Library with a View

It seems the libraries in Florence are more conducive to painting than studying.

Fernando the Winemaker

One of the more memorable excursions from our time here in Italy was a wine tasting day-trip to an authentic chianti vineyard and winery. Our host Fernando had all the looks of a wise old winemaker, and he proved one of the more animated characters that I encountered. I did up a sketch of him on the bus ride back from the winery (through the beautiful hills of Tuscany), and then painted it this weekend on the train rides to and from Cinque Terre. For the record, the view in the background of the painting is the same one we had while sipping on some of Italy's finest wines under the shade of a Tuscan patio.

Italy by Watercolor

While spending a weekend in the gorgeous coast town of Cinque Terre---more or less the sort of city that Disneyworld aspires to replicate---I decided it was time to finally break out my watercolor field kit and try to capture Italy the traditional way. Here are some of my watercolor sketches thus far.

Piccioni a Firenze

Florence may be packed to the brim with tourists, but there are still plenty of locals to be found flying about the crowded piazzas. After a little more than a week in Florence, I've decided that the city actually belongs to the pigeons---who all seem to live in little alcoves carved into the sides of buildings, and may or may not be plotting a hostile takeover sometime in the near future. In an attempt to better understand this particular breed of locals, I've taken to pigeon sketching in some of my free time. Following the same "Rules of Cuteness" that must have dictated the character design of Ratatouille and Perry the Platypus, I've discovered that even pigeons can look cute when painted in friendly blues. If I can find the time, I just may storyboard a short film starring these true Firenze locals.

Blocked In

The streets of Florence are about as narrow as they come, with endless mazes of sardine-packed, pastel-colored buildings that just may have been delivered here from Hogsmeade. The blocky orientation of the city lends itself quite well to "blocking in" painting exercises on the ol' iPad---essentially, laying down the main colors of a painting before getting too immersed in detail work. Here are a number of quick color studies I've done over the past few days of Florence's ever-interesting skyline compositions (all done in the Brushes).

Each painting took roughly twenty minutes to an hour---a little too long for the blocking in stage, but hopefully I'll get quicker with a little more practice.

Excursions Galore

The first week or so of our time in Europe has been overflowing with side-trips throughout Italy. Here are some sketches I've collected from our various excursions.

First up are some views of Lucca, a gorgeous little town not too far from Florence. We only had a couple hours here, but it was more than enough time to fall in love with its quaint atmosphere and unbelievable pastries.

We also stopped in Sienna for a few hours, which had perhaps the most stunning city views we've seen so far.

After Sienna, we stopped for the weekend at Hotel Rex in Livorno, a beach town where the locals go to escape people like us. Memorable moments including getting lost in a side town called Ardenza and spending the evening an underground bar just off the water's edge.

I warned my friends that I'd probably sketch them if they all fell asleep after breakfast, and sure enough, they were all knocked out from the previous night's revelries. Hey, free models.

Finally, here are some sketches from Pisa. While the leaning tower might not be an official Wonder of the Ancient World, the tourists that swarm it today should definitely qualify as a Wonder of the Modern World. (My personal favorites were the members of our group who ran around and high-fived everyone posing for their Pisa photos.)

Florence Is My Classroom

My "Drawing in Florence" class started up this week, and it's essentially everything I was hoping it would be: the best excuse in the world to get outside and draw Florentine scenes for three hours a day. Seeing as I've been leaning a little too digital as of late, I'm still getting back into the swing of traditional charcoal drawing; but I suppose there's no better place to nail down the fundamentals than along the streets of the Renaissance.

The drawing at top was from our day in Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, which featured some beautiful archways that played well with the morning sun. Our group was one of maybe three separate student groups who were using the piazza as their classroom that morning.

We traveled to the Bardini Gardens for this drawing. The long hike up windy hills paid off in full with some of the most stunning views of the city that I've seen. This was my attempt to capture the beauty of the overlook itself and the skyline it showcases.

While at the Bardini, I also did a sketch of Florence on my iPad with Paper by 53. I thought it might be interesting to compare a classical rendering with a modern one.

Statues & Such

In lieu of gaudy billboards, Florence prefers to line its streets and piazzas with glorious works of Renaissance sculpture. Of course, Florence also houses a few museums on just about every street corner, and they typically include entire hallways of---you guessed it---more magnificent statues. I took my iPad around the past couple days and sketched a few these street-side monuments with Paper by 53.

At the top of this post is a view of the Piazza della Signoria just in front of the Palazzo Vecchio---more or less Florence's far less frenzied version of Times Square.

There are at least three Dante statues in Florence (and one Dante's Pizzeria right next to our apartment). This memorial to the famed Florentine writer is found in Santa Croce.

In Florence, the streets have eyes. No wonder they're so well behaved here.

A detail of the Perseus statue in Piazza Vecchio.

A memorial to the Medici within their esteemed palace-museum.

Not quite a statue, but a rather majestic view in the Medici palace.

Dario the Butcher

He may sound like an unlockable character in your favorite Mario Kart game, but for the Italians, "Dario" conjures up images of a meat rock star. A butcher for the past 35 years, Dario Cecchini runs a small meat shop in a tucked away Tuscan villa---but "quaint" it ain't. The shop's several-square-footage of customer space bustled endlessly during our afternoon visit last week, with at least three separate tour groups jostling one another to get videos of the celebrity meatsman. Dario was kind enough to serve us (or perhaps "gorge us" with) a meal that we won't soon be forgetting---featuring everything from the best meat loaf you've ever tasted to Tuscan "sushi"---which is another way of saying finely-seasoned raw cow. Dario's philosophy revolves around a "good life" and an "honorable death" for the bovines who eventually make their way to his menu---and the care that goes into every step of his process can be felt (and tasted) all throughout the shop.

With a personality as large as Dario's, I couldn't not do my best to capture him in my sketchbook. Below are some sketches from our trip (including our excellent tour guide, who was fluent in pirate jokes as well as Italian), and above is a more finished painting of Dario from the bus ride home.

Some sketches of Dario in action.

Pirate jokes and Italian cuisine history lessons on the bus ride to Dario's.

What I imagined an authentic Italian butcher looked like---before meeting Dario.

Rear Window, Florentine Style

After a few days living among the Romans (or rather, taking in all the sites among the tourists), we made our way to Florence, where we'll be staying for the next three weeks. Our cozy apartment is located just south of the Arno River (the local side of town, for those who haven't been to Florence), and offers a nice view of a classic, red-tiled Tuscan apartment just across the way. Because windows seem to be more exciting than television for the Florentines, I thought I'd sit down and spend a couple hours painting ours. You can watch the process below.

I also did a quick sketch of the kitchen area of our apartment.

And finally, here's an iPad sketch from our train ride to Florence.