Pastel Life Drawing

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Although I move slowly, I have little patience for waiting. Today I want to share with you two brief sketches I did to help pass some time. These days I try to keep with me a small pastel kit and some black paper. It is a contrasty look that perhaps lends itself to more drama and less softness than lighter papers and more subtle techniques encourage.

This first one is titled “Beach Talk” I took about a week holiday in June to visit one of my models (and friend) on the island of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, flying in and out of Ibiza in the process. During the one really sunny day in Palma, we headed off for a small, but charming beach.

I find sunbathing boring and the water was too cold to swim in just yet ... so I tried to sketch these women chatting with each other on the beach. It looked to me as if they had known each other for a long time. I was hoping that I could capture some of their naturalness with each other.

Unfortunately, once they noticed me drawing them, they turned their chairs to face the water! Still, it was a good challenge to draw people who were moving about and not trying to pose. And in general, I like the idea of sunshine, but not the reality. Shortly after I did what I could with this sketch, I headed into the ocean for a refreshing swim.


"Beach Talk" Palma de Mallorca, Spain
20 x 28 cm June 2010
pastel on black paper
Private Collection, Caprese Michelangelo, Italia

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This second sketch happened because of a recent trip to Lucca, Italia. The logistics of carrying five people in a vehicle equipped for three left my model Nathan and me opting to wait for the second run. This young man was quite a charming first-time portrait model and we both enjoyed the process, fitting in a nap along the top of the tree-shaded wall surrounding Lucca before our ride arrived again.


“Nathan” Lucca, Italia
6 July 2010
pastel on black paper
Private collection, United Kingdom

Lucca Italy Torre Guinigi

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I recently revisited Lucca, Italy, with some friends. Lucca is a small city in which the old town still features the original wall circling and protecting the city. They have made the top of the wall into a lovely walking and bike path, lined with trees and often, breezes.

During lunch, I got to see my favorite fountain there, of which I made a painting in 2004.

This time around I got to take in the views from the Torre Guinigi, a tower with lovely trees on the top. It is an easy climb up the stairs to a shady loft overlooking the city. I hope you enjoy the views. At this writing, the tower is open from 9:30 am to 7:30 p.m., with the last entrance time just after 7 p.m. The price is 3,50 € per person, with reduced prices for kids, students, those with more than 65 years, and groups.

Lucca also sports a great concert series in the summer, with big names in a variety of music styles. Lucca, Italy, in the heart of Tuscany, makes a great day trip from either the Tuscan coast (think cruise line drop-off points) or Florence.

Negative Shapes Palazzo Vecchio

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Sometimes I like it that the camera does not see in the same way as the human eye. I am including here several shots I snapped inside the courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio in central Florence, Italy. The palazzo is open some nights during the summer and it truly puts a whole new light on things.

For example, even at night the eye can distinguish the details of the bronze sculpture of the Cupid shown in this central fountain. The camera cannot. Or it would do so at the expense of making all of the other areas too light. But I wanted to show you how lovely this sculpture composition is. In shadow against the lighter walls, one can see that each view presents a very different abstract shape. Without being able to make out the details of the figure and if you only look at the dark shapes, you can see more clearly the design of the artist.


If they thought about it at all, people might think that sculptors only think in terms of form and possibly function (technical aspects regarding the material and how it can be used to best advantage, for example). However, composition for a sculptor also means that he will design from many vantage points, trying to create interest in an ever-changing audience position. This sculpture is quite lovely and dynamic.

And just think: this is just the courtyard of the former palace!

Parking Garage Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

The workmen at a parking garage in Florence, Italy, waved at her when they noticed artist Kelly Borsheim staring at them, but perhaps they did not believe her when she told them that she would make a pastel painting of them. Kelly walks the Renaissance City constantly searching for beautiful patterns of light. And it is even better when people are involved.

This image was created from a parking garage on Via de Fossi in central Florence. The men were repairing the neon sign. The extreme shadows caused by a late afternoon sun on the parking garage sign were what first caught the attention of the artist. However, the Italian men working on the exterior wall gave an interesting point of action to the image.

This painting was created in pastels -- pure pigment -- on a highly textured watercolor paper. It is a thick strong paper and offers a subtle texture to the art. Like all of Kelly's pastel and charcoal artworks, this one has been treated with a fixative spray and will ship safely to your home or office.


"Garage"
46 x 64 cm
Pastel on Windsor Newton watercolor paper
© 2010 Kelly Borsheim
$1400 + $20 shipping and (if applicable) sales tax

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I was delighted last week when I met Mario Vukelic and his lovely wife Minja Kopčić while I was streetpainting a copy of a Raphael. They are friends on Facebook and were here in Florence, Italy, on vacation from their home in Croatia. Mario is also a streetpainter and he was kind enough to write about our meeting and post an image on his blog about pastel art news:

http://pastelnews.com/2010/06/kelly-borsheim-sculptor-pastel-artist-and-streetpainter/

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There is still time:

Pastels In Paradise: Art Workshop in Hawaii

: borsheimarts.com/art-workshops/hawaii-pastels.htm
And of course, Hawaiian Art Journey: www.hawaiianartjourney.com
Spend a week with a real madonnara (Italian street painter) and see more street paintings.

Hail Over Streetpainting

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Last Thursday was my first day back after visiting a model (and friend) in Spain for about a week. My cousin Heather flew into Italy that same night that I did and we met up in Piazza Santo Spirito near my flat in Florence.

Thursday morning I loaded up my gear and Heather snapped this shot of me before she climbed back into bed for a few more snoozes. I knew that the weather was iffy, but I wanted to draw Michelangelo and chose to draw a small version of his “Creation of Man” work from the Sistine Chapel.


Heather arrived sometime around noon, I guess, and saw that I had drawn most of the composition in white chalk to help me see the overall proportions. And I had almost finished the face of Adam and had begun work on the focal point of the near-touching hand of man with the hand of God. It had sprinkled earlier, so I had already pulled out a sheet of plastic, but …

If it rains a little, I can usually keep working in pastels on the street. If I am limited in how much plastic or newspaper, I place it over the blank areas in which I want to draw next. Once drawn a light rain will not hurt a streetpainting unless it is touched. After the raindrops dry, the muted wet whites and light tones pop back up again. However, I cannot draw on a wet street, so it is the naked street that I prefer to protect.



However, shortly after Heather arrived, the skies darkened significantly and the heavy drops began their descent. And then the hail came. I could not believe how large the chunks of ice were that fell from the Florentine skies in mid-June!

The day before, my colleague Kumiko had drawn Botticelli’s face of Venus. Although the street cleaner had made his pass over her work that morning, there was still plenty of pastel left to morph her face into a fleshy stream. Strange how I find beauty in some forms of destruction.


The hail and the downpour made the rest of my streetpainting day impossible. One funny thing happened though: while lots of people took shelter in a nearby hallway, I met a woman who lived – or tried to live in my room one month before I arrived there. She felt that she had to leave because the room was not up to her expectations. I laughed because I chose that room specifically because it DID live up to my expectations and needs to create art in that space. One (wo)man’s trash is another’s treasure and this day was a fun reminder of how small Florence can seem at times.

So, just because I got rained out from streetpainting, does not make it impossible to create art with pastels. If you would like to get to Hawai’i to create art in this pure pigment medium while having all of the cooking and cleaning done for you in your lodging, check out my “Pastels in Paradise” workshop on the Big Island this September. It is not too late yet!

Pastels In Paradise: Art Workshop in Hawaii

: borsheimarts.com/art-workshops/hawaii-pastels.htm
And of course, Hawaiian Art Journey: www.hawaiianartjourney.com
Spend a week with a real madonnara (Italian street painter) and see more street paintings.

Madonnari - Street Painters in Italy

Thanks to Simone Di Santi, who interviewed me last year in Florence, Italy, while I was streetpainting. Simone and her partner create a travel video Web series called "A Road Retraveled".

Please note that near the end of the video when they are scanning the young nude Giovanni (St. John) by Caravaggio: This part of the video clip was taken AFTER the street cleaners (vehicle) passed over it the morning after it was drawn.

Arno River Ponte Vecchio

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I knew that one day (or night, as this image depicts) I would draw this little boat parked on the far side of the famous Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy, over the Arno River. What a joy this project was! I am still fascinated with using black paper and have begun to apply colors (instead of my previous “white on black” series). I hope you love the look as well.

"Dark Arno"
pastel on black paper
64 x 23 cm
copyright 2010 Kelly Borsheim
SOLD - 11 August 2010 -- THANK YOU!

I feel honored each time someone here in Italy at my current exhibit compliments this pastel painting because it is very common to see paintings of the famous Ponte Vecchio. To have created a new take on the bridge over the Arno River is quite an accomplishment. Florence is definitely an artist’s town!

Happy Father’s Day to my own father, PJ, and to all those wonderful dads out there.