Water Raindrops Hurricane Watch

Dear Art Lover,

     I seem to have water on my mind a lot lately, as you will see when I publish images of my next two charcoal drawings in my upcoming art newsletter. 

 http://www.borsheimarts.com/newsletter.htm

     Here in Tuscany, Italy, we recently had a decent rainstorm.  I am often enchanted with the light before, during, and AFTER a storm.  This one left us with raindrops everywhere, a bit magical!  I include in this post a few of my favorite snapshots walking around my home the other day.  

     Also, I have a special offer on a work that I did in Texas on the same theme.  I was down in Brownsville waiting for my father to finish some pilot exam he had to take.  “Raindrops on Shell Ginger” was how I amused myself in the garden.  Noticing Nature’s wonders is a joy we should choose to experience.

Raindrops on Shell Ginger

18" x 14"
Pastel on dark green Sennelier paper
© 2010 Kelly Borsheim

$600, ships from Austin, Texas

http://www.borsheimarts.com/pastels/2010/shellginger.htm

Only $600, she ships in a frame for protection, but it is a simple frame and I imagine you might prefer to choose another one.  If you are near Austin, Texas, you may pick the work up there instead of having to pay for shipping.  Zip = 78702

     However, I am not always sure that watching Nature’s wrath is an experience worth choosing.  Almost every single one of my family members in Florida has chosen to stay home this weekend and await the terrible Hurricane Irma.  As I write, I just saw an image in which someone compared Hurricane Andrew [which destroyed both my brother’s and my father’s homes in Homestead, Miami-area 25 years ago] to Irma.  Irma looks about THREE times the size and you probably know she has already caused a lot of havoc and death!  Watch with me:

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/irma-atlantic-ocean

Peace,

Kelly Borsheim, artist

http://BorsheimArts.com

P.S. IF original art, while affordable, is STILL a bit out of your budget, or the piece you adored has sold?  Or do you like arty things in different formats, to surround yourself with art?  Looking for a gift?  See my store online for pillow, phone cases, shower curtains, towels, tote bags, and yes, even prints on metal, wood, canvas, and so much more:

https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-kelly-borsheim.html

Shelter from the Storm - Lemon Tree

See the big dark spot in the sky?  Need new camera: Dirt is inside

Raindrops on Rosemary

My neighbor's dog Yoda enjoyed running around with me.

Pietro Nardini Alpine Climber

Dear Art Lover,

Pietro Nardini, long before I met him

     Last year about this time I met Pietro Nardini on the bus from Pescia to Sorana, Italy.  He is now mid-80s and quite thin.  He is no relation to the Nardini family who owns the last remaining stone quarry in this area called Valleriana, and sadly, Pietro has no family left.  He still chain-smokes with no desire to slow down in that.  We got into a conversation after I called my landlord to confirm that I was on the bus and would arrive to his village in about twenty minutes.  During the call, I handed my phone to Pietro.  It turns out that his house shares a wall with my landlord’s house.  Before we got to Sorana, Pietro asked the bus driver to stop the bus after a bend in the road.  He wanted me to get off!  But all was well.  He had seen my landlord working with a wood pile and did not think that I saw him.

     In late July of this year, I was invited to lunch by a friend and met a family that is new to Sorana, a village in Tuscany.  By chance, they are also neighbors with Pietro.  I do not know if he remembered me or not from the bus, but when he saw me outside, he invited me to come inside his home to see his little private museum. 

     He was a climber of the Alpine mountains!  This entry room to his home, which is upstairs, contains a good collection of minerals and gems, old photos, and mountain climbing and spelunking [caving] gear.  He started out the tour by pointing out an image of him with a cow who has quite the funny expression on her face.  He told me that this was his wife because he was too ugly to have gotten a real woman.

Pietro Nardini on 30 July 2017, in his private museum, Sorana

    Pietro is missing the index finger on his left hand.  I did not ask how.   In one of the photos that I share with you here, he pointed out that he is one of the ones dangling from a wire off the edge of a vertical cliff while the other rescue-workers stood on the flat plane above ready to help. 

One of those two suspended is Pietro.

 

     I hope that you enjoy these images.  I saw Pietro again last week and during Sorana’s annual bean festival [with dinner and dancing in the main square!].  He said that he never eats much and only once per day. It shows.

     I am currently working out details to offer an art workshop, perhaps focusing on anatomy and design since I will have a male model with the class.  This will be in mid-to-late May 2018 and will be near my home in the hills of Tuscany, between Florence and Lucca.  If you are interested and want to send me feedback on what you would like to work on to improve your art or even what you desire to see in Tuscany, please contact me.    

http://BorsheimArts.com/contact.htm

Peace,

Kelly Borsheim, artist

http://BorsheimArts.com

P.S. IF original art, while affordable, is STILL a bit out of your budget, or the piece you adored has sold?  Or do you like arty things in different formats, to surround yourself with art?  Looking for a gift?  See my store online for pillow, phone cases, shower curtains, towels, tote bags, and yes, even prints on metal, wood, canvas, and so much more:

https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-kelly-borsheim.html

Happy birthday, Jamshid! 

Pietro shows me some of his favorite old photos of colleagues

A much decorated climber and worker in the Italian Alps

simpatici!