Art and more art

So I have some actual paintings and drawings to post. Here we go.

Remember this one?


Well, it turned out like this:


After I did this, my instructor Jody had me do some palette knife paintings. For this of you who don't know, that means I use a tool like this:


To paint the entire picture. No brushes. It was very hard for me at first, but it also seriously loosened me up. The first one I did was a still life of a pitcher, which I don't have a photo of yet, but here's the second one I did today. It was my first time painting in the actual landscape, which was weird but exciting. I went down with the class to a beautiful little park just beneath the town's walls. It's well shaded and filled with old cypress trees as well as some other varieties I can't name. Anyway, here's the drawing I did to lay out the composition before hand:


And here's the palette knife painting:



These photos are a little soft and not as saturated as the real thing, but these should give you an idea of what I'm up to. And, as a final picture to look at, this is a photo from the town square. The last few mornings, I've looked out into a wall of fog. I took this picture a little late, so it had started to burn off, but take a look:

From the Mixed Up Files...

Ok - so I've barely updated this thing. The whole point of a travel blog was so people could actual get some concrete information about my trip. I have a little time here, so I'm going to go to my journal and jump back to my first day at Newark airport. What follows is lifted from the Memoirs of Rebecca Jane Lally:

**********************************************************

May 1, 2009

Jen and Sam dropped me off. We rented a zip car and ended up getting here in under 20 minutes, leaving me with over 3 hours to kill at Newark airport. They were both very cool to drive me - even cooler considering the fact that I neglected to print up reverse directions to get them home. I guess I'm being a bit singleminded about my final destination.
The first thing I did was check in. As I was waiting on line, there were a few people behind me. There was one older man with his adult son. I'm very bored, so I've decided to transcribe their conversation. And because this whole adventure feels very dramatic to me, I've decided to write it out in screenplay form:
INT: NEWARK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT- CEHCK IN LINE - AFTERNOON
Son:
Now Dad, are you sure you didn't bring any lotions?
Dad:
(offended)
No, I didn't.
Son:
Hand cream, shaving cream, any lotions?
Dad:
(Shaking head)
No, no.
(Dramatic pause, then, explosively)
Shaving cream's not a lotion!
Son:
(Shaking head)
Dad, you've just got to listen to me.

Now, this might not seem that interesting to you, but to somebody looking at 3 hours in an airport, this was griping. My exciting checkin was followed by going through security. after taking off my shoes, belt and hat, I stepped through the metal detector. No beeps. The security lady said "Come on through. And while you're at it, zip up." Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my fly was down. Way down, like exposing my brightly colored underwear down. As I zipped up she said "You really must have been in a hurry." But as I reflect on this, can anyone ever be in so much of a hurry that they can't spare the second and a half to zip up their pants?

When I got into the actual airport terminal, I did what all good passengers do. I located the Defibrillators.



That's right, there are three on my terminal wing and I can tell you where each is located.

The next thing I did was swing by the Heineken lounge



Where I briefly contemplated by a nine thousand dollar beer. I realized that I might need to do things like eat and buy art supplies in Italy, so I decided against the beer. With 2.5 hours until lift off, I wanted to kill some time with eating. I ended up doing that at a 50's style diner called Ruby's.



Ruby's is an interesting place. All the wait staff is dressed up in 50's diner style uniforms. I'm not positive, but most of the music they were playing seemed to be from the 30's and 40's. Regardless, the burger and fries I ordered were delicious, and they gave me free refills on my beloved diet coke. All in all, a good way to say goodbye to the states (at least for a while).

And so it begins....

O.K., ladies and gentlemen, I have 2 major things to report on today. First off, I figured out how to get pictures up here so here we go. This is my studio in all it's glory. I posted them backwards so we will start with the view from my blacony (yes, I have a balcony) and we'll end with the picture of the front door of the building.







The person coming through the door at the end is my studio mate, Sandy from Canada. So yes, that's where I will be everyday when I'm not outside, painting. It's a hard life, but I will do my best to muddle through. The next thing I have to post is my first day of painting. Yes, I had a slight heart attack before it all started. Our instructor, Jody, had set up a still life for each different group of painters. I, being a complete dork, needed help setting up my fabulous French easel that the wonderful Debbie Jones gave to me about a year ago. Once set up, I was momentarily frozen, but eventually bit the bullet, so to speak, and started sketching. After some helpful tips from Jody, I transferred the sketch to my gesso-ed paper and started painting. Part of the assignment was to deal with a limited palette. The only colors I used were cadmium red, lemon yellow, burnt sienna, lamp black, and titanium white. Here's where the painting was about 1pm today. I'll post the updated work tomorrow.

Day One

So my first offcial day the the school where I woke up in my room and got to see my very own studio was amazing. My room is small and I'll admit it - a bit chilly at night. It is a beautiful building, but it is a no frills, simple kind of existence. Let's just say it feels like the converted convent it once was. The people in the town are incredibly nice. Everybody says "Buongiornio" during the day, or "Buon Sera" at night, or sometimes just "Sera," which I think is the equivalent of "Evening." I spent a bit of time just hanging out in the main town square, watching the locals basically just chill out and catch up with each other. The square is surrounded by the town on three sides, one of which is the main church. The other side of the square is bordered by the outer wall of the town. The wall is low enough to sit on and you have a front seat to the MOST BEAUTIFUL VIEW IMAGINABLE. I am not kidding people - it's amazing. You're basically standing at the top of this huge hill looking at the surrounding hills and valleyes. Everything is green farmland, lovely cypress trees, and the occasional house. On a distnat hill top I can see another town as old as ours. I am having some majpor issues up[loading pictures but I think I will have that solved this afternoon. In the mean time, just imagine how pretty it is.

Touch Down

I'm here! No time to write at the moment - other people need a turn on the school's computer. The important thing is, I landed safely and am now in Montecostello. I have met artsits from Mexico, Chicago, New Jersey, Toronto, and LA so far.

The ride up here on the bus was amazing. I dozed off but in between napping, caught glimpses of rolling, beautiful, green countryside. It looks like a lot of farmland and distant, low mountains. There were a number of what I think were vineyards and some contented looking horses. The town itself is at the top of a mountain or a hill - I'm not sure of the official classification. It is high up and truly ancient. Everything is stone, cobblestone, and terracotta roofing. I'll upload some pictures as soon as I can get the the hang of this computer.

I've been told that tomorrow, the town residents are holding the Italian version of a walkathon to benefit the earthquake victims of a few weeks ago. Apparently, this means we all get together, walk down the hill-mountain, then drink wine and eat fresh bruschetta while we socialize. My main instructor's assistant, Ellie Wyeth, is unclear on how any of us will be getting back up the hill-mountain after the cocktails. Cross your fingers for me.

3 days to lift off...

This is the travel blog I promised to set up to document the Italy trip. For anyone reading this who doesn't already know, my name is Becky and I've been dreaming of going to Italy for 8 years. I am finally leaving for Umbria this Friday. I'm going for 2 weeks, during which time I will be living and taking art classes at this place:
http://www.giotto.us/

Here's an excerpt from the school's website describing where I'll be staying:

Overlooking the lush Tiber River valley, Montecastello di Vibio is a hill town in central Italy, in the province of Perugia. Halfway between Rome and Florence, our location provides students the chance to see first hand some of the world's greatest art. A beautifully preserved medieval borgo, Montecastello looks much like it did 500 years ago. A fortress wall surrounds the tiny heart-shaped town; vast panoramas can be seen in every direction, and a tranquil little park sits at one edge. This delightful village is our campus, and a complex of historic buildings houses the School’s facilities.

So that's my life for 2 weeks - Figure drawing in the morning, a traditional Italian meal prepared by local cooks midday, landscape painting in the afternoon, and trips to neighboring regions on the weekends. I'm also planning on plenty of wine drinking, going for long walks in Medieval villages, getting lost on said walks but not particularly minding, and on making some (hopefully) beautiful art.

Wish me luck! I have to finish packing and sign my fancy new passport.