Streets in Bologna

Streets in Bologna [SOLD]

(Acrylic on board, 14 x 8.5 in)

Friday’s new start at the Art Club was this view of streets in Bologna. Several alterations later, and the Italian street scene is done.

It's a combination of a view I liked and the serendipitous finding of a panel that was the right shape. I’d do more of these views if the panels were readily available.

 

Verona Side Street

Verona Side Street

(Markers in A5 sketchbook)

My first urban sketch in a very long time. I intended to do more of this in Verona, but one of the problems I found was that the side streets are very narrow and most of the interesting parts of buildings were high up. It's quite difficult trying to stand in a busy street (all streets turn out to be busy when you're not looking!) looking upwards.

 

Trulli Houses, Alberobello

 Trulli Houses, Alberobello.

(Acrylic on linen panel, 30x30 cm)

Another painting capturing holiday memories past, in anticipation of those to come. These dry stone buildings in Southern Italy were fascinating.

Painting the Caps

Six Italian Caps WIP
(Acrylic on canvas, 8x8 in)

This is how the Italian Caps painting ended up yesterday. I'm quite pleased with the way it's going and am looking forward to seeing the logos and trimmings bringing the whole thing to life.

Bologna

Bologna 
(0.8 Marker in A5 sketchbook)

No sooner had I got back from Askrigg and dried off than I was packing again for a week in Bologna, in Italy, with Pat. The forecast looked no more impressive than that for Askrigg, with thunderstorms threatening every day, but the actuality was just the opposite.

Had it been raining we knew that there was plenty of shelter in Bologna because of its famous porticos (note to self: post photographs), but eventually we were grateful for the shade afforded by the porticos as the heat increased throughout the week.

It was a lovely trip and the city was wonderful. It's very much a student town (the oldest university in Europe, in fact) and benefits from their vibrancy. There were fire jugglers at night, an excellent Dizzy Gillespie-style quartet, and an absolutely astonishing juggler-cum-magician. I'm not usually terribly impressed with street magicians, but this guy's control was remarkable. There was one point at which I was certain that the glass ball he was manipulating was indeed floating in mid-air, though common sense told me he had to be keeping control with his thumbs. How though, I can't imagine.

My good intentions of getting more drawing done went out the window yet again, but I made sure that I did do this one drawing from the same window of our hotel, the Cavour Hotel (highly recommended).