Light and Shadows in Florence Italy

Before Lisa and I ended up at The Art Bar in Florence last Friday night, we stopped in at a friend of a friend’s attic apartment to buy some sheets for my new room. (Oh, yes, I forgot to say that I found a nice room vicino the Teatro Verdi, not too far from my room with Grazia. I moved in early to help the situation with my old space and am now sharing with a cute young couple studying design here in Florence.)

But, I digress, as I often do. After we purchased the sheets I needed, Lisa and I did some exploring on the lower floor of this woman’s building. If I told you the address, I might have to kill you. (Nice, huh? Gotta protect the private.) I love going into all of the Italian homes and business spaces in central Firenze. This one surprised us both. While I was still photographing shadows in a hallway with a large vase and plant and looking for other hallways to explore, Lisa was curious about some beautiful wooden doors.

We were both delighted with the view below that Lisa discovered after she opened the doors. Pictured here is the beautiful window with a simple floral design that only partially hid a warm Tuscan-colored floor behind it. This is one way to add a bit of nature to a city of stone and concrete!

But then, look at the cast lighting from the hall lamp hanging from the ceiling. Lisa can definitely spot the cool stuff! The way the light hit the floor made the wooden floor look fluid. I hope you enjoy the images I took of the water-rippling floor and a bit of Lisa’s door on the left, as well as the image of the light that cast such a hypnotizing pattern. While the ceiling’s shadow is not quite as interesting, the contrast between it and the floor’s design is fun. So, when you visit Tuscany, do not forget to keep your eyes open for even the smallest pleasures. And definitely peek into open doorways!

All in A Day’s Work – Drawing

So, I am coming to the end of my projects. Here is what my weekday often looks like: from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., I work on my charcoal drawing of Sara. Then from 2 to 5 p.m. I work on my charcoal drawing of a plaster cast of a sculpted ear using the sight-size method. I do not actually see it as an ear. For the longest time I have only seen abstracted shapes, such as the duckie, the infinity symbol, and the sideways apostrophe mark.

Monday, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, I draw from live models (portraits the first two days, one 2-hour pose of the figure on the third day) from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. I host the Wednesday evening sessions of lots of artists sharing model expenses. Thursdays are art history night, often with two events at two different art schools here in Florence, Italy: Angel Academy of Art and the Charles H. Cecil Studios. Fridays, I have the option to draw from life again or usually, just catch up on other projects or maybe even go out with a friend.

After drawing each night, I then work some more on my drawing of Sara (without the model) until 9 p.m. Much of working with charcoal means using the point. By this I mean that the charcoal stick must be sanded to a fine point in order to be applied to the paper, especially when trying to remove any blotchiness from using other application methods. My figure of Sara is 60 centimeters tall. She has taken up a lot of time, but I am happy with the progress I am making.

The rest of the time, I am either living life, meeting new people, or doing laundry or something. Perhaps this is not the exciting life some imagined – being in Italia and all – but I am really refining my skills as an artist and I love it.