From watercolour to pen sketches

My watercolour course has officially come to an end but I keep turning up each week because of the two new friends I've made and all that I can still learn from Gabriele. The watercolour above is after a pen and ink sketch of his. I drive past the Chiesa della Consolazione on the way to my lesson. The church is an octagonal building of 1565, possibly designed by Vasari.

I'm very fond of Gabriele's pen and ink sketches so he is now helping me learn some approaches to capture the local architecture. I'm still too heavy-handed and need a lot of practice to free up my arm.

Doodling with a fine Pitt Artist Pen.

In the spring Gabriele plans to take us sketching on location. After a lifetime of living and painting here, he knows all the best spots.

From Tuscan Villa to Tropical Island

Watercolour 19x24cm

I used to pass this villa on my morning walk, before it got too cold and dark to get out of bed.

This is the coldest autumn we've experienced since we arrived in Tuscany. I'm starting to miss the sun.

I was looking for some cloud references in the WetCanvas image library when I found a lovely photo by Carlanna and did a quick watercolour sketch from my computer screen. My wonky dinghy was actually a rubber duckie in the photo. The sunny image really warmed me up and raised my spirits.

Watercolour 16x19cm

Speaking of high spirits. While I was painting, I was listening to the results of yesterday's Australian Federal Election. With a win for Labor my homeland now has a government with a commitment to the environment; withdrawing our troops from Iraq and encouraging racial and religious harmony. Oh, and hopefully, supporting the arts.

Now there's a lot of pressure from family and friends for HWEM to come up with a new justification for continuing to live in Italy. Actually, the dogs tell me they aren't ready to go home yet and if I'm absolutely honest, I too love it here.

Guess whose studio/cupboard has a window!

Ever since HWEM (He Who Encourages Me) purloined the annex on our terrace which had been proposed as my studio - and left me with a windowless cupboard inside - he's been feeling a tad guilty. As he should.

He decided if the 'cupboard' had a window it would become a 'room' and he wouldn't need to feel guilty. Since the window would open on to an internal staircase it wasn't exactly going to flood my world with light but I do have a great studio light. At least I'd no longer have to turn the studio light on in order to pick something up from my desk.

Since our apartment building is considerably older than I am, the window needed to be of a style sympathetic to the rest of the structure.

Now it's finished it does look rather nice but a bit like a nun's cell. I wonder if HWEM expects me to take a vow of silence.