A few sketches

A picnic lunch beside a little canal.

On a shopping trip for C&F's new table.

View from a restaurant overlooking Lake Trasimeno

April has been a wonderful month in that we've had a lot of friends staying in town. Not much painting got done but just to prove I'm still around, here are a few sketches I managed at different locations.

Art Map

Map! is a four letter word. I'm not good with maps - well that's what HWEM* says. He says I can't read a map. He usually says this when he is sitting behind the steering wheel - going too fast - missing our turn-off!

The Christmas before last there were two identical presents under our Christmas tree. We had each bought the other a TomTom portable GPS Car Navigation System. Since we now only have one car it was obviously a last ditch attempt, on both our parts, to save our marriage.

The story has a happy ending because, even though I had warned him: 'Don't buy me anything you want yourself!', I got to take the one he bought me back to the store, where I gave the nice young Italian a bit more money, and got myself the Nikon D40x digital camera I'd really wanted.

Where is this ramble going? It's going on a ramble! Some of you will recall I joined the Sketchercise Ning a while back as one of a group of artists who like to walk for pleasure and exercise and sketch along the way. Sketchercise was created by Katherine Tyrrell of Making a Mark. Joining gave me a tremendous boost because I actually started painting little watercolours en plein air.

Recently some of the clever people at Sketchercise started posting links to Google Maps that outlined the routes they took on their walks. Ignoring the fact that map! is a four letter word, I wanted to get with the technology and make my own Google Map which would not only include the route but photos of my paintings where I painted them. Easy! Well, not exactly. It may be a problem with my Mac not having an Intel processor but I still can't post a photograph on a Google Map, so I've come up with two alternative versions.

1. A map marking the routes of my regular walks.


2. A map showing my paintings on location.


I have lost a couple of days trying to sort this out but I thought some of you with smarter computers; more technological nous; time on your hands, might like to map where you paint and sketch and share it with the world.

* HWEM - He Who Encourages Me

A Feather for Vivian

Wood Grouse Feather - watercolour pencils

Vivien's Flying Pictures Sketchbook contains some beautiful feather sketches by Vivien. She tucked a real one into the book with an invitation for each of us taking part in the Flying Pictures sketchbook exchange to have a go. When Vivien's book arrived here in Tuscany it had already picked up additional feathers by Ronell and Lindsay.

The same week Vivien revealed her feather theme I found myself caught up in a flurry of feathers, one of which (above) landed at my feet. I decided then and there it was a feather for Vivien.

This feather did not come directly from a Wood Grouse (Capercaillie) but from one of the flamboyant hats worn by members of the famous Italian Bersaglieri army corp.

A couple of hundred current members and veterans of the corps were in our little Tuscan town for a reunion.

Our first sight of them was when an officer ran into the piazza where we were enjoying a local concert. He called the concert to an abrupt halt and then gestured to his troops waiting in a side street. A whole militatry brass band, sporting spectacular hats, festooned with Capercaillie feathers, dashed past playing their instruments on the run. I learned later that the Bersaglieri (sharpshooters) are famous for doing everything on the run. An unforgettable and totally delightful sight. Of course I didn't have my camera!

I caught up with them later when they paraded through the town.

After the First World War the Bersaglieri rode bicycles. Today they move in modern army vehicles, but when they're on foot they're still on the run.

Vivien's beautiful sketchbook is now with Casey in France and I'm sure she is already on the track of a feather or two.

It was wonderful to have your book for a while, Vivien and I loved the opportunity to see your beautiful original art.

Vespa Dreams

Sepia ink, white gouache on brown paper

We stopped at Bar 2000 at 7am on Friday for a calming cup of coffee after I took the first step to fulfilling a dream.

The dream is to buy a Vespa 50 - egged on, I might add by Katherine Making a Mark who suggested it was the ideal vehicle for me to sketch from in the Italian countryside. Up until Friday all I had actually done was sketch a Vespa 50!

On Thursday night our friend Chris called me to say he had hired a couple of motor scooters for the day and didn't have to return them until later Friday morning. This was it! My big opportunity to see if I actually had The Right Stuff to actually ride a motor scooter - and ultimately, a Vespa.

I did!!!!!!!!!

Not very fast, and suitably humbled by being passed by an octogenarian woman with her handbag dangling off her handlebars.

Anyway, I'm still only dreaming about the Vespa at this stage - it could be a fatal folly.

Resident of Rome

Watercolour HP paper 21 x 28 cm

I thought of calling this post The Unloved, because they largely are, poor pigeons. I'm rather fond of them and have great admiration for their impeccable taste in real estate. They live at all the best addresses: Piazza S. Marco, Piazza Di Spagna and even here, in the tower at Castiglion Fiorentino.

I'm still not quick enough to get a meaningful sketch of a pigeon on the run. I photographed this little fellow in Piazza Farnese in Rome. I painted him in the sketchbook made for me by Marta.

More Walking and Sketching

I slept in this morning. No motivation to walk. After we took the dogs up to the bar for coffee and pastry, it had turned into a beautiful day so, better late than never, I headed into the hills. I'd been up this particular road many times looking for a little white church I'd been told was in a beautiful location. Each time I've turned back without finding it.

This morning I trudged on. The Val di Chio is dotted with lovely villas. I could have stopped anywhere to paint.

The little country road curled on through a paese (little villiage) and continued on uphill. Finally I came upon an olive grove more manicured than usual and then I head the bells.

A bit further on I finally found the church.

Madonna del Bagno

Rather grand for this quiet spot among the hills but much loved judging by the number of cars departing from morning mass. Soon I had the whole place to myself so I lit a candle for world peace. Mightn't do any good but I figured it wouldn't do any harm. As I left I was feeling pretty peaceful myself.

A little further down the road I found a beautiful view through the olive trees of our hill-top town and settled down to make a quick watercolour sketch. No, I'm not going to post a photo reference, I'd be too embarrassed. I didn't think much of my effort at all but it was my first attempt at painting a landscape without first sketching with pen or pencil. Less impressed with the performance of my waterbrush today. I think I'll take proper brushes and water next time. It was all a bit wishy washy in the end. But I liked it more when I got home and didn't have to compare it with the view.

After John Singer Sargent

After JSS Campo dei Gesuiti (Venice) watercolour 26 x 36cm
Original painting 1902-1904 is 35 x 50cm (Private collection)

This is my second attempt to copy a John Singer Sargent watercolour, the first some time ago, I think was more successful.

The Sargent and Venice exhibition I saw earlier this month was inspiring. It would have been wonderful to paint in the gallery which I had pretty much to myself, being on the tale-end of the exhibition. Unfortunately not enough time.

It isn't until I try to copy Sargent that I realise how deceptive is the simplicity of his watercolours. This palette is quite simple but the values are very hard to get. I will attempt this picture again, taking a little more care with my vertical lines and proportions. Next I will try this palette with one of my Venice photographs.

Venice Door, Take Two

Watercolour 7" x 10" /Cartiera Magnani HP Portofino

I think this is better than my first effort but not close to what I was hoping to achieve. I want these Venice paintings to be looser than my usual efforts and I'm really struggling against too much detail. While these narrow canals deliver beautiful reflections they are usually devoid of dramatic shadows.

Next step, I think, is to attempt to copy some of John Singer Sargent's watercolours , before I come back to my own images.

The Dog on the Tucker Box

Australian folklore celebrates the loyalty of a pioneer bullocky's (teamster's) heroic dog who, given the task of guarding his master's tucker box, waited, though he sat on a box of food, until he eventually died of starvation.

Dermott, the least intelligent member of our family, is in the process of creating his own legend here in Italy. His 'tucker box' is an ancient cisterna (water tank) between our garden and that of our neighbours. Here he sits patiently waiting for Lorenzo or Marina to appear with biscotti (biscuits). Now you are probably wondering where the elements of courage and character are in this tale? The cover of the cisterna is half-inch steel plate - on a summer's day you can fry eggs on it! At such times our 'hero' has to tap dance. But he never deserts his 'tucker box'.

Turquoise Ink and silly ideas

I adore those seductive little Italian shops that sell exquisite leather bound sketchbooks and journals that I can't afford and could never bring myself to make a mark in anyway. Temptation doesn't stop there because they also have glorious pens and handmade inks, like liquid jewels. Well I'm learning to resist them. These days I just leave a little nose smudge on the window. Imagine my delight when my dear friend S, who's been visiting from Sydney, presented me with a bottle of Turquoise Ink, beautifully sealed with wax. Magical.

A while back I told our neighbour that I would love a little white Vespa 50L. He's an antique dealer who relishes a challenge. Having since mounted something only slightly more powerful and almost taken out a fence, I'm very nervous that he'll turn up with one. The terror of actually having to ride it ......