THE WAITING IS OVER

In a few hours I will be on my way to Bologna, Italy, and if all goes well will be nesting in my apartment tomorrow afternoon. After months of planning and pondering I still experience a bit of disbelief about the whole thing.

I know what my intentions are; to what extent they will be fulfilled remains to be seen. One thing that is certain...my next posting will be coming to you from Bologna!

Until then, Ciao

STAYING BUSY

Three days to go, and if I don't stay busy I will drive my lovely wife nuts. One way to do this (stay busy...not drive her nuts) is to remain out of site in the studio so she can't see me fidgeting the day away even as I'm creating these mini sketches. Each of these are approximately 4x4.

MORE MINIATURES

One way to keep myself busy while waiting...playing with watercolors. In this latest series of miniatures I've used opaque pigments on a variety of papers found hanging around the drawing table.


I used Luma watercolor for the sky in this piece.





The top painting is aproximately 5x5". The next two are 4x7".

ANXIETY,

It started earlier in the week when all the airports in northern Europe were shut down for days because of the volcanic ash from Iceland’s erupting volcano. Munich airport, from which I fly to Bologna, was one of them. For 3 or 4 days I was a mess, unable to shake off the fear of my flight being canceled. Eventually the airports opened and flights were restored and I managed to avoid my first ever panic attack. All was well with my world.

I leave in 6 days, and now find myself obsessing over what cloths to wear, how many shirts to bring, should I get new shoes and do I really need to take my pastel pencils. But what bothers me the most is knowing I will not resolve these issues until I pack my bags on the day I leave, at which time I will act impulsively and throw things in and out of my bags, abandoning all reason and forethought. So why fight it. I have already stopped trying to get my mind on something other than this trip...it can’t be done.

I have every intention of sharing my experiences with you on this blog. Whether the posts will be daily, weekly, or somewhere in between remains to be seen. I leave here in 6 days, so I expect to be back on the blog early next week. Until then, I will be thinking of all of you.

Well...that's not really true. I won't be thinking of anything except Italy.

THE SIXTIES REVISITED

For me the sixties meant medical school, internship, residency and 2 years in the USN medical corps serving with the 2nd Marine Air Wing in Cherry Point NC. What little discretionary time I had was spent catching up on sleep and apparently drawing.





It has been fun browsing through these drawings, remembering how much I enjoyed the pencil, and the figure.

WAY BACK WHEN...

I'm going way back into the dusty portfolios of the past for this post. I almost forgot there was a time when I was drawing faces and figures instead of barns and buildings. The only firm date I have for these drawings is 1962 for the nude. (makes sense since I was in medical school then.) The other 3 are from sometime in the late 60s and early 70s.

FONTERUTOLI

In the fall of 2008 we spent a week in Tuscany, renting an apartment in a centuries old winery in the village of Fonterutoli. Located on the Chianti highway, aproximately half way between Florence and Siena, we could easily reach many of the wonderful towns and cities in the Region. This painting is based on photos we took late in the day on a stretch of the highway overlooking the village.

I struggled with the buildings trying to capture the right color and patina of their age, and am not totally satisfied with the results. I guess I will have to go back there and get better pics.

It is on a 24x24" panel.

GALLERY 5

It took me most of the day, but I finally got most of the gallery "re-hung" after I could no longer put it off any longer. Last week 12 paintings came back from recent show and once again I was faced with the challenge of what to do with them. In addition to having too many paintings for the gallery to show, I literally have no room for them in the studio and have already moved some over into the house. My wife insists I should have a giant Clearance Sale.

SIENA WASH DAY

I realize I have been a stranger to this blog lately...but I am forgiving myself. My impending trip to Italy has kept me preoccupied and away from the easels, however, being the tiger that I am, I have managed to work on this one canvas over the past month. There is still more to do, but I thought it was time to post something...even an unfinished painting.

My son in law Bob took this photo during our trip to Italy in 2008. I started the painting last year, lost interest and put it away, and last month experienced a renewed interest in it.


Work in progress...acrylic...24x24

I may not have much more to say before leaving on the 30th, but have every intention of posting regularly while I am away. I'm looking forward to sharing my Italian experience with everyone.

PENCILS, PAPER, AND MORE

One of the more enjoyable tasks in preparing for this trip is selecting the art supplies that I will be taking with me. This has given me the opportunity to go through my entire supply of pens, pencils, and miscellaneous drawing equipment, and of course, trying all of them to make sure they’re still functioning (this applies only to the pens and markers...pencils last as long as they are long enough to hold. The result is that I now have a table full of pens, pencils, markers, watercolor pans, and ink, and I’m loving every minute of it. There is little doubt in my mind that I will be taking far more than I will need, but I feel helpless to do anything about that. I will not be carrying everything I take with me in the streets every day, but do expect to use most of them in the course of my time there refining my drawings and painting in the apartment.

One thing is absolutely certain...I will take more than I need, and I will need something I am not taking.


Sketch books

Markers, watercolors, pens

Pencils, pastel pencils, misc. The mugs will remain home.