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.