graphite does not rub off onto my hands or onto the shelf where it sits. Cool, huh? I'm sure most artists would think so.

Although the shell works as a pencil, I don't know how regularly I will use it. The form is so graceful I would be sad to wear it down. But I can see myself using it to do some warm up exercises or to play around with when I need to beat back one of those nasty artist slumps. And I think just having it displayed in my studio, seeing it sitting there full of possibility, will bring me inspiration when I need it.

My wonderful shell was created by sculptor Agelio Batle. You can learn more about his products here.

Valentine's Day

colored pencil daffodil work in process

on 5" x 7" Ampersand Pastelbord

Stacy L. Rowan

Forget the groundhog's prediction about how long winter is sticking around. (Is he ever right anyway?) I have a prediction for Valentine's Day. I predict that a lot of people are eschewing material gifts for their loved ones. Instead they are opting for creating handmade items to express their feelings. What gives me this insight, you might ask? The recent increase in searches for the topic "how to draw roses". I always get a fair number of hits from this search string, but since last weekend there has been a definite jump. Love is in the air and everyone is trying to draw roses!

Speaking of searches, I recently solved a little mystery I had surrounding image searches. Many of my blog visitors find me through an image search. (Is this true for other art blogs too?) Yet whenever I tried to find my own images using Google image search, I always came up empty handed. I know I'm not the best searcher out there, but could I really be that bad?? I didn't think so. So I came up with the hypothesis that when the search originates from my ISP, Google won't show me images from my own Picasa blog albums. To test my hypothesis, I gave my husband some appropriate search terms and asked him to do an image search from his work computer. After some gentle reminders, he finally tested my theory for me. Lo and behold, my hypothesis was right! Okay...so I admit that I don't know if it is exactly right in all the details... but I do know he can easily find my images. The same ones that I can't find when searching from my computer. Ahhh...it's good to know that my internet search skills are not as horrible as I feared. Now I can rest easy and enjoy Valentine's Day.

Happy Valentine's Day to you too. I broke with tradition and decided to share this daffodil work in process instead of a rose. Too many people were already doing the rose thing.

Early Preferences

graphite cat sketch approx. 5" x 5"

Stacy L. Rowan

I am already developing some preferences with my sketching. This sketch was done with a 4B graphite pencil. I feel it isn't as loose and expressive as my previous sketch which was done in charcoal. Since I am still trying to figure out how to achieve quick shading in graphite, I chose not to add any shading to this sketch. I am very slow with cross-hatching and not entirely comfortable with it yet. For these two reasons, I currently enjoy sketching in charcoal more than sketching in graphite. It will be interesting to see if that changes during my sketching journey.

This was another "in the car sketch" so I did it from a photo. I found sketching from a photo to be far less enjoyable than sketching from life. But it did save me from sketching sunglasses again or the side of a rather dull building.

One thing I am itching to try is sketching with pen and watercolor. I have the materials, I just haven't had the right set up yet. No way am I using watercolors in my car!! I can just imagine how that would go.

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.

Another Sketch

pen & ink sketch kid's sunglasses

Stacy L. Rowan

Lesson learned with this one. I had a rather long wait for my children one day and decided to sketch in the car. Only to find I had very little of anything that inspired me to sketch. So now I know I should carry subject material for sketching with me.

graphite sketch kid's sunglasses

Stacy L. Rowan

These sunglasses belong to my daughter. For some reason they do not sit flat, especially when propped up on the dashboard. Could be they were made that way, but it is more likely that someone sat on them at some point. I sketched them first in pen and then in pencil. Daylight was fading quickly so my primary focus was on speed. Even then I did not get to finish the pencil sketch.

Snubbies

graphite sketch

Stacy L. Rowan

Another sketch - this time of a stuffed Snubbies* that belongs to my kids. If you are not familiar with this toy, look here and you will see that they really are dogs with large heads. Interesting I know, but at least we clarified that this isn't a really bad sketch.

*I don't know if there is a singular version of this word. I've only ever heard them refered to as Snubbies, never Snubby. Anyone know?

Bethlehem Town Hall Rotunda

Tomorrow is the last day to catch the Bethlehem Palette Club Annual All-Member Exhibit. The exhibit is hung at the Town Hall Rotunda. There is a artist reception Sunday from 2pm - 4pm, after which the show will be taken down. My painting "Sentinels"of the Bethlehem Waterworks, seen here, is hung in this show. So if you want to see it in person and are in the area, stop by!

The Rotunda is located at 10 East Church Street in Bethlehem, next to the main branch of the Bethlehem Area Public Library.

Happy Anniversary

cupcake watercolor sketch

approx. 5" x 4" on Arches 140lb cp paper

Stacy L. Rowan

To me! Or...well...To my blog! One year ago today I created this blog and started posting. Truthfully, at the time, I was a little concerned because I didn't know much about blogging and I wasn't sure if I could stick with it.

Now here I am safely through the first year. To celebrate I created a yummy little watercolor sketch. And the best part - no calories! I made the sketch using a few different photos as references. I just couldn't justify bringing more sweets into the house until all of the Christmas cookies are gone and a lot more miles are logged on the treadmill.

To wrap up this party I'd like to thank all of you for reading my blog and supporting me through its first year. Stick around and we can have another celebration the same time next year!

Is it Too Late...

wooden Santa decoration

graphite sketch (approx 6" x 9") in spiral sketchbook

to post a Christmas sketch? Since I haven't taken down any of my Christmas decorations yet, I feel like I can still squeeze in this sketch. Am I the only person still enjoying holiday decorations? Come on, you can be honest. There's no shame in having the decorations still up. Christmas was only two weeks ago, even if it seems much longer.

And it's also not too late to make those New Year's resolutions either. Although before you do, I recommend you read this post from Christine Kane's blog. She recommends a new New Year's ritual that I find intriguing. I'm going to give it a try. Maybe you would like to too?

About the sketch: I was sitting on the couch, nursing a cold, looking for something to sketch when I saw the late day sun spotlighting the edges of the reindeer. It made me think of Santa's sleigh climbing into the sky toward a full moon. My goal was to capture that strong light on the reindeer and the reins.

Sketchy Resolutions

glass of milk

graphite sketch in Moleskine sketchbook

Stacy L. Rowan

First let me say a belated Happy New Year! Although I wasn't posting I was thinking of all of you. I've been trying to come up with a witty summary for 2007 or some fabulously motivating goals for 2008. But honestly, what I've got is a bit sketchy.

2007 was a year of building. I met about half of the goals I set at the beginning of the year. The other half I consciously tossed to make the most of other opportunities, like the mentorship with Michael Newberry.

I'm still working on my goals for 2008. I have three objectives that I want to work on this year, but I haven't translated them into well-defined, measurable goals.

My three objectives are...

1. Enjoy art more. Have fun creating it and showing it. Let the joy come through in the work.


2. Clarify my motivations for creating art and make sure my message comes through in each work of art and in my written and verbal communications.


3. Create a regular sketching practice so when I travel to Germany in August I can create a fabulous travel journal for remembering our trip.

The last objective is pretty easy to put into goal form, but I am struggling a bit with the first two. So I'm going to let these objectives incubate for a while. And as I work on projects I'll ask myself if the work is taking me toward my objectives or away from them.

The sketch above was the first in my regular sketching practice. It is my daughter's glass of milk from our lunch at the Bethlehem Brew Works. Unfortunately she drank it all and they cleared her glass before I was done with my sketch. Next time I'll speak up and have them leave it. Or I'll make her go thirsty until I'm done. After all, what is a small sacrifice in the name of art?

(By the way, you don't know what control it took not to title this post "Got Milk"!)

Merry Christmas!

10.5" x 7.75" watercolor

Stacy L. Rowan

May this holiday season bring you everything you've been wishing for. May you find yourself surrounded by loved ones, enjoying the warmth of their company. And may you find happiness, joy and peace in your celebrations.

Merry Christmas!