Italian Series (2009)

What a way to become inspired!  In the heart of the Italian Renaissance – Rome, Venice and Florence – an artist’s dream!  The paintings in these cities leave you with a tremendous love for art and a romantic connection with the history of Italy.

From my first visit, I recall one evening at the Ponte Vechio bridge in Florence sketching the shops that aligned it. Forced indoors by the cold to a restaurant and sipping a glass of wine I was told it snowed at that time of year only once in a blue moon.  That February evening I was beginning to experience one of those “blue moons” as the light snow began to fall.  In the painting I produced after, I tried to capture the moment with the darkening sky; clouds highlighted in the moonlight and reflected in the waters; and the welcoming warmth flickering from the restaurants and shops that had not yet closed.

Others in this series are from a short visit to Venice on my first trip; and a second visit to Florence, Naples, a side trip in the tuscany area, and a return to Venice .  In the paintings afterward, I captured the day’s softer hues of greys, siennas, reds and softer yellows of the facades and aging details, some reflected in the calm canals.