Orvieto Cathedral Duomo Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Here are some of my images from the Duomo (Cathedral) of Orvieto, in the region of Umbria, Italy. The building was started in late 1290. The church is designed with stripes of stone, alternating green and white similar to the Duomo in Siena that earns the nickname of “the zebra castle” with one of my friends back in Texas

While many hands are sometimes involved in the designs of Italy’s landmark buildings, Sienese architect and sculptor Lorenzo Maitani gets the credit for designing the façade. It does not feel like it when you are there, but the position of the church is such that one may see the full face of the church from a great distance from the city. It rises above the other architecture and Caroline told me that on a sunny day, that gold is gloriously broadcast about!

I also enjoy the addition of the pink stone on the façade. As in the famous Duomo of Florence, Italy, the white, pink, and green combinations serve to simply and sooth the eye when framing the more complicated compositions of the mosaic designs. The dark green bronze sculpted doors and sculpture also do this. I was amused that this piece of architecture featured so many statues of animals seeming to “take a leap” off of the face of the church.

Oh, the stories these carvings in marble tell! It is a shame that the lower part must be covered by a semi-transparent protective barrier. I often wonder what is the protection from – vandals or the extremely high numbers of adoring fans and maybe believers who just want to rub on the artwork. Enjoy!

Click here for more information about the workshop: http://www.borsheimarts.com/art-workshops/2013ArtPortraitWorkshopFlorida.htm

Male Nude Art Drawing

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Perhaps you remember some of the copies I have created of famous artworks. Today I want to share with you a copy I made of one of my own figure drawings. I had done a pencil sketch in Florence, Italy, of a model named Gianni (Johnny) on 20 February 2009. It was only a 40-minute sketch (two 20-minutes poses), but I rather liked him.



So recently I decided to redraw the art onto some crème Italian Umbria paper using charcoal and white pastel. These materials give me a greater range of tone to play with than pencil and I was happy that I was able to improve upon my original drawing.



“Gianni 2009”
18” x 8”
Charcoal and Pastel
Umbria paper


If interested in the figure drawing “Gianni 2009” please contact:

The Franklin Barry Gallery in Indianapolis.
617 Massachusetts Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Tel. 317.822.8455

Contact: Don Elliott

Male Nude Study Prudhon Art

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

While I spend most of my day painting and sculpting, I also try to squeeze in some drawing time. There are naturally several reasons for this, but mostly, I love the feel of pencil or charcoal on paper. And I love the quality look of a good drawing.

In order to keep up my skills and hopefully put great art techniques into at least my subconscious, I have been creating copies of great drawings. This time I present to you my second copy of a male nude figure by Paul Pierre Prud’hon.

Like my first Prudhon copy, “Male Study for an Allegory of the Rhine River,” this untitled male figure (I call him simply “# 2”) was drawn with charcoal and white pastel. He is on Umbria-brand paper that I brought back to Texas with me from Italy. The black and white drawing on a crème-colored paper measures 17” x 12” and will sell for $600 + $20 shipping (Texas sales tax of 6.75% applies to some).

If interested in acquiring this drawing of a beautiful male figure, either click on the PayPal button below or contact the studio.

And thank you for your interest in classical figurative art.

# 2
“Male Figure Leaning Over”
charcoal and white chalk drawing
(Italian) Umbria paper
17” x 12”
by Kelly Borsheim, after P.P. Prud’hon

If you would like to see some of my current original drawings, please visit this link:
Luce dall'oscurità

October is National Arts and Humanities Month

Figure Drawing Charcoal

Cari Amici,
What possesses me to share these images escapes me. I am the queen of macchiata (blotchiness). What you see here is my work-in-progress of my figure drawing in charcoal of the Italian model Valentina. I wrote about her transfer to the Umbria paper on this blog on 24 Febbraio.

Here you see that I have not only established my three main tones, but now I have begun to work the darks to get the figure “to turn” (look 3-dimensional) and try for a movement of tone in my background. Hence the blotchies. Apparently, as I have heard many people here in Florence, Italy, say, I draw like a sculptor. I exaggerate. I have yet to find this truly objectionable, but it does mean that I have to do more work. If I would simply lay in the tones correctly, I could create more art.

Instead, I exaggerate and then must settle it down. I justify my behaviour by explaining that I do not have access to the model for nearly enough time and need to make these notes to myself of what I have observed and chosen to do about those observations. But then, we all justify our behaviour, si?

Cartoon Transfer for Charcoal Drawing

By Wednesday night, my friend Janné and I were ready to transfer our cartoon drawings of the model Valentina to the better quality Umbria paper for our charcoal drawings. Pictured here you can see my tracing paper that is used to transfer my original drawing to the new paper.

This method of transfer does not harm the original. I used a blue felt pen to trace over my drawing. Then on the back side of the tracing paper, I rubbed some soft B charcoal over my lines (Nitram brand – French and not available in the States, that I know of). I then position the tracing paper over my Umbria paper, measuring my vertical placement lines from the paper’s edge so that my figure is oriented properly on the paper. And then I use a blunt pencil to trace over my blue felt lines and transfer charcoal lines onto the Umbria.


My next step is to lay-in the tones, starting with the background. I use a soft B charcoal (stubs usually) to scrub-in the ‘dirt on paper.’ Then I use a soft sponge to even out the charcoal and try for some consistent and desired tone. This is not precise because until I see the model in pose, I cannot determine any tonal relationships. Janné took the image you see of me wiping the extra charcoal dust into the street of Via Ghibellina here in Florence, Italy. Vine charcoal is quite dirty and the only other window in my apartment opens up over another woman’s courtyard. She often has laundry hanging up, so it seemed a bit rude to give her the dust. So, go ahead and chastise me for trashing Florence. Some art production is not particularly environmentally friendly.

This last image shows you my basic transfer from a cartoon drawing on inexpensive paper to a tonal disegno on Umbria paper. So far, I like Umbria much better than the Somerset that I used for the drawing of Francesco. As you can see, I have a lot of blending to do in the background, once I establish my desired tones in each area. And, of course, the figure needs much refinement. The face is too garish for my taste, but having gone through this process before, I know she will not end up looking like this for long. Also, I do not often see the model’s face (depending on her and my movements and the fall of her hair during each posing session). However, I want to create her beautiful face before adding wisps of hair over it. And finally, I am pleased with the sexy wave-like shadow her body causes on the model stand.

Thank you for reading!
Yours truly,
Kelly Borsheim

PS Buon Compleanno, Matteo!