Pastel Pensive in Bologna

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Since I was a small child, I have had a habit of sitting and thinking (or maybe as the joke goes, “Sometimes I sit and think; sometimes I just sit.”). I like to watch people move. I like to watch how their bodies express their true emotions. I enjoy imagining the lives of others I see, but do not know. It intrigues me how people’s lives touch one another, no matter how briefly or seemingly insignificant.

This next pastel painting “Pensive in Bologna” that I created on handmade Wallis-brand paper was inspired by my first trip to Bologna, Italy, back in 2004. I went to Bologna after receiving many recommendations from travelers along my route. They all described Bologna as having “good energy.” It is a university town and the youth and inquiring minds do bring a certain something to the city that felt different than other places in Italy.

And then I saw this lone man, a grown man, gathering his legs in his arms as he sat in a sculpted doorway under a portico, for which Bologna is well-known. I have not forgotten him. And I sometimes catch myself wondering what his name is and what his life is like.

“Pensive in Bologna”
23” x 17”
Pastel painting on Wallis Professional Paper
$1200 + $20 shipping & handling

Happy Birthday, Peggy!