Working Inside

Today the morning broke cool, thank goodness!  Italy is having the "worst" summer anyone can remember with much more rain than normal (I heard the exact same thing in Paris last year too and am starting to get paranoid, because both summers, it seems Seattle has experienced the sunniest summers on record),  but I was very grateful for today's break in the temps.  So while it poured outside, I was cozy inside working on 5 images, which I may try to sell here in a local shop!  I particularly liked these two, they are small and simple, but I really like how the colors and composition worked out.

What colors am I using?  I use Ultramarine Blue with Burnt Sienna and touch of Alizarin Crimson (a mix I learned from Stephen from Vermont who took my workshop in July--thank you for this great mix, I am using it constantly!), yellow ochre and raw umber, and for glow, I'm really liking Daniel Smith's Quinacridone Burnt Orange, similar to Burnt Sienna but doesn't get muddy when I drop it into wet paint.

Tomorrow is a holiday in Italy, Ferragosto or the Day of the Assumption of Mary, so Civita will likely be packed with visitors...yesterday, there were 1,200 tourists...

Lots of detail

Today I colored the Chiesa San Donato interior sketch--most before lunch, a bit after lunch. Well, I probably went overboard with the detail, but the original actually looks OK.  I compare it to the one I did last year (on the banner at the top of this page), which in many ways I like better because it's sketchier, but this one will work well for my walking guide project, as it shows more detail. The color is much nicer in the original, softer, this looks a little garish digitally from my camera photo.

Tomorrow, I'm taking a break and heading to Orvieto--I'm hoping they'll let me sketch inside the famous Duomo!

Detailed interior of the Chiesa San Donato in Civita. August 4-5, 2014

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...

Civita Institute's Sala Grande

This isn't my usual style of sketching (where is Steven Reddy when you need him?), but it's what came out on the paper this afternoon.  The Sala Grande is a beautiful, tall space that functions as NIAUSI's library and work space.  The focal point of the room (other than the breathtaking views out the windows) is the tall fireplace, faced with the volcanic basaltina stone. 

I first saw this fireplace in a beautiful pencil drawing done by Olson Kundig partner, Alan Maskin, who was a student here as well as a NIAUSI fellowship recipient.  This fireplace is attributed to the famous 16th c. architect Vignola, who worked on the Villa Lante not too far from here.

I love the little window in the back wall of the fireplace, not uncommon in the fireplaces here in Civita.  The little window provided light to work by while one sat near the warmth of the fire in the winter...

Back in Paris, Back in the Studio

Today I spent all day glued to my drawing table, finally getting the opportunity to finish 
up numerous sketches from the past few weeks.  I prefer to do an entire sketch in 
the field, but it's often problematic to draw and paint at one sitting on site.  So today, 
I added color, scanned, etc. to a whole collection of images, clearing the way 
for me to dig into the final weeks of working on my Gabriel Prize project.

Going back in time, here are a few more sketches from Civita di Bagnoregio~~

thanks so much again to NIAUSI for providing the opportunity to work in this
amazing place.  I look forward to next year's workshop!

Interior of the really lovely Chiesa San Donato.
I really like this sketch, click on the image to see it larger.  I used cerulean blue under the
arches, then at the end glazed with cobalt blue--I love the cool color.

Stairs to the wonderful NIAUSI
apartments.

Dramatic entry to Civita through the Porta Santa Maria, looking
to the hills and tuffa beyond. Slowly learning to capture the colors.
The secret was raw umber...I'm really happy with the watercolor
on the gate.

Gate to Tony's Garden.

Quick sketch as a storm brews in the valley on the last day, looking toward Lubriano.

Civita di Bagnoregio Piazza

Civita di Bagnoregio is warm, sunny, breezy, and spectacularly beautiful.  You walk through Bagnoregio, over and up the long bridge to Civita, walk through the gate, and you are thrown back several centuries into a world of beautiful ochre colored stone, small winding streets with huge pots of flowers, and buildings that are scaled to the pedestrian and burro.

The NIAUSI apartments are equally beautiful!  Beautiful designed, amazing views out to the landscape, and so elegant.  It is really wonderful to be here.

The workshop is very casual this year...the one particpant (we advertised a little late for people to get reasonable airfares, but next year, I'm sure we'll have a full class) is doing wonderful sketches.  We spend the days scoping out beautiful places to draw and paint together, trying to figure out how to capture the colors of the stone--which is not easy!

Civita Piazza. July6
Working on getting the colors.
Photo is taken in the sunny windowsill in NIAUSI's Il Nuovo apartment.

Welcome to Drawing Perspectives

Thank you for checking out my new blog, Drawing Perspectives!  On this blog, I hope to post my perspectives on sketching, painting, teaching, as well as how-to's on drawing and watercolor, travel photos, and finding that illusive vanishing point... 

Where could this be?  It is even more stunning in person.

I'm Stephanie Bower, and I live and work in Seattle, Washington.  I've been an architect and architectural illustrator for 25 years or so, both here in Seattle and before that in New York City. I've been traveling and sketching for a long time! I've also taught perspective sketching for many years at Parsons The New School for Design in New York, briefly at the University of Washington (thank you, Frank Ching, for that opportunity!), and currently in the Design Department at Cornish College of the Arts.  As hand drawing disappears from the practice of architecture, I feel it is more important than ever to make sure the ability to draw stays alive and well in the profession.

Sketching attracts crowds in Kathmandu, Nepal, November 2011.

I have the great good fortune to have won an award, The Gabriel Prize, which will allow me to spend 3 months in Paris this summer, sketching and painting architecture and landscape every day--quite literally a dream come true.  This blog will be my online diary as I explore Paris, travel to Italy to teach a sketching workshop, and to Barcelona to participate in the Urban Sketcher's Symposium in July.

Thanks, and I hope you will stay tuned!

+  For more information on architectural illustration work, go to www.stephaniebower.com 
+  For more information or to sign up for the Civita Sketching Workshop 2013, go to www.stephaniebower.com and click on the link.
+  To view blog posts as a correspondent for Seattle Urban Sketchers, go to www.seattle.urbansketchers.org
+  To view a library of field and travel sketches, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/83075812@N07/
+  To view information about the Gabriel Prize, go to 
http://www.gabrielprize.org/
+  To view information on the KRob Architectural Delineation Competition that is now on display at the Dallas AIA, go to 
http://krobarch.com/winners.asp?winner_year=2012