Libri Riviste e Fumetti

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Back to memories of Florence, Italy, … I knew that at some point I would paint Piazza Ciompi in Florence. There is a seemingly random-appearing raised platform of stone with square columns and repeating arches over it, right next to a flea market - antique shops that are more like sheds. This platform appears to have had no purpose other than marking one part of an edge of this mid-sized piazza.

During one of my many walks past this structure, I noticed the light filtering into the city and between these square columns. To my delight, a young woman was enjoying a moment in the winter sun reading her book while leaning against one of these columns. I stopped in my tracks and began to work out the painting in my mind. Later, as I got closer, I realized that she was a friend of mine! Even better.

I will introduce this new pastel painting (only a 9” x 12” on panel) this weekend. Her title is named after the sign on the “shed” behind the reading girl. It says simply, ”Libri, Riviste E Fumetti”, Italian for “Books, Magazines, and Comic Books.”

Naturally, you are invited to my last event of the year:

Sunday, December 12, from 2 to 6 pm.
The Curiouseum Arts Weekend inside the Community Renaissance Market
6800 Westgate Blvd. (NW corner of Westgate and Wm. Cannon)
Austin, Texas 78745
Tel.: Ruth: 512.744.3411 and Susan: 512.925.4085

Music lineup:
David Perkoff plays flute and saxophone from 2 – 4 p.m.

The Flying Balalaika Brothers play Russian folk music & a wide variety of other styles from 4 – 6 p.m.

There will also be a fashion show happening at the other end of the building from the gallery. Please pass this one to anyone you think might enjoy this kind of variety on a Sunday afternoon. Thanks!

Flying Balalaika Brothers

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I never can answer the question “How long did it take you to do this?”
But I suppose I can say that technically speaking (if you do not count years of training and drawing), this next work took me two years – to the date even.

On December 1, 2008, I did some “negative shape” drawing exercises from a model named Katie in Florence, Italy. Now, once the drawing is done, you may not be able to tell that I created it by drawing only the dark shapes, relating each non-touching dark shape to the next dark shape. But this is a very powerful exercise that helps me refine my observation and recording of shapes.

As usual, I create these studies with pencil on drawing paper. In the image below, you can see that I did another drawing on the same sheet of paper, but in a different direction since the other drawing was of the entire figure and I needed the length of the paper. I do not always use my sketches to create derivative works, but sometimes I just enjoy the shapes or the lighting or the gesture and cannot get the images out of my mind. Such was the case Katie’s face.


For a couple of years now I have been experimenting with pastels on black paper. And so it seemed natural for me to transfer my pencil drawing onto black paper and fill in the Notan (white and black tones only) design with whites. Wow, what a change of effect!

This artwork is one of the new works I will debut at my last event of the year (and naturally, you are invited):

Sunday, December 12, from 2 to 6 pm.
The Curiouseum Arts Weekend inside the Community Renaissance Market
6800 Westgate Blvd. (NW corner of Westgate and Wm. Cannon)
Austin, Texas 78745
Tel.: Ruth: 512.744.3411 and Susan: 512.925.4085

Music lineup:
David Perkoff plays flute and saxophone from 2 – 4 p.m.

The Flying Balalaika Brothers play Russian folk music & a wide variety of other styles from 4 – 6 p.m.

There will also be a fashion show happening at the other end of the building from the gallery. Please pass this one to anyone you think might enjoy this kind of variety on a Sunday afternoon. Thanks!