Madonnari Street Painting Italy Art Lecture

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Just a quick note to invite you to a short art lecture that I will be giving this Sunday around noon in Austin, Texas.
The topic is “My Life as One of the Madonnari (Street Painters in Italy)”

I will share images and stories of my experiences recreating art masterpieces from the Italian Renaissance and other periods of time and place. I will tell you some of the more humorous experiences with tourists, journalists, cops, and the Italian government. And, I will show you the work of many other street painters from my first competition in southern Italy.

The talk officially runs from noon until about 1:30 this Sunday. There will be at least one other speaker, artist Melanie Hickerson. I am looking forward to meeting her. I hope you will, too.

While you are there, check out the exhibit of over 65 artworks by artists in Austin’s groovin’ art scene.

"The 32nd Anniversary Exhibit & Reunion" (group exhibit)
Austin Visual Arts Association (AVAA)
Julia C. Butridge Gallery in the Dougherty Arts Center
1110 Barton Springs Road
Austin, Texas 78704 USA

Visit my art exhibition calendar.

P.S. We are still looking for a digital projector to help me easily display images from my Acer laptop. If you have one I may borrow, please contact me. Thank you.

Street Painting – Florence, Italy

Cari Amici,

In honor of my sister-in-law Vicky’s birthday today, I painted a mermaid by JW Waterhouse as my street painting project on Via Calimala in Florence, Italy. This was my first time out as a madonnara since I accepted that I have influenza. I arrived about 1:30 p.m. and was rained out twice. The first time, my colleague Wilson convinced me to stay. And he was right.



Not only did the rain not last and my drawing dried back out relatively quickly and was mostly unharmed, but also several friends stopped by afterwards, making the day more enjoyable.

Alas, the second rain hit about 8 p.m. and this time we both packed up and went home. Allora, I did not finish this drawing, but there were not many people out tonight, so it was just as well that I only worked 7 hours or so.

Happy Birthday, Vic!

Cultural Heritage Week in Florence, Italy

Cari Amici,
I must apologize for being a bit dull today. Today was just one of those days in which too much sadness just punched me full-on. It did not help that it was raining this morning. While I normally am enchanted by rain, today was one of my potentially last days to work as a madonnara, or street painter. And earning income is one of my largest weaknesses.

However, it stopped raining around 1:30 this afternoon and I looked out over Via Ghibellina to see if the streets were becoming dry enough to draw on. I decided to take a chance and at least try to earn back my permit fee for today. I include a photo here to show you how far I got before the loud thunder strike and more rain hit Florence. I had only just begun the face of the Madonna and her child.

I am not sure if I was just feeling desperate or blue. Or perhaps I felt optimistic that this would just blow over, but at some point, I pulled out my umbrella (after having put all of my belongings under a plastic bag) and kept trying to make some kind of beauty out of chalk that was quickly acting like mud. A few people dropped coins into my little buckets. I vacillated between feeling grateful for the generosity of strangers and feeling pathetic. I mean: I am a 43-year-old broke artist working in the street in the rain to make art for a living. Is this really what I wanted for myself?

At some point, I just stopped. The other artist had given up minutes before and washed away his quickly drawn face. Another madonnaro (not working that day) came up and spoke to me a bit. A wee bit later, I decided that the rains were not going away and took my broom to scrub my drawing off of the street. I noticed that each raindrop turned white as it hit the stone. Whaaaaa??? I looked at the sleeve of my jean jacket and realized that it was snowing! Fantastic, but mamma mia, I was not dressed for this.

Anyway, I packed up and arrived home soaked and decided to try to paint something. But the depression felt too great and so, I began to read to get my mind in a more positive frame.

The good news is that Cultural Heritage Week starts tomorrow and runs through 31 March. Translation: All state- and city-run museums, galleries, and archaeological sites in Florence, Italy, are free to enter on these days, including lectures and guided tours. For more information, visit: www.beniculturali.it or call 06/67232635.

And thank you for reading.

Madonnara - Street Painting

So on 12 Settembre, I just tried my hand at becoming a 'madonnara' -- a street painter in central Firenze (Florence). This being my first time, I thought it would be funny to depict a virgin. No, seriously, I was trying to find something a little different from what I had seen here, but that would appeal to my audience. My friend Mark Cummings (San Francisco) told me that 'madonnas go over BIG in Italia.'
Allora, I had bought many pastels and a few other supplies while in Texas, thinking it would be more cost effective. I had wanted to try this during my last visit to Firenze, but . . .
Anyway, I chose the "Blue Madonna" an oil painting by Carlo Dolci that I had seen at the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. Such a beautiful work and love those blues!
I am attaching an image that a tourista took of me while working. In one day (I started about 11 am) I tried working in this new media for me, in color, and on a street! What a canvas.
I finished as much as I wanted to a bit earlier than I thought I would, but I stayed working until almost midnight. There were many visitors throughout the day and evening. Most were very complimentary and many were impressed to learn that I have not done this before. Although I definitely wore more pastel than other artists do! Colorful dust everywhere and at the end of the night, I wash the entire artwork away to make it known to the street cleaners in the morning that a new artist will start in my square that next day.

I will also be trying again next Wednesday, so if you find yourself in Firenze soon, check it out! I am working near Piazza della Repubblica -- closer to the Straw Market.
Ciao, and thank you for reading.