Zubin Mehta

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Tonight, Florence, Italy, was treated to a free concert in the Nelson Mandela Forum, a huge stadium type of hall in the Campo di Marte area of the city. Eight of my friends and I went to see this event and we heard Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Nona Sinfonia”. The direttore was Zubin Mehta.

Now, I must admit that although I like music, and even classical music, I rarely know titles or names. However, my friend Sarah kept raving about Zubin Mehta, saying that she has many of his CDs. And before the concert started, my friend Maria exclaimed, “There he is! Kelly, let’s go get a foto!” I am known around these parts for always having some sort of camera on my person and for sharing images.

He was standing near the back of the stage, but quite visible. Since I knew that Sarah was also a fan, I called out to her to join us and we ran after Maria from our seats in the side bleachers. And she just walked right up and asked for a photo with him for her grandmother. Both she and her nonna are fans of his and of classical music. I quickly handed my camera to a man nearby and this is how I came to be photographed with the famous Zubin Mehta with my friends Sarah and Maria.

Although Sarah, Maria, and Doria complained a little about the acoustics, I was actually surprised that it sounded pretty good in that space, although quiet. But then I no longer have a practiced ear and I love harmonies. The chorus was interesting, the soloist singers good, and of course, I loved the strings, flutes, and French horns and bassoons. And my favorite sound came from something like a timpani in a good mood.

All in all a fun night and I got to see something new a firenze.
a dopo . . .

The End of Madonnari in Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

There may soon be no more madonnari (street painters) in Florence, Italy. The Comune (city council) wants to have a concorso (competition) in December and eliminate about half of the current street painters in Florence. They do not want an organization of artists running the show, they prefer to issue the winners of this competition individual yearly permits to draw with rules that they have set.

My tired body can accept a rule such as “One artist cannot work more than 3 days per week,” while my artistic self cannot accept the proposed regulation that “One artist cannot work more than 6 hours per day.” It is difficult enough to make a well-done street painting in chalk or pastel in one day, but to do it in six hours is ridiculous, unless it is a very simple drawing. I am not sure whether this condition is a compliment to our talents or if it is some misplaced concern for the health of artists. I have a feeling it is option number 3 (a more political reason).

As an organization, we can be more flexible to the needs and abilities of our member artists, thus serving the public better. Sure, we have a few bugs to work out, such as some artists getting to work more than others, and encouraging artists to find a replacement if one cannot work on one’s scheduled day for reasons other than weather. Government red tape could not easily aid this situation.

But one of the major questions of the madonnari is “what criteria will be used to judge this competition?” Will the Comune choose artists based on someone’s idea of art quality, how much money an artist earns, experience, fiorentini or stranieri (Florentine artist or a foreigner), or some other quality? (Currently, the street painters of Florence are a healthy mixture of many nationalities, including Italian.)

The leaders of i madonnari have said that street painters are very different from other artists who sell their work in the streets. Street painting is more like performance art than it is fine art. They want the Comune to acknowledge our different purpose and function. For example, a fine artist does not train in the streets. But most street painters, including myself, did. We help each other learn the process of creating a large drawing on a rough flat surface, as well as the psychology behind connecting with our audience of passersby.

Allora, Florence’s organization of street painters has decided to send our list of questions and comments about specific ideas presented by the Comune regarding the future of our work and this proposed competition. In order to be heard we have to buy a special francobollo (stamp) and pay some other fees. So this weekend, i madonnari worked on a large collective drawing – a copy of a Botticelli (that I have never seen before) – to earn money to pay these fees.

Thus far we are refusing to participate in the Comune di Firenze’s competition. If nothing happens after we submit our responses, then there will be no more street painters in Florence, Italy. We cannot afford to fight the Comune more than we have.

So this Thursday (which happens to be the American holiday of Thanksgiving) may be my last opportunity to work as a madonnara. Let us hope that it warms up and does not rain!

Street Painting for Anthony Melita

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

My friend Geovane, a madonnaro here in Florence, Italy, but from Brazil, likes to joke with me that every day that I create a street painting, it rains. Geovane is remembering last spring and since he paints on the same day that I normally do, he has reason to chide me.

This past Thursday was no exception. At first it was a beautiful day, so I decided to go ahead and try to paint instead of working in the studio. I chose to paint a copy of “Madonna In Prayer” by Italian artist Sassoferrato in 1640.

Shortly after I got a decent face sketched-in and had a good start on hands in prayer, I was joined by Luca from Bologna. This adorable young man really wanted his mark in the street, so I invited him to color in the Madonna’s veil. I put his photo online here with his mother’s permission. I find this kind of interaction with “my public” one of the perks of being a madonnari.

But, as Geovane predicted, rain followed shortly after Luca and his mother left. The light changed as clouds moved overhead in the Renaissance City and the day came to a close. At first it was only drizzle. By 6 p.m., there was a fairly consistent misty rain and it was impossible to continue work.

However, before I started work yesterday, I had decided to dedicate my drawing to my friend Anthony Melita. Those who receive my art newsletter (subscribe via my Web site) recently learned of the death of this young artist, author, and model. As night moved in, I lit candles and placed them in the corners of my composition. The wind kept blowing them out. I kept relighting them. But during the heaviest rain, they finally stayed lit and I took it as a sign I should keep on going.

Normally rain drives viewers away and one cannot add chalk to a wet street. But I really wanted a photo of this day’s work for Anthony’s family. I waited in a vacant shop window behind my space until the rain subsided. Then I took newspaper and dried the parts of the street that I had not already chalked. This is a common street painting trick, and works well enough if you do not touch the wet chalk drawing.

I was really tired and cold by about 10 p.m., and I did not have the energy to wait for the entire original drawing to dry completely. It looks cool when wet, but the lights disappear and so the new dry drawings looks much brighter than the wet parts. I wanted to add a border, but when I removed my tape edge, water was underneath.

As I finish this writing online at the High Bar in Florence, I received an e-mail that Anthony’s funeral was today in Connecticut. I do not doubt he lived a full life, even if it was too short.

TSOS Exhibit at “The Crossings” - IMPORTANT Time Change Notice!
The time of The Crossing's Saturday, November 22, 2008, reception has changed to 2 p.m. through 6 p.m. They are providing food, so no covered dishes or appetizers are necessary. Please tell everyone you know to tell everyone they know to please come.
“The Crossings” is hosting our TSOS [Texas Society of Sculptors] Sculpture show on the grounds and in their spa and retreat center. Thirty TSOS sculptors' work will be represented with over 100 pieces of art on exhibit. This juried show will run from October 1st through December 14, 2008. You won’t want to miss this reception and you will want to encourage all your friends to attend, as the atmosphere on the grounds of The Crossings is awesome. [Austin Visual Arts Association] AVAA President, Bill Keese will be the awards juror and several nice prizes will be awarded.
The address of the Crossings is 13500 FM 2769 in Austin. For more information contact show coordinator Michael Epps at 512-970-0642. For map and driving directions see www.thecrossingsaustin.com/about/contact.php#driving

New Olive Oil Tuscany Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

The new olive oil is here in Tuscany now and it is delicious! My padrona Doria shared some with me last week when her nephew was visiting from north Italia. Honestly, before I lived in Italia, I had no idea that olive oil was green! I had only seen the yellow variety in the States. Ah, but that is “old” oil. And the oil Doria bought from a Tuscan-living Italian friend is so good I was licking it off of my plate – not behavior my mother taught me!

This past weekend in Piazza Santa Croce here in Florence, Italy, there was a festival celebrating Tuscana’s organic olive oils and wines. There were also hand-made salsas and soaps in this “XXXVI Rassegna dell’Olio Extravergine di Oliva di Reggello” that celebrates “Oro verde” (green gold).


While everything was good that I freely tasted, I sometimes wondered if the vendors were making poor choices in the breads for dipping in the oils. There is not much Italian bread that I am fond of and I worried that their qualities might influence the flavor of the oils. No one else seemed to mind though. I wrote down prices and information for this blog, but now cannot seem to locate it. My room is chaos!


Anyway, in a bottle that is similar to a gallon (probably 5 liters), olive oil could be bought for around 50 euros. (What is that now - $70 US?) I must admit I was not able to purchase anything, but dreaming and tasting was fun. An interesting side note for me was that one of my friends from Algeria said that they do not celebrate the new olive oils as they do here in Italy. They actually prefer the older oils, like a good wine, I suppose.

Buon appetito!



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Baglioni Hotel Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

La mia zia (my aunt) Carole just left Florence, Italy, for Venice this morning. She is traveling around Italy with a group, getting a taste of life here. Unfortunately, she was only here in Florence for two days and we were only able to spend dinner time together. It was so generous of her to treat me to some great meals.

She stayed at the Astoria Hotel, which looked lovely to me. We ate there on Sunday night. The next night, Aunt Carole had invited my friend Skye and me to join a few of her friends for la cena. We ate dinner in the elegant restaurant on top of the Baglioni Hotel and later took a short walk up to the rooftop terraza for a brisk night view of Florence.

The fotos I include here are from the Baglioni Hotel. Both are near the train station (Santa Maria Novella). My stuffed pear (thin flaky) pasta with gorgonzola cheese and . . . rosemarino (I think it was rosemary anyway) was delicious, although the one of my plate looked a lot like a sea turtle to me!

Thank you Aunt Carole – from both Skye and me.


Tonight, I finished my portrait drawing of Skye. I am playing with materials, trying to see what kind of range of tone I can get and to what effect. This portrait of my charming Australian friend was done with white pastel on black paper. After looking at my snapshot tonight, I think I will reduce the brightness of the strands of hair in the lower right corner before I spray fixative over this art to protect her.

This portrait is available. Please contact me via this blog, my site, or e-mail if interested. Skye has a beautiful face and a rather distinctive profile, not to mention a dramatic personality, which I tried to play up in this black and white portrait drawing.

Flights Over Florence

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I was riding my bike home around noon today and when I got to the Ponte alle Grazie in Florence, Italy, I saw unusual crowds gathered on the bridge. Naturally curious, I pulled over to see what the big deal was. And there were men falling from the sky and landing in the Arno River. Not actually in the river (which is good since the river is disgusting). They were parachuting onto a platform. All four skydivers that I saw landed on the same spot in front of Florence’s famouse Ponte Vecchio.

The last diver let go a stream of colored smoke – red, white, and green, the colors of Italia. This next picture was taken one bridge upstream from the Ponte alle Grazie (ponte is the Italian word for ‘bridge’) shortly after a helicopter flew too close to my head for my taste. It is the Ponte San Niccolò and I ride my bike over this bridge almost once a day.

I apologize for the horrible spots on these images. My Sony digital snapshot has dirt inside the lens and I was told this summer that I would have to send the camera to Sony and pay about $200 to have it cleaned. Since this is not my favorite camera (it has suffered from artifacting ever since I flew to Paris 2 years ago) and new digitals are not much more expensive, I decided to keep this for a party camera until it dies a natural death before I invest in another one. I have it with me almost all the time now.

Ok, now I am out the door to try to find my Aunt Carole, who is visiting Florence for the first time with a group of tourists. Let me see what she thinks of the David and Michelangelo’s unfinished slaves!

Street Painting in the Rain

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

OK, so I paid to be a street painter every Thursday in November. Today it rained less than last Thursday, but it was still a wash. The skies started to clear up again (like they were in the morning) and I might have been able to tough it out, using newspaper to dry what had not been protected by plastic sheets. However, I locked myself out of the house this morning. I had put a few coins in my pocket to pay for printing today’s reference image, but later, I thought the coins were my keys and did not realize my error until I tried to put on the serious lock on the front door.

I usually work until midnight, knowing that there is a lull of pedestrian traffic here in Florence, Italy, from the hours of eight to ten p.m. as most folks are enjoying the Italian dinner hours at nearby restaurants. But I had sent my padrona a text message that I hoped to arrive home before she went to bed so that I could get into the house. Mezzanotte just would not do.

I tried to paint in the street (Via Calimala) a copy of “Le Crab” by William Bouguereau. I like this painting, in part because it uses the same red-headed girl for the model as “The Elder Sister.” The latter is a painting by the same artist owned (I believe) by the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston (Texas, USA). I love that painting since it reminds me of my two baby sisters, especially the red hair.


Bouguereau is a difficult artist for me to copy because of his subtlety in tones. His work is gorgeous and I understand he was prolific, another of my challenges. I was not happy with my painting today, the proportion or the tones (too contrasty, as is my way). Maybe it was a good thing to be rained out. Besides, perhaps I can get to sleep a bit earlier this evening.