Borgo degli Albizi Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I hope that you are enjoying all that the seasons have to offer. I myself have been carving stone and painting portrait commissions, as well as enjoying all of the art events that I have been invited to attend.

I am also missing Italy. Borgo degli Albizi is one of my favorite streets in central Florence. I rode my bike down that street often on my way home or into centro. I like the variety of shops along this street and the stone buildings in the ever-changing light. And so, I would like to introduce to you my latest charcoal and pastel drawing of a couple walking in a nighttime rain down Borgo degli Albizi.

"Borgo Degli Albizi - Firenze, Italia"
64 x 46 cm (25 x 18")
charcoal & pastel drawing 2009
Roma-brand Italian paper
by Kelly Borsheim
[Updated: 14 December 2009: This drawing has sold to a private collector in California.]

Also, I just published my latest art newsletter, which includes some cool images of devotional art by Florentine artists throughout the centuries. If you would like to receive these as an e-mail (only 6-8 times per year), just subscribe on my site. It is free.

Entwined Art

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I am preparing a lot of new drawings, a few paintings, and I hope still to finish another sculpture for my solo exhibit here in Florence, Italy, at Sei Divino. The exhibit is titled “Kelly Borsheim: Luce dall’oscurità” (Light from Darkness) and starts on the 16th of April. Here is a preview of one of the new drawings, “Entwined.” And yes, this is one of the ones I was hoping to finish before the model Ernesto left (see previous blog entry).

Since I started seriously drawing, I have enjoyed drawing hands. I also find myself intrigued by mystery and high contrast. The idea of ‘being entwined’ (versus entangled) with something strikes me as romantic without being suffocating. And this pose with the hands over the chest feels comfortable. (The ‘two thumbs up’ reminds me of the sculpture I carved in stone of manta rays, “Encounter”.)


“Entwined” was drawn on Roma-brand paper using only charcoal and pastels. This original drawing is 20.5 x 64 cm (approximately 8” x 25”) and he is available from the Borsheim Arts Studio. He will have his public debut on 16 April in Florence.

Thank you for your continued interest.
Kelly