The Fine Art of Savoring Life

"Autumn by the Creek" sketch

Inktense pencils in Moleskin watercolor sketchbook

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan

When I was younger I didn't think much about savoring life. I had lots of free time to spend however I wanted. If a day ended up feeling kind of "blah" or unmemorable, it was no big deal. There was always tomorrow.

Now that I'm older I think a lot more about whether I savored any part of my day. Part of that may be contributed to getting older, and hopefully wiser, but I think a bigger factor is the busy schedule that comes from living with a husband who is never still and two fun-loving pre-teens.

Many of our days are jam-packed with activities, commitments, obligations. The free times are fewer and farther apart, making it all more important to me to savor both the free times and the fuller parts of my life.

Here is a list of some of the ways I savor my days...
- talk with my husband about travel, going after our dreams, successes we are striving for, how our kids crack us up, anything and everything;
- take "Family Fun" outings to amusements parks, the beach, mini-golf, the woods, creeks and streams, the ice cream store, historic homes, any place interesting, beautiful or fun;
- relax on the screened porch;
- spend time with family and friends;
- eat really good food;
- spend time in nature;
- hug the ones I love;
- laugh, dance, act silly;
- create art.

What are some of the ways you savor life?

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About the sketch: I created this quick sketch on Monday. School was closed in observance of Columbus Day, and my hubby took a vacation day from work so we could all have a three day weekend. We went for a short hike and ended up on the bank of a creek. While the kids splashed around in the very cold water and skipped stones with hubby, I perched on a fallen tree and made an attempt to capture the sunlight, the color of the changing leaves and the way they reflected in the stream. A good time was had by all and I savored both the moment and now the memory of it.

The grey area at the top of the sketch is a shadow created during the scanning. Adjusting the colors of the scan was a challenge. The white of the paper was reflecting too much light causing me to lose the yellows in the sketch. This one looks better in real life than on the screen.

Autumn Gold

The other day dawned beautiful, sunny and warm. Since October was almost at an end, I knew there might not be many more days fitting that description before the gray, leafless days of fall rolled in. I was scheduled to spend the afternoon in the studio, but decided instead to take my watercolor sketch book and small travel palette out to find something pretty to sketch.

The leaves on the trees at a near-by park were at their peak of autumn color, seeming to almost glow in the sunlight. Here is my interpretation.

Autumn Gold

watercolor sketch in Moleskine sketchbook

©2010 Stacy Rowan

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A quick reminder -- Comments close on the Virtual Open Studio posts tonight. Names of prize winner will be drawn tomorrow morning. If you want a chance to win a pack of note cards or an ornament, don't wait, leave your comment on a VOS post now.

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

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*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 - Post #2

Now we are going to move on from the living room into the dining room.

Placed across from the doorway from the living room, Warmth for the Lonely Traveler is the first paintings you will see. It is a painting of the guest suite in the local, historic Sun Inn.

Tranquil Spring Day is a painting of another local landmark, the Burnside Plantation, and is also hung in this room.

In addition to these two paintings, the dining room is also the showcase for the Christmas table.

Now I have to admit, it pained me to set up a Christmas table seeing as how it isn't even Halloween yet. The Christmas table breaks every rule I've ever made about holiday decorating. But I made these cute little ornaments from some of my daily sketches and they were begging to be displayed together. So I decided to break my own rules in the name of art.

In addition to the new ornaments, the display also contained some holiday note cards, the Christmas Bells painting, and my new covered bridge miniature*.

Other paintings hanging in the dining room include Rainbow Tea and Crisp.

* I just realized that I haven't shared the covered bridge miniature here. I promise to do that once I wrap up the Virtual Open Studio. If you can't wait, you can find it now over on my Facebook Fan Page in the photo album titled "miniatures".

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!

Day 69 - Old Stone House

This old stone house is just a couple of blocks from where I live. I drive past it and admire it almost every day. I dream of some day owning a stone building like this. Or perhaps even saving one of these old beauties and restoring it to it's former glory.

But for now I satisfy myself with sketching them.

stone house sketch

graphite in cahier pocket sketch book

copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan

Day 51 - Molokai

We decided to spend our last full day in Hawaii relaxing by the pool. I turned my lounge chair around so I could enjoy the view across the water to the island of Molokai. It was such a beautiful view I couldn't resist breaking out my small watercolor set and sketching what I saw.

sketch of Molokai, Hawaii

watercolor in Moleskine sketch book

copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan

Day 50 - Banyan Tree

I've been putting off posting the rest of my Hawaii sketches. I've been reliving the vacation by creating the posts and writing about what we did each day. When the last sketch is posted I will have to face that the trip is over.

But at the same time, my new daily sketches are piling up waiting to be posted, so I guess I better stop delaying before I get too far behind to ever catch up.

Day 50 was an awesome fun filled day. In the morning we drove into Lahaina to take a whale watching cruise with the Pacific Whale Foundation.

While waiting to board the boat I sat in the square and sketched a part of the banyan tree. Banyan trees have aerial roots that look like trunks. So this tree looks like it is multiple trees whose canopies grew together.

banyan tree sketch

sepia pen in cahier pocket sketch book

copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan

This sketch would look better if I had added color, but I didn't have any colored media with me at the time, so I decided to show it to you the way it was originally done. I may still go back and add color at some time.

The whale watching cruise was excellent. We saw so many whales and at times were so close to them the captian had to shut off the boat engines. We saw fin slaps and head slaps, and competition groups. We even saw one whale breach although I didn't manage to catch that with my camera. Everyone in the family had a fabulous time.

That same evening we went back to Lahaina to see the Old Lahaina Luau - another great pick.  Prior to dinner and the show guests could walk around to different stations. Each station was staffed with an employee who provided information about life in ancient Hawaii and their culture. It was very interesting. And the show that followed was really good with traditional dances and beautiful dancers.

Day 38 - Japanese Maple

Aloha!

You may have noticed that it has been a few weeks since I posted anything from my "Sketch-A-Day" project. Yes, it's true, I've fallen behind. But not with the sketching! Just with the scanning and posting.

You see, my family and I hopped on an airplane to escaped the cold, snowy weather we've been having. We split town and spent a couple of wonderful weeks in warm, sunny Hawaii.

Now we are back and I've started the process of scanning all of my February sketches. I plan to post them over the next few weeks.

Today, picking up from where I left off, I am posting the sketch from day 38. It shows a japanese maple and a small evergreen bush that can be found in front of my house. The bush is covered with snow that fell that day.

japanese maple sketch

sepia pen and colored pencil in pocket cahier sketchbook

copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan

I did the sketch in ink but wasn't in love with it, so I decided to try and add some color. I got out my infrequently used colored pencils and added a light touch of color. I didn't want to go too heavy because I still wanted the ink lines to be the main player. I was amazed at how the color brought the sketch to life. Now it is one of my favorites!

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Day 13 - View from my Window

How often do we really look at the world around us? As we rush through our day, do we stop and look at the things and people that are a part of our everyday life?

Yesterday morning while I was putting on some makeup, I glanced up and the reflection of the view out the window caught my eye. (I had opened the bathroom shades to take advantage of the sun that was streaming through the back windows of my house. We don't see a lot of sun here during the winter, so I try to take advantage of it when we have it.)

And the view surprised me. I had forgotten that from the second floor I could see the hills in the distance. And I had forgotten how much I like seeing them. I decided right then that my sketch would be of the view.

sketch of view from my window

pencil in Cotman Field sketch book

copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan

So today's sketch is a little different, but how boring would it be if I did 365 days of the same thing? As I was doing this sketch I was thinking it might actually be nice to try it in watercolor. I think it would be easier to get a sense of distance with a color sketch. Something to think about for another day.

A Mountain of Color

 watercolor sketch approx. 1"x5"

copyright 2009 Stacy L. Rowan

Here is a quick sketch that I did a few weeks ago while sitting at soccer practice. The mountains in the distance were a beautiful mix of fall colors set against a blue sky. I was happy that I was able to capture this fleeting view in my sketchbook. And I managed to do it without getting any paint on me. Although I did spill some water on my coat when the soccer ball suddenly shot in my direction. Maybe that's one reason I've never seen anyone else sketching at soccer. It's a bit riskier than sketching in other places.

Another Summer Sketch

Micron sketch in Cahier sketchbook

Stacy L. Rowan

The last sketch I posted was from my parents' house. This one is from my husband's parents' property. It is one of my favorite sketches from the summer and shows a small landscaping bed in my in-laws front yard. I sat in the car and sketched this while my kids napped in the back seat. They had been to a sleep-over party the night before. I wonder why the parties are called that? It's such a misnomer since they don't ever actually sleep much.

Colored Pencil Landscape - Feb VSD

Lake Louise
6" x 4" colored pencil on matboard
Stacy L. Rowan

I wasn't sure if I was going to get to the Virtual Sketch Date this month. As it is, I am squeezing my entry in under the wire. This month's lovely reference was provided by Debbie Later. Thank you Debbie!

Two things caught my eye in this reference. First was the variety of beautiful blues. From turquoise to peacock to cerulean - it was a bonanza of blue.

The second thing I noticed was the play of vertical and horizontal lines. The trees on the mid-ground mountain provide the verticals and the striations on the background mountains along with the reflections in the water provide the horizontals.

I decided to simplify my drawing to basic shapes in order to focus attention on the colors and direction of the pencil marks. It was a different approach for me and I'm still trying to decide what I think of the end result.

Please remember to check out the VSD results post and the VSD Flickr group to see all the other entries.

Snowy Farm - Dec VSD

Lehigh Valley Farm
7" x 5" watercolor on Aquabord
Stacy L. Rowan

This month I decided to try something different and paint my Virtual Sketch Date entry on Ampersand Aquabord. I've been wanting to work with this watercolor support for some time, because I am interested in framing watercolors without glass.

I wasn't sure if pencil marks would erase off the board, so I did my preliminary sketch with watercolor pencil. I liked how this worked out and might try it for my next painting on regular watercolor paper.

However, with my first brushstroke of paint, I questioned whether experimenting when I had a deadline was a good idea. The Aquabord doesn't absorb water exactly like paper does, so with a fully loaded round I was leaving puddles on the board. Not the effect I was going for.

I switched to flat brushes which hold less water and found they worked better. Most of the rest of the painting was done using my flats. I did go back to the rounds when I painted the trees. I wanted the paint there to be juicy so my little dabs with the brush would run together and produce interesting shapes.

One of the things I really loved about the Aquabord is how simple it is to make changes. The paint lifts off very easy when you re-wet it. I was able to lift out the windows on the second story of the gray barn and get all the way back to white. (I went back in later with some light gray mix to tone down the white.)

One downside to this is that sometimes I got lifting when I didn't want it. I had to use the flat brush at a shallow angle to avoid lifting paint with it's edge. The same was true for the points of the round brushes. But I thought it was easier to correct the areas where I accidentally lifted paint than it would have been to correct on paper.

My only minor disappointment with the Aquabord I encountered when I painted the back tree line. If I was painting on paper, I would add the trees while the sky was still damp and let the paint flow naturally into that area. This gives a nice diffused and somewhat varied edge. It's one of those cases of letting the paint work for you. With the Aquabord I couldn't get this technique to work, so I had to go in and soften the edge with a damp brush. Like I said, a minor disappointment, and I can't say it wasn't just a result of my inexperience with the surface.

I haven't prepared the painting for framing yet, so I can't comment on that part of the process. I will try to remember to report back and let you know how simple or difficult it is.

Visit the Virtual Sketch Date blog this Sunday and use the posted links to visit all the entries.