Spring 2025 Semester
Artists Classroom @ Home with Stephanie Bower
Understanding Perspective: All About Arches
Travel the world to deepen your understanding of perspective. From Italy to Spain, and from England to the Netherlands, different architectural styles have incorporated different arches, each with a different lesson to teach the artist. You can come along for the entire journey, or create an à la carte schedule! Whether you’re an experienced artist seeking to enhance your skills or a novice eager to discover your artistic talents, this immersive experience is customized for all levels. Through comprehensive and interactive demonstrations, Stephanie will instruct you step-by-step, sharing invaluable techniques, and motivating you to create stunning masterpieces. Join us in this unique opportunity to learn from a seasoned, professional artist and unleash the artist within you, all from the comfort of your own personal studio.
Do you fear the "P" word...Perspective? Award-winning urban sketcher, architectural illustrator, watercolor artist, teacher, and best-selling author Stephanie Bower will share her simple 3-step process for creating the good bones of an architectural sketch in perspective. The theme of these classes is ARCHES, shown in four different ways in four different settings. Stephanie breaks down the process and walks you through diagraming the perspective, to creating the line drawing in a small sketchbook, to painting in watercolor. The valuable tips and tricks will apply to your work no matter what media you use or whether you are a studio artist or an on-location urban sketcher. When you understand perspective, it will change the way you see the world!
Live virtual classes will take place from 1:00 to 3:00 pm ET on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays of March & April. Recordings of these sessions will be available on demand until 30 days after the last workshop in the series.
Workshop Schedule
Classes will take place live virtually from 1p - 3p ET on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays of March & April.
Classes are available on demand until 30 days after the last workshop in the series.
Workshop Agenda & Descriptions
Workshop 1: Arch in Venice
Did you know that arches have straight legs? In this class, Stephanie will introduce basic perspective concepts as well as break down the architectural elements of an arch, then apply the concepts to create this sketch, a scene near the Ponte di Rialto.
Workshop 3: Arch in Barcelona
On the backside of the Cathedral in Barcelona in the medieval Gothic quarter, you can find another version of a pointed arch. In this view a strong, dark foreground helps to frame the sunlit building beyond.
Workshop 4: Arch in Den Haag
In the Netherlands, a different style of architecture in brick has changed the shape of this arch at the entrance to the Binnenhof, the seat of government in Holland. In watercolor, this class will also show how to use alternating darks and lights to create a sense of depth in perspective.
Meet Stephanie Bower
Stephanie is thrilled to be living her life-long dream as a globe-trotting instructor and urban sketcher! She has taught at 8 USk Symposiums, has online sketching classes at Terracotta.art and Craftsy.com, and teaches perspective and watercolor workshops live online and in person around the world. Her awards include the prestigious Gabriel Prize fellowship in architecture to Paris, the Civita Institute’s fellowship to Italy, and she was twice honored with “Best Travel Sketch” in the KRob international architectural delineation competition.
Stephanie's work has been featured in Watercolor Artist and Artist magazines, and she is the best-selling author of several books on sketching including The Urban Sketching Handbook: Understanding Perspective, The Urban Sketching Handbook: 101 Sketching Tips, as well as the giant sketching tour around the globe, The World of Urban Sketching. Stephanie is a signature member of the Northwest Watercolor Society.
Gallery of Other Works by Stephanie
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