TASTE Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),
A couple of Sundays ago, I had the kind of day in Italia that makes me feel that life here is simply surreal. At least it is often spontaneous! Originally, I had thought to visit a dear friend outside of the city, but I had also received an invitation to see the current exhibit inside the Palazzo Strozzi here in Florence, Italy. What is a girl to do, but try to squeeze in both social occasions on my one day outside of the studio?

So, my friend Roberto (another artist) and I met at the carousel in Piazza della Repubblica early on the Sunday morning and together we went to see the art exhibit “Americans in Florence: Sargent and the American Impressionists” (on exhibit 3 March-15 July 2012). We also had a gander at the Strozzina.

Between Roberto's amused observation that Sunday morning by the name "Strozzina" (the Contemporary Art Section inside the Palazzo Strozzi) as a curious play on words (he believes was intended) and another friend Luca's subsequent explaining to me of the Italian language (esp. Tuscan), I am getting a fun education. The suffix "ina" means "little" -- so "Little Strozzi" is a cute way of saying "not the main gallery." But the verb "strozzare" means 'to choke' (or 'to strangle') and strozzina is also Italian slang for a (female) LOAN SHARK (someone who will cause you a lot of pain)! So, if indeed intended, is that Palazzo Strozzi's official comment on contemporary art? [Or just the stuff they exhibit? ha!] But I digress… we were not as impressed with the American Impressionist mostra as we had hoped to be, but there were several remarkable works of art in the exhibit.

Well, in any event, my other friend cancelled our visit, so Roberto and I sauntered on over to one of his favorite places for lunch – Antonio’s, near Piazza Salvemini. I have known Roberto since 2006 and he introduced me to Antonio that New Year’s Eve as we ducked under a half-closed door to buy some last minute goodies for our all-night party that night. Antonio even let Roberto take a picture of me with him behind the counter (that image is on another laptop at the moment or I would share). However, I include here a snapshot that I took of Antonio and his wife after Antonio took one of Roberto and me (see that one in my Facebook albums…). We ate quite well and Roberto even topped it all off by ordering for us this lovely cheese that is a specialty of the region outside of Firenze (but still in Tuscany). Served on a bed of rucola. Mmmm.

And then we experienced Lagniappe: Antonio told us that he and his wife had to stay there to work, but had two tickets to TASTE, a food festival that was happening that afternoon and into the early evening. He offered them to us. Roberto and I looked at each other and thought, “Perché no?” I had only intended to be out for the morning before getting ready to take the train, so we headed over to Roberto’s closer home to get some coats and caught a bus over to the event.

It was a lot of fun – free tastings of wine, cheeses, tea, (they had beers there too), meats, and foods that are all fresh and from Italy. Yum, yum, yummy! Of course, once we finally closed that place down, we decided to head to a new bar and discovered that we knew the twin bartenders from another place. Lovely to see that their dreams to own their own bar had come to fruition! Anyway, here are some snapshots from TASTE in Florence, Italy. There are more on my Facebook pages. Enjoy and happy Spring!

Jean Baptiste Carpeaux Sight Size Art Painting

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I spent at least three hours per weekday now doing my first color copy of a plaster cast of a sculpture by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875). I am including two images that I was able to find of his work online. The cast that I am creating a copy of was cropped (the elaborate hair is too complicated for the intended purposes of this cast) and I wanted you to have a better idea of the kind of sculpture that Carpeaux created.

I am doing an exercise in subtlety, learning to paint with colors (yes, a simple palette), playing with tone, hue, and chroma. This first image shows you my basic Sight-Size setup. The Sight-Size Method refers to the process of setting up one’s canvas in such a way that the model (in this case a plaster cast) will appear to be the same size on the final artwork. In some ways it is a much easier way to train one’s eye/brain/hand coordination since mistakes will be more apparent.

I position myself, standing, about two meters away from my work. You may see the “scotch” (what we say here in Firenze for masking tape) on the floor where my right foot goes. I have also placed some scotch on the wall behind and below the easel to mark my “click-in point,” which helps me remember exactly where I have lined up my body (eye) with the canvas so that I can repeat my vantage point when studying the subtleties of shape.

I start by deciding where the top of the cast is, and then the bottom. I take my steps forward and place a sketchy thin wash of paint onto my canvas. (I am still heavy handed with this, hmmm.) After that, I step back to my vantage point and decide how much correction I need either up or down. It is very unusual to place the mark perfectly the first time. Try it!

I have continued in this way, pacing back and forth, until I have sketched in a construct for the outer (large) shape. Next, I go in and determine what is shadow and what is light within that larger form. Note that the jaw appears too thin, but I have not actually drawn the shape of the head or the jaw. I have designed the shape of that large shadow that includes the jaw, ear, neck, and part of the chest. You can see that my drawing is not exact here – although I did not see it as so far off while I was doing it. [The two marks of paint that you see in the top right of the canvas were demonstrations of the extreme types of stroke one can make with a brush, depending on technique and how much paint is in the brush. For this stage I use VERY little paint and more of a dry brush.]

In this next image, you may see how I have developed the shapes. Because I have been working over several days, my paint had dried and thus, my work got sloppy as I painted darker when refining the shapes in the area of the ear. Note that background is added as needed to help me see the shape. We see in form or mass more than in lines.

Now, I add the background. I am not a very good painter and I have discovered that this project intimidates me because I want to do it right and yet I know the areas in which I am weak. This Carpeaux copy will test me and train me. However, the approaching spring and my missing marble carving is adding to my lack of focus and fear of failure on this project. My background colors are too cold, even as I began to apply them with my palette knife. (That was fun and I would enjoy learning to paint with a knife!)

In this last image, you may see a plaster cast of an eye from Michelangelo’s “David” and a sight-size painting of it to the right (in “grisaille” – white and black). The artist working next to me must sit as he works, and rolls his chair over a carpet! [I am not sure why the carpet is needed because I would have thought that rolling over it would have been more difficult than the tiled, hard floor.] His lower vantage point gives us the ability to work in a closer space within the studio while working on different art projects.

Back to my Carpeaux: Once the background tone is in, I not only can start to determine the relative tones within the subject, but I can also clearly see that my sketch is too large! I had to laugh because when I walked into the studio that next morning, it was if I had experienced ”stone expansion”! “Stone Expansion” is a term that carver Scott Owens coined to describe that feeling (rationalization – ha!) when the marble is cut away to satisfaction, but the next morning appears to have grown overnight! I was hoping (or more accurately, my ego was hoping) that the drawing expanded because I had not wanted to lose my lines as I applied the paint and only painted beyond them. However, once examining the work, I saw that many shapes were off. I am still refining these as I continue the process.

Yesterday, I was told that, "Painting is merely a matter of correcting mistakes." Hmmm, maybe living is too.

Sculpture Challenge PAWS

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

This Saturday is the annual Sculpture Challenge, hosted by Philip and Michelle Hoggatt at their beautiful location for Carved Stone. Located in Dripping Springs, Texas, it is a quick drive southwest into the beautiful Texas Hill Country. The event features stone carvings in a variety of styles and stone.

I have three stone carvings in this event, two of which you have probably not seen completed before, except perhaps in images online. I have written to you about the marble “Gymnast” and you may preview her online at:

www.borsheimarts.com/sculpture/2011/gymnast-marble.htm

My newest carving is in a new stone for me: a pink limestone from Texas. This work was mostly carved during The Vineyard at Florence’s sculpture competition in the spring and fall on 2011. I finished her in November and delivered her with the others to Philip and Michelle’s sculpture garden before I left Texas.

“Ascension Invitation” is a combination of a variety of ideas that I have been working on in my studio, but is the only one that has been fully realized. I had been designing a series of figures set inside of a vertically oriented rectangle topped with a circle. The other shapes, such as the angel’s wings, fell into place as I thought of turning a wall design into a three-dimensional garden sculpture.

I like the word ‘ascension’ for its upward connotation, the meaning in astronomy as “the rising of a star above the horizon,” and well as one dictionary definition of “to go toward the source or beginning; go back in time.” And invitation seemed like a fitting word because of the stairs in the composition, with the angel pointing the way.

I hope you enjoy. I left the stone unsealed because limestone is perfect out of doors. And when it rains on this stone, she turns a deep color of pink. I hate to lose this variety of color by sealing a stone that so wants to breathe!

Sculpture Challenge at Carved Stone, Inc.
WHEN: Saturday, March 3, 2012, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: 5300 Bell Springs Road, Dripping Springs, TX 78620.
http://sculpturechallenge.com/ (for map and more information)

Sculpture Challenge is a benefit for PAWS Animal and Humane Shelter. Admission requires a $10 per person donation to PAWS. All ticket proceeds benefit PAWS. Also, if you purchase one of the sculptures entered into the Sculpture Challenge, 20% will go to PAWS.

Why Beauty Matters

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Sometimes it is what we take for granted – or even deem as not necessary – that turns out to be the thing that is the essential difference between existence and a life well-lived. I hope you enjoy the video link below. On the following youtube.com page, you will see links to more discussions along these lines.
Why Beauty Matters by Roger Scruton

Amerigo Vespucci Anniversary

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),
Today was one of those days that caught me “with my pants down.” I mean that figuratively, of course! That means that I regret not having my good camera with me because today I received a surprise invitation and it would have been wonderful if I had not left the house nude this morning (without camera). I did have my little Nikon, but that is a POS [Piece Of S...] camera, and hardly worth the effort (read WORST PURCHASE EVER!)

Upon arriving in the studio this morning, the Maestro John Angel asked me if I would mind spending my lunch hour at a publicity event with the Sindaco di Firenze (Mayor of Florence, Italy), Matteo Renzi, that John, Lynne Barton (owner of the Angel Academy), Anna, and Jered were invited to attend. He had his good camera with him and likes the photos I take.

Today, 22 February 2012, is the 500th anniversary of the death of Amerigo Vespucci, whose name appears on two continents. Vespucci was a Florentine and Florence wants to celebrate this year with Americans through a variety of activities. The three main classical art schools in Florence (Angel Academy of Art, Florence Academy, and Charles Cecil Studios) that use English as the primary language in school are involved in celebrating the arts for this occasion. I am sure that I will write more about this as the year progresses.

In this first image, the Angel crew (Anna, Jered, Lynne, and John) are meeting up with Charles Cecil (right) at the entrance courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio, which I had just visited in my last blog post.

The unveiling ceremony (which is what this turned out to be) was held in the Palazzo Vecchio’s Sala dei Gigli (Hall of Lilies), named in honor of the French, who have historically been defenders of Florentine freedom. [The Florentine fleur di lis has two extra stamen in its design, which otherwise closely resembles the French symbol.] You will see this French symbol in gold with a blue background on the walls of this room. Those are also there because much of the commissioned art back in the late 1400s was never completed by the same artists who had recently finished commissions on the Sistine Chapel in Roma.

Mayor Matteo Renzi . . . as a street painter, I am not sure what I am supposed to think of some of his actions… but then, in all honesty, other than his diverting traffic to the street on which I work on my hands and knees (see my book for more on this), I do not really know the full details of the struggles of the madonnari. I MUST learn more of the Italian language!

In this snapshot of the crowd, you might be able to pick out on the third row back: John Angel, Lynne Barton, Anna, and Jered Woznicki. In the row behind that, from the left: Charles Cecil and Sandro Zecchi.

This next shot is of the map that the three girls in Renaissance costumes and dolled-up hair unveiled. I must admit daydreaming through most of the several speeches, and not understanding the rest. However, I was told that the map of the world was actually purchased by Vespucci in 1424 from the Chinese! I cannot verify that at this moment, but I can simply leave you with the curiosity of the cat…

And finally, I was so thrilled to have been invited to such a cool thing and was thinking that it would be nice for me to have a photo of me with the Angel staff in this Palace. At the same time, it dawned on me that the reason I had lost the mayor was because his back was sitting right in front of me! He had taken the chair of the current speaker! I looked around for someone to use my camera to take a shot of me with him. One woman nearby was too enraptured by her phone and next thing I knew, a tall Italian man with an enormous press camera offered to take the shot for me. Ironically, the mayor’s eyes were closed in each one … so I leave you tonight with this image of us (with John Angel behind us) in the Hall of Lilies.

Florence Italy Palazzo Vecchio

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),
The Palazzo Vecchio (“Old Palace”) in Florence, Italy is the seat of the Florentine City Hall government. Like so many other buildings in Florence, it is also an incredible museum. Thanks to a posting on Facebook by Freya’s Florence Tours, a friend of mine and I got to enter the Palazzo Vecchio for FREE this past Saturday. I have wanted to see more than her courtyard for a very long time now, so what a fun thing to do on a winter day in the Renaissance City!

Having been disappointed with my digital cameras over the last several years, unable to take images with high enough quality to sell as affordable stock photography, I broke down recently and bought a Fuji X10. While I have not really sat still long enough to get familiar with its many features, it was quite easy to discover its panoramic 360 image maker! No doubt I will get better at this with practice, but I hope that you enjoy these handheld panoramas of the inside of the Palazzo Vecchio.

On the left side of this first image, you will see covered scaffolding as the search for a long-lost Leonardo da Vinci fresco is taking place. Links of interest:

• National Geographic writes about search for Leonardo’s art in Palazzo Vecchio: cool photos.
  
  
• Discovery News: Searching for Leonardo’s Lost Art: “At least $265,000 is needed to build a portable particle accelerator and a germanium crystal detector.” [sounds pretty cool, like science fiction, si?]
  

This third panorama is of the ceiling of the main room and the first one we entered after walking up one flight of stairs.

The rooms are certainly elaborate and I cannot even conceive of such a thing being attempted in anyone’s palace… but I was told that the Medici or other ruling families might never even leave the confines of this building. If true, one would understand the need for lots of eye candy!

Do you not just LOVE how they believed in child labor? I mean – do you see how many young ones are holding up the ceiling art?

I am including only a small sampling of the art on the walls of the Palazzo Vecchio, but you can see that the artists of the time were quite imaginative in the creatures and in the decorative way they arranged elements.

This last image is of a niche that I think should hold one of my sculptures, don’t you? Haha. One can dream, right? And, hey, why not? I could carve a stone figure that would complement this environment!

Florence Italy Figure Art

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),
I have not decided whether it is because I have no shame or whether it is just because I am a horrible liar that I am about to share with you what I am. You may remember my blog post on 15 January 2012 about my struggles to learn how to figure paint here in Florence, Italy. I often feel like a bit of a fraud when kind people remark that creating figure art comes so natural to me. It does not. I work and work and work at it. No lie.

Despite the fact that after my first day of frustration and the next day Maestro John Angel gave me a compliment in front of the whole class, I am still trying to overcome my first bad day on this painting of Federica. John Angel does watch his students paint; even if he is standing far enough away that you think he is not looking at what you are doing. Of course, I also get lost in my own brain when I am drawing and am not much aware of my surroundings.

At some point, he recommended that the class do as I was doing – cross referencing relationships using triangles. I have always felt that the more relationships I make (or notice) between specific points, the more my drawing will be successful. In this case, I had used my knitting needle to determine the position of the hand based on the line formed by a point in the shoulder and the belly button… or something similar that escapes my memory now.

I have failed somehow to get the gesture I once was happy with and I have yet to return to that first drawing that I erased during my frustration spell. Still, with refinement of the shapes I am designing, I hope to “scootch” my way back to something depicting emotion.

So, are you ready? Scary gets less so, I hope…

Image 1: really horrifying … no gesture, bad proportions. The only emotion I feel when looking at this is embarrassment.

Image 2: I am attempting to get the face, but it is still too narrow and poorly done. Her belly is way too round, and … need I go on?

Image 3: Frustrated with my own work, I chose to move on through the process. Here I have left behind the sketching in raw umber in favor of adding the light tones using Titanium White and Ivory Black. I have started the Big Form Modeling, the beginning of the process of creating the illusion of three dimensions.

Image 4: More shape refining, especially in the face, is starting to occur. My figure is looking better, but is still off on too many proportions.

Image 5: Another reason that I am here is to learn to be a painter. As John Angel has been lecturing us, poets use words, musicians use notes, and painters are in love with shapes. But also, we love the quality of PAINT! My tendency is to use too little. Ironic since it was originally the “squishability” factor of oil paint that led me to want to play with clay.

Image 6: By this time, Frederica had cut her hair into a shorter do that is quite attractive. In my attempt to refine the shapes in the face and still use this particular style of a grisaille (white and black) painting with a brown shadow tone, I have added yellow ochre to my raw umber to give some opacity to the browns.

Image 7: Still, so many problems with my shapes! However, I am starting to feel that I am beginning to capture her emotion of at least boredom. Sometimes the model looks teary eyed. She said this happens when her contact lenses start to bother her, but I actually enjoy the sad and pensive expression this gives her. It suits the slumped over posture as well, do you not agree?

And since I prefer not to end this session with any ugliness, here is one of the more subtle skies over my beloved Florence, Italy. Some days, I happened to walk out of the studio at just the most beautiful hour! Enjoy.