Here come more posts...at last!

[by Stephanie Bower, Seattle]  I am finally back in my studio, after over two months of travel mostly for teaching and some for work. Alas, it was pretty much impossible for me to post ot the blog while traveling. Days were packed and often I had little to no internet! I did manage to post some to Instagram, as it loaded on my phone when the blog or Facebook or Flickr would not...so please, I invite you to see my posts on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/stephanieabower/

For the fifth summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to teach a workshop in the amazing Italian hilltown of Civita di Bagnoregio. It is a speck of a town, you can walk it from end to end in about 5 minutes, and it is only accessible by a steep foot bridge and thus has no cars. You feel transported back to the Middle Ages, but for all the tourists. Civita is remarkably picturesque, Rick Steves says it is his favorite Italian hilltown.

This year, I taught two workshops back-to-back, and since it was roasting hot, we sketched inside the cool, dark chiesa and worked on really "Understanding Perspective"!  I love the simplicity and scale of this church, and it is filled with interesting relics from the past. There was likely an Etruscan temple on this spot nearly 3000 years ago.


Below is how I teach people to start perspective sketches--I start a sketch like this with what I call drawing the "Shape of the Space". Then I use the eye level line and VP to construct the bones of the sketch. You can see how I draw the entire ellipse to help me draw the arches.

I kept this drawing and colors very simple, letting the openings in the arches recede by painting them a cool blue...painting like an architect to make sure the spaces read.

More sketches will follow, including a dozen or so from Italy, then Holland, then England...and of course, there was Chicago...

Thanks to everyone who participated in the workshops and to The Civita Institute for their support of this opportunity!  Ciao, tutti!

Inside the Chiesa San Donato on a hot day

Today, it felt like summer in Italy again.  So in the heat of the day, I wandered over to the dark Chiesa San Donato, to attempt a second version of the sketch I did last year which I loved and will probably never surpass.  But this time, different proportions and paper (part of my project series), and I wanted to talk more about some of the detail in the church, of which there is much. I also want to use the finished sketch as part of my walking guide, so it would be useful to show more of the church content. But looking at it now, I think I probably went overboard with the detail and should have left it sketchier. We'll see once it gets color!!

I really like this church...it is most likely built atop an Etruscan or Roman temple (note the remnants of columns on the exterior), probably built by the Longobardi (Lombards from the north who were in this part of Italy roughly 500-700AD--thank you, Wikipedia), then renovated various times, especially on the exterior facade.  

And the church is full of stuff, a lot of interesting stuff.  I really like the basic white Romanesque layout and simple arches, then in various spots one finds an explosion of detail, gilt, history. Not fussy, but rather casual, a little dusty, like a real church and not for show. Also inside are the relics (as in preserved remains) of two saints--Santa Vittoria who was martyred in 251AD and St. Hildebrand who died in 873AD.  San Donato himself was from Arezzo and was martyred during the 300's.  Then there are the Roman, Medieval, and maybe even Etruscan remants either incorporated into the building or lying around in some corner.  Well worth a close look to see this profusion and history.

Tomorrow, the color version...

Four Views of the Piazza San Donato

I've been spending lots of time in Civita trying to learn about its architectural history. Lots of books, including some I stumble through in Italian, lots of walking around, and a fair amount of sketching (although I need to do more). 

The main piazza here was an Etruscan then Roman forum nearly 3000 years ago, and it is still the heart of all the activity in this tiny town.  Tonight, there is a jazz concert here, and the entire town and visitors will turn out in the piazza.

I decided to do a series of wide angle drawings of this ancient space, with notes that would describe some of the buildings whose history I was learning about.  Here are four images of the Piazza San Donato, one view in each direction, turning counter clock-wise. My favorite is the last one.  I hope to do more project drawings in this same format.

And you can see how I eventually figured out the color palette, including shadows and shade-- a lot more gray than I expected! And I switched from Burnt Sienna to Quinacridone Burnt Orange for the glow...

Looking East toward the Chiesa San Donato

Looking North toward the medieval Priest's House and prison

Looking West toward the medieval house turned Town Hall in the Renaissance.

Looking South toward the grand Palazzo Alemanni

It finally starts today...Draw Civita 2014

This is something I've wanted to do my entire adult life:  travel and teach sketching.  

A year and a half in the making, together with the amazing support of one Stephen Day, Architect and past president of NIAUSI/The Civita Institute, 6 workshop participants are showing up today in this amazing tiny hill town of Civita di Bagnoregio.  We'll draw and paint, learn perspective and basic watercolor for 5 full days, have some amazing meals, and marvel at these ancient stones and dramatic setting.

And yes, the idea is to do this next year too (anyone up for Draw Civita 2015?)...and the year after that...and...

After the workshop, I'll be here till August 22 working on my fellowship project, an illustrated architectural walking guide to the town...grazie mille, Civita Institute!!

Can you imagine me hauling my groceries up this bridge?