Tuscan Journal

In late April-early May a friend and I travelled to Tuscany to paint in Florence, San Gimignano, Siena, and the Chianti area as well as follow the Piero della Francesca trail from Arezzo to Urbino.  What a wonderful experience to sit in the square in front of San Lorenzo or along the Arno near the Ponte Vecchio and try to capture these sights.  Painting the fountain in the Boboli Gardens made me think of Sargent's brilliant watercolor technique.  San Gimignano was charming with its medieval towers.  Siena provides great challenges in capturing the amazing striated Duomo and the beautiful interior courtyard of Catherine of Siena's house.  Our drives through the Tuscan countryside were a delight for every curve of the road brought new vistas of vineyards and cypress lined hills.  The winding road to Urbino made us feel as if we were going to the farthest and highest point in the world.  Once there we saw a fabulous exhibition on the Ideal City and one of the stars of the exhibition was none other than the Walters Art Museum's painting of the Ideal City.

So, please, come and join me on the adventure with a few pages from my journal: