California Sketches: from Italy

California Sketches from Tuscany- the essay as it appears in...

Sun, 20 May 2012 14:05:24 -0400

California Sketches from Tuscany- the essay as it appears in print.

Op-Ed Sacramento Bee-CA Sketches: from Tuscany

Sun, 20 May 2012 11:57:00 -0400

Op-Ed Sacramento Bee-CA Sketches: from Tuscany: A synthesis of 17 towns and 5 weeks in Tuscany in...

Keyholes in Tuscany

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:17:24 -0400

Keyholes in Tuscany: Walking slowly through Tuscan hill towns has rewards. I found keyholes in old...

Anghiari view- textures and patterns, town and country, Part 2.

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:53:54 -0400

Anghiari view- textures and patterns, town and country, Part 2.

Anghiari view- textures and patterns, town and country, Part 1.

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:49:00 -0400

Anghiari view- textures and patterns, town and country, Part 1.

Making a horse out of found materials, branches from the stream...

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:52:17 -0400

Collected branches from the forest.

Wiring the body structure.

Building the horse.

The horse attached into the ground.

Making a horse out of found materials, branches from the stream nearby. No plan, just building. Now it waits for completion.

Two sketches.

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:13:55 -0400

Two sketches.

Market day in the rain in Anghiari, all “the old men of...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:09:30 -0400

Market day in the rain in Anghiari, all “the old men of the wall” congregate under shelters of umbrellas or arches. At one point, there were eighteen of them, blocking the arch into the main market square. I watched and drew them with the comfort of morning cappuccino and the warmth of the cafe. In this living, vibrant Medieval town, the elders are out, constantly socializing, laughing, arguing, gesturing.

Italian peeps wish you a Happy Easter, or just a lovely Sunday.

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 11:15:56 -0400

Italian peeps wish you a Happy Easter, or just a lovely Sunday.

Keyholes from a creepy Medieval castle, complete with torture...

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:40:44 -0400

Keyholes from a creepy Medieval castle, complete with torture chambers and wine cellars filled with dusty old bottles way past drinkable.

Italian men, usually older, gather at all times of the day, like...

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:25:40 -0400

Italian men, usually older, gather at all times of the day, like birds on a wire.

The round tower is the former grainery. Inside, a stair winds up...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:41:58 -0400

Detail of the fortress wall

Detail of the fortress wall

The round tower is the former grainery. Inside, a stair winds up and up whitewashed stone walls. The fortress is full of prized apartments with stupendous views of the town and the Tiber Valley.

An afternoon wandering more, inside the town, and this morning,...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:36:52 -0400

An afternoon wandering more, inside the town, and this morning, sitting in a cafe watching the parade of friendly people visit their weekly market. I love how the older men meet and greet and stand around in groups. Their gestures are classic. One of them was especially stylish and so expressive with his hands. I also get a big charge out of the grandparents with their babies. They’re so proud.

Across fields and up close, patterns, texture everywhere....

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:32:43 -0400

Across fields and up close, patterns, texture everywhere. I’ve met some wonderful townsfolk who spent years in London, and moved back home, here. They told me about the tranquility here.

Wandering Anghiari takes days. I followed a road, a gently...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:19:13 -0400

Wandering Anghiari takes days. I followed a road, a gently curving road, past an abandoned villa, it’s walls evidence of passing kids, making the kinds of marks that kids make everywhere. I peered through the iron gate, across neglected gardens and felt sorrow for such a beautiful home. I passed it’s crumbling stone walls and followed the road onward, looking up at the town always, as clouds shifted across the sky. Now the town was bathed in light, now in shadow.

Photo

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:56:50 -0400

From the highest fortress tower, with a possible 360 view. This...

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 14:47:19 -0400

From the highest fortress tower, with a possible 360 view. This accordion sketch is 9x30,” trying not to let the wind take it away. It took me 1 1/2 hours up there, while most people arrive, look around briefly, get out their cameras, shoot, chat and leave. But then most live here- lots of Italian students. They’re used to the views. I’m not.

Got lost in San Gimignano- no, not really, but just for a few-...

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 14:38:22 -0400

Got lost in San Gimignano- no, not really, but just for a few- heading for the wrong tower fortress. Finding an ancient medieval cistern first. Not enough time here by far. The Umbrella trees define this region. But so does the light. Most of all the light. Travelers talk about it, and I didn’t understand, but now I do.

Sienna in the day and then San Gimignano in time for the setting...

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 14:32:11 -0400

Sienna in the day and then San Gimignano in time for the setting sun. In between, the most remarkably green, soft, rolling hills imaginable. I love this time of year, before spring brings color to the trees and everything turns green. Now the winter trees provide a contrast to the grassy fields, waiting for farmers to turn the rich nutrients into the soil, to bring up the smell of fertile soil that’s been feeding these people for centuries. No pesticides here. Slow food, fresh.

It’s really quite impossible to capture the Piazza del...

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 14:21:43 -0400

It’s really quite impossible to capture the Piazza del Campo in a brief sketch. I’d have to visit every day for a week and the paper would have to be huge. So I just sat there and watched the sun set on the tower, the cast shadows from the buildings across gradually engulf the tower in darkness, and the sky turn dark.