Street Painting Michelangelo Florence, Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

It may sound strange, but I paint in the street. In Florence, Italy, we street painters are called madonnari. Yesterday, I chose to draw Michelangelo’s Libyan Sibyl from the Cappella Sistina in Vatican City, Italy. I was fortunate enough to be assisted by this charming little gal from Canada. And thanks to her mother who took this image of us on my camera for me.

I try to save all of my “wet wipes” for when the kids come to help me. It seems a bit rude for me to invite people’s children to paint in the street and then send them on their way as a dirty mess. In truth, I enjoy watching how each child takes to the cleaning part of the job. Some are really cute in their methods, some thorough, some not at all interested in washing their hands.

I have to admit, I am as fascinated by the process of creating a drawing as much as the next guy, maybe moreso. Hence the following image -- I like how the street is visible as I pick and choose which parts I want to develop first.

Normally, I am not much of an orange person -- the color is just too happy for me. But there are exceptions, usually when I see orange in Nature. However, this particular work of Michelangelo’s moves me greatly and any other color than orange might change the effect in a less impressive way. I also love drapery.

Here you see the work just before I called it a night. The distortion from the camera angle and lens is much better on this side. I took another shot standing at the head, and . . . oh, my . . .


Not being much of a morning person, I started this pastel drawing around mezzogiorno (noon). I think I washed up around midnight, but in truth, the reason that I did not finish the art is because I have more friends now than before. For example, my ex-roommates Dragana and Elena brought aperitivo to me in this evening since I was unable to leave my work and I took a bit of a break around dinnertime. We rarely get to see each other now that we live in different homes.

My last image for this post is of the destruction of my work. Granted the patterns in the stone street determine most of the movement of the water, I still find the apparent randomness intriguing. I was really happy with this drawing (except for the feet) and felt sad that I had not done it on paper the way many madonnari work on occasion. But what could I do? I must scrub the street painting away so that the next day, another artist may begin.

Pencil Figure Drawing Florence, Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

While I was working as a madonnara a couple of weeks ago, I met a charming young gal who lives in Pietrasanta, Italy, but is not a sculptor. It turned out she wanted to work again as a model, so I hired her for one of my Open Studio sessions here in Florence.

I created the figure drawing that you see here in the session with this lovely woman. While I love the shape of Eva’s mouth, I was more drawn to the light around her hand and made my composition with this area as the focal point. In the pinky finger, I see some resemblance to the late artist Tamara de Lempicka, but perhaps that is my imagination.

While in Texas this past summer, I bought a product called “Liquid Pencil” and have tried it here on a watercolor paper. She has a very sketchy, water-y look to her and I like it. The drawing measures about 23 x 6 inches. She is priced at $125 + $18 for shipping from Florence, Italy, to anywhere in the world.

Just click on the PayPal button below for a safe financial transaction and the drawing “Eva” can be yours.
Thank you for your interest and support of the arts (and of me too.)

P.S. Happy Birthday, Danielle. 24, hard to believe. I love you.

Street Painting Florence, Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Last Monday night we madonnari (street painters) had a meeting to decide on a course of action because as of 1 October, we entered a new quarter and paying the street art tax to the Commune is a problem. Anyway, although it was said that by the Italian Constitution, the police cannot stop us from creating art in the street, our choice was that if any one of us received a multa (a fine), then we would notify each other and fight it. This was more political than I wanted to be in bella Italia, but I agreed with the rest of my colleagues. Still, I was glad that when I arrived for my scheduled Thursday, I learned that the taxes have been paid for October and I can work legally this month.

So, all that done with for the moment, I chose to attempt a Bouguereau for my street painting. William Bouguereau’s art is difficult because of its subtleties. There is a definite form to his figures, but where exactly do I distinguish what is light and what is shadow? It is so easy to copy a Bouguereau with too much contrast.


I love this image of the famous French artist: Le Ravissement de Psyche (1895). Yes, I lack subtlety. And I never did get the boy’s left eye dark enough to turn and properly be in shadow. This is the definition of stupidity – knowing what to do and not doing it. Doh! But, most people tell me that I am not so kind. Ha ha.

I include this one image on the left of the two figures because it shows very well the condition of the street on which I am working. Do you see the holes and stains in the section that will become the young man’s body? Also, you can see that I began to run out of my skin tone pastels. The male figure is more orange. (I was also running out of my blues and purple pastels.)

In addition, I was really tired by this time of night – street painting is very physical. The line/tone/shape of the inguinal ligament (from the hip to the top of the pubic bone) is wrong. It is too dark for too large a shape and also is too close to the center of body.

But, despite my being my own worst critic and ever demanding, this work was not too bad considering. People seemed to love it, although one man told me that it was rather erotic for street art. Yeah, that would be my undertaking . . .

I also met two very interesting people in the art field that day. There was some sort of convention or meeting for people in the field of restoration and preservation and I spoke with a man from The Netherlands. He was very admiring of my work and hinted at an invitation to The Netherlands some time. And he told me that I was wasting my time working on the street since the art is not permanent. That is sweet, but not really what I wish to hear when I have about six more hours of street labor that day ;-)

The other art professional I met was an art historian at a university in Milan. We spoke for quite a bit, with her showing me a book on contemporary artists. She said that she rarely stops to really look at the work of the madonnari, but something in my drawing made her get off her bicycle.

So, last Thursday was a good day. I washed my drawing about 1 a.m. and rode my bike home. I was surprised that Claudio, the head of the madonnari organization was still drawing away into the morning when I left! Artists must be a little bit crazy, do you not agree?

Parade in Florence, Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

The Friday night before (September 26), Giovanni (another madonnaro [street painter] – from Brasil) and I left up little cardboard tents in an attempt to persuade the street cleaner in Florence, Italy, not to drive over our street art. Did not work, or maybe it did. I only had one large tire print over my face of a sibyl of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.

So, Saturday’s work was not so bad. I just added more pastels and tried to feminize the face once more. And then I added hair and background.


I knew that my friend Martinho, a bandieri (flag waver), was performing on this day, but I had no idea that the parade would pass right by me on Via Calimala! How exciting this was, even if I did not get to see their performances in Piazza della Repubblica or the Duomo or in Piazza della Signoria. Gotta love the costumes and men in tights ;-)

By the time I finished in the night, I was exhausted. I had street painted Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. And I was scheduled for Monday again.
I finished out the composition in the street and even added the subtle cracks that now appear on the original fresco of the Sistine Chapel. How could Michelangelo have anticipated such beautiful wreckage?

Michelangelo The Delphic Sibyl

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Because other madonnari (street painting artists) are on holiday now, I was able to buy two days in the same spot for making my drawing the last week in September – a Friday and a Saturday here in Florence, Italy. I have not drawn on such active days, people-wise, before, so this was a treat.

I chose to paint Michelangelo’s Delphic Sibyl from the “Cappella Sistina” in Vatican City, Italy. Not being much of a morning person, I started around noon and got a decent start on the portrait drawing. I scratched into the street layers of pastel colors and I am trying to learn to do it in interesting and creative ways. Later, I blended everything with my hands (now raw and very dry: missing my fingerprints even).

Here you see that I am drawing with Carmen and her little brother Vincent: Americans who now live in Korea. Their parents took this image.


An interesting thing happened that evening – well a horrible thing for me. Somehow after this night shot was taken, I managed to use my last 30 minutes of working to make the face of the sibyl masculine! Mamma mia! It was horrible. I could see the problem when I photographed it, but in person the street painting did not look so bad. Still . . . the photographs would be all that would remain. Ugh!


Many years ago, I did a quick life sketch in paint of a rather boyish looking woman, Eugenia. One of my collectors said, “I love this painting, but can you make me another in which the face is the same, only as a feminine-looking boy?” Whoa! What an interesting proposal! Well, I began to study more images of people to determine what made a masculine vs. a feminine face. This task was more difficult than it sounds. Per esempio, one normally thinks of a tapered jawline as being a feminine trait, yet I saw many faces of young men with tapered jaws who looked more masculine than feminine, despite their youth. Allora, what to do?

Anyway, I finished my commission (“Eugene”) to the satisfaction of my collector and yes, the original painting is still available ;-)), but on this night in Florence, I was frustrated that I could not pin down my error. I later studied my photos and was able to grasp better how (and when/why) my circular face became more angular and masculine. Thank goodness the street cleaner passed over this the next morning, so I could attempt to mend my artistic ways.

Street Painting Botticelli Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),
Although the rules of the madonnari say that each artist cannot have assistance in creating their street art, I cannot help offering some chalk to children. I justify Street Painting Botticelli Florence Italy
my “bad behaviour” by telling myself that the kids are not really helping me: they are only playing.

I drew my version of Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, but only just the detail of her portrait in chalk. It was a fun day, even though I started it around 11:30 a.m. It was a warm, sunny day and after street painting for several days during this past week, I almost feel asleep in the warm sun hitting the pavement. Not really the look I was going for . . .


And I dedicated my work on the 29th to my nephew Ryan, who celebrated his second birthday that day. I like my effort on this artwork despite the holes in the street changing some tones in the face and ruining her jawline. And if my knees were in better shape, I might have worked more detail into the flowing hair.


Around midnight my friends, singing Miriam and her boyfriend James, joined me and we had a passerby shoot this foto of us goofing off. Just before midnight, I decided to wash away my day’s painting and so, now we see the death of Venus. I had some interesting people hang around the watch the patterns of the water over the chalk drawing. I spoke with a man from Hungary and another from Australia, both fascinated by the whole art process.

Happy belated birthday, Ryan!

Seductive Pastel Drawing in Florence, Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

While I was in Texas this summer, I found the image I took many years ago of the original portrait painting “Madonna Blu” by Italian artist Carlo Dolci. It is so much better than the image off of the Web that I worked from last year. Yesterday I was called to see if I wanted to fill a vacancy in one of the spaces for the madonnari in Florence, Italy. I could not arrive until 3 p.m., so I decided to try again the “Blue Madonna”

What a great day I had! One of the most common questions I hear from visitors who watch me paint on the street is, “Isn’t it difficult to have to wash away your work each day?” Well, I thought it would be, but some days I realize how freeing this experience can be. In one way, the pressure is off. (But yes, your bad drawing days are SO public!) One is reminded that it is just chalk (pastels) and only a street. It is a day to experiment and learn.


Yesterday, I tried to put more color into the portrait. I first outlined the shapes of my light patterns and then the darks. I then began to layer various colors within those forms. It looks a bit wild here (see image on the left), but after . . . I love taking my hands and mushing the pastels carefully to blend. One time I noticed a couple standing behind me watching as I put the layers in. I got the feeling that they thought I was not doing such a good job and as I prepared to blend, I exclaimed, “Wait, do not leave, this is the exciting part!” They did not believe me (or perhaps they were afraid that I would expect a tip!).
They left and I went on with my joy.


Yesterday I realized that one problem I have in the studio is that paper and canvas do not even remotely resemble pavement. Sometime the texture of the street is awful, but when it is pure texture (vs. grease or large holes or lines), the result is glorious! I include the close-up images of the mouth area because I feel this pastel portrait drawing is very sculptural and I was pleased with my efforts. My hands have been rubbed raw though, so I hope the police do not want my fingerprints! No pain, no gain. Ha!


I took this next image after the sun went down and without a flash on my camera. But I love this “light emerging from darkness” concept that I have been working with for a while now. She is mysterious in her serenity, do you not agree?

While many people gave me compliments and took fotos, this was not a good earning day. It surprised me because last year when I drew this image as my first time as a madonnara, I earned three times as much! However, the day was not lost. I met many wonderful people. I loaned chalk to several children as they shyly added to my drawing. One boy, Niccolò, loved posing for his father (who gave his permission for me to post this image of Nico and me).

I also met some musicians from Florence and Tunisia, a young couple (both animators and teachers) from Singapore, two young men from Peru (one spent much time showing me his current photographs of shadows and graffiti art from the train station of Firenze Rifredi – beautiful images). In addition to that, I was again interviewed by a journalist writing about culture in Florence. Maybe I can be published again ;-) I am finding myself totally charmed by a specific northern Italian accent that I hear sometimes here in Florence.

And later, my friend opera singer Miriam Léah, featured on my blog last March, came to visit with her boyfriend James. After she gave her concert (for tips) at the Duomo, she came back to Via Calimala and sang for me. She is very sweet and her voice fits the narrow streets of Florence beautifully (and she said the intimate nature of the area of Via Calimala and Via Porta Rossa is better for her voice than the open space in front of the Duomo).

They hung out with me until I washed away my drawing around midnight. Here you can see the three of us, my copy of Carlo Dolci’s “Madonna Blu” and my friend Hafiza’s bike, which I am honored to have the use of while I live in Florence.

Opera Singer Miriam Léah’s MySpace Page (Hear her sing!)

See my first street painting of Carlo Dolci’s Blue Madonna