September 2024

ITALY!!!! 

Rome is my favorite city on the planet. I love the art, architecture, food, wine, walkability and grit. There is inspiration at every turn. Warm deep yellow and pink buildings against a cool blue sky get me every time. It was my third visit to Rome and Florence but it was my first time to Cortona, Montepulciano, Siena and Assisi. They’re all hilltop towns with unbelievable views of the expansive fields below. The air is clean, breezes blowing, grapes growing, sunflowers bowing their heads as fall weather begins to roll in. Magical!

Last July my friend, Michelle, invited us to join her for a trip she was planning for a group of artist friends. She planned two weeks of painting and sightseeing and while some artists chose to spend the entire two weeks at the villa, we opted for one week with her, with additional time on either side so we could spend more time in Rome. It was the perfect trip.

I took gouache but in the end I only painted one painting. Nothing against that medium, I just wanted to spend the majority of my creative time sketching with pencil or sketch n wash. Painting was just a very small part of my agenda.

We stayed at my favorite hotel of all time, Albergo del Senato, just steps away from The Pantheon. We had a bird’s eye view of the piazza from our window. Each day and evening we opened the windows, listening to the sounds, watching Instagrammers choreograph their reels, as well as the hustle and bustle of every day Roman life. And every afternoon we went up to the rooftop for a Negroni before dinner.

Because we’ve been to Rome several times and have seen the main attractions, it gave us the chance to explore less crowded options. We visited the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art near the Borghese Gardens and the Galleria Doris Pamphilj. Seeing Velazquez’s painting of Pope Innocent X was without a doubt one of the highlights of our trip.

We also dipped into several churches to try and see a few Caravaggios that are scattered throughout Rome. Unfortunately, the city is undergoing a number of restoration projects due to the upcoming jubilee, so a number of works of art are behind scaffolding. 

A side note on the jubilee … if you think Rome is crowded now, next year is going to be off the charts. I can promise you, I am staying far, far away.

Cortona was home base for our group. We had a huge villa just outside of town that accommodated 18 of us. The owner lives next door in a massive home dating back to the early 1700s. Our villa was built in the 1850s but had most of the modern conveniences. Each morning we gathered in the kitchen for coffee and a light breakfast, then it was off to our adventure of the day. 

Michelle is amazing. She worked her tail off to make sure everyone felt comfortable, happy, inspired and loved. She never got rattled or frazzled or frustrated with anyone. She’s such a positive force. Gosh, I’m so lucky to have her as one of my besties. She arranged dinners, painting locations, transportations and had little gifts for everyone. What more can I say? She’s a ROCKSTAR. 

I think there are people who feed off of others, they get more and more energized when they’re around people  … Michelle, for sure. I’m actually quite the opposite. We are yin and yang, I suppose. But lemme tell ya, I’d be lost without her. She is the sister I never had, and I’m so, so grateful.

Our fellow travel mates were also incredibly kind, supportive and flexible. Traveling internationally is always a challenge and it’s pretty remarkable to say there were zero issues. Zero. Even the weather was amazing!

 

  

  

A trip I’ll never forget. Arrivederci, Italy! I hope to see you soon!

BACK TO REAL LIFE

I’m still in the process of settling into my studio, but it’s definitely starting to feel like home. Once Georgia Color is behind me I’ll have more time to develop a more consistent studio routine.

Almost forgot … I attended Tara Will’s pastel workshop at The Booth and loved it! It felt very freeing to be able to paint the way I wanted to paint and once again, as soon as Georgia Color is behind me, I plan to spend more time creating pastel works along these lines.

(I’ll come back and edit this post to include photos)

OTIS and JUJU

The boys were probably very upset with us for being away for so long, but we’re all back in our groove.

OCTOBER

October is another extremely busy month: the VHPAP Piedmont Park Paint Out, a group show with Cathy Ehrler and Kathy Forbes, Georgia Color and a new installation at VH Books. I’ll also pick up teaching again at Acworth and at my studio.