Italian Graffiti

Italian Graffiti

"Se vuoi avere una minima idea di quanto ti amo . . . conta
le stelle in cielo . . . ma non basterebbe
ti adoro"

"If you want to have a minimal idea of how much I love you . . .
count the stars in the sky . . . but it would not be enough
I adore you"

Italian graffiti on the outskirts of Firenze (Florence), Italy.

ti amo = you, I love.

La Bella Luna - Full Moon Over Florence, Italy

Oh how I love the moon! I know that I am a Leo, but always, I have felt a stronger
connexion to la luna. And tonight he is full and filled with beauty. But alas, there are many clouds and a wee bit of rain over Firenze, and I cannot see him tonight. Last night, I went to meet a friend in Piazza Signoria about le ora 20:00. The moon was rising perfectly behind the Basilico of Santa Croce. I only had a 'snap and shoot' digital camera with me, which can never capture the moon as the eye sees him.

And while I waited for my friend, I entered the Loggia near the Uffizi Museo/Galleria (where the sculptures are), and snapped more fotos of the full moon caught under an archway that connects the Uffizi to the Palazzo Vecchio. I was hoping of a repeat display tonight so that I may obtain better images on my digital SLR. Hmmmmmmm. I hope you enjoy this others from last night. Buona notte!

Buying Fruits and Vegetables in Italy - Florence

I would be remiss if I continued to forget the recent death of Luciano Pavarotti. Tomo is one of the better 'madonnari' here in Firenze, Italia.
After the famous singer's death, Tomo created in the street several pastel drawings of the admired Italian. People responded
very well and he was even interviewed and photographed for a Florentine newspaper. Smart marketing!

The other image is one that I took (obviously -- mi dispiace) in a small grocery store in Florence, Italy. Many businesses in Italy,
especially Florence, have come to recognise that they sell more if they can communicate in English. Some things get lost in
translation, but I find them a bit
charming anyhow. (Probably because I hope Italians might feel the same way when they hear my broken speech of their native tongue.)


This sign explains how fruits and vegetables are weighed and priced by the customer before arriving at the
checkout counter. In case you cannot read the words in the image, they are:

"Customers are prayed to use gloves and plastic bags for fruit and vegetables.

Use the scale in order to weigh and price the chosen goods. Than digit the corresponding key (number).

Thank you."

I enjoyed how the noun 'digit' became a verb. My first time in a grocery store here was a small education. But what you find is
if you will simply take extra time to watch how the locals do things, you can pick up the system fairly easily.

Till next time . . .

Fresco Art in Massa

When in Pietrasanta the other day, my friends and I went to visit Hafiza's maestro, Samuele Manni. He is currently working in the sculpture studio of a very well-known sculptor Marcello Tommasi. We were allowed into his studio, but no photos and no speaking. Hafiza explained that the day before some visitors made rude comments about classical art and the sculptor was not amused. We were only permitted to enter because Hafiza reminded Samuele that we are artists who work in the classical tradition.

Anyway, later that day, Samuele took off work to drive us north to Massa (still south of Carrara, the famous town for marble quarrying). We went to see six panels of frescos that Samuele did, one of which is shown in part here. The church is "Parrocchia San Sebastiano" and is very new, in Italian terms. Samuele likes to use real people from current times in his compositions. His father Franco is the old beggar man on the right. I met him a couple of times during my last stay in Italia -- quite charming. Many of the others in the frescoe are members of this congregation.

Fresco is a medium that I find interesting, but I do not want to do. It is fast work on one hand because the artist is working with color in plaster, but of course, the scope of most frescoes usually means that the project takes quite a bit of time. Samuele told me that the actual fresco work took about one and a half months per panel, but the cartoons and design work ahead of time (including the 'bozzétti', or small drawing that gets the idea fleshed out and approved; a 'maquette' is the equivalent when referring to sculpture).

If you would like to learn more about frescos, here is a good place to start:

www.artlex.com/ArtLex/f/fresco.html

Thank you for reading!
ciao, ciao,
Kelly

Pietrasanta, Italy - Italia

Today, I visited Pietrasanta with my friends Hafiza, Dorian, and Ling. Pietrasanta is an art town. From what I have understood,
the town became a home for working sculptors of the nearby famous Carrara marble. Carrara was too expensive for the artists to
live in, so they moved south, but still close to the Alpes mountains. Both Carrara and Pietrasanta are in the Italian region of Tuscany.

I have included here a few of my images from the inside of the San Martino Duomo (cathedral, but more often interpreted as simply "dome").
"Cappella della madonna del sole" (Chapel of the Madonna of the Sun) was constructed in 1823, but the origins are much older.
Enjoy the photos. I am tired from long consecutive days, so I hope the image are enchanting enough.
ciao, ciao, K

Street Painting in Firenze, Italia

I drew with pastels again yesterday for the Madonnara work in Florence. This time -- no blues. I am out of blue pastels and did not want to buy more right now.
So, I chose to re-create another of my favorite works: The Libyan Sibyl of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. I love the colors and the twisting figure.

It was a fun day and I met many people; some even remembered me from last week. I even met the man who does Charlie Chaplin
impression
It was another good experience and my body thus far has not hurt nearly as much as it did
after my first day as a street painter (3 days!). This must be all of the stairs and walking that I am doing here.
You perhaps can tell that as the day went on I got more tired and my drawing was not complete by the end of the day. I added the little
figure on the left in the last thirty minutes. I also did some kind of number on that nose! Sheesh. Oh well, I received
many compliments on how I am able to capture form. For me, this was kind to hear that people can even distinguish these sorts
of comments. Isolation is necessary to do work, but this direct feedback from an audience is quite fun and appreciated as well.

I hope you enjoy -- and see you after some of my travels in the next few days.
Ciao, ciao.

Pigeons On Art

Ha! That title was not intended to mean that those birds have become art critics! Funny re-read on my part.

I started to photograph various themes during my several trips to Italia, including the humbling (to a sculptor) "Birds on Art" series.
Specifically, pigeons landing on sculptures. In truth, I am not sure which is worse -- the birds hanging out all over the
art (and I sometimes mean ALL over) or the spikes and other ugly dangerous additions some sculpture conservators put on
the tops of artworks and architecture.

The top image was taken in Piazza Signoria, near the famous Uffizi gallery. The other two images of bronze copies of the wonderful Michelangelo's stone sculptures are seen by 'molti touristi' at the
artist-named Piazzale Michelangelo, which overlooks the city of Florence. Seriously, what is it like to get no respect?
I think we can all relate at some point in our lives.

Why people insist on feeding pigeons is beyond me. Yes, they are pretty birds. But disease carriers too, not to mention that
they are rather large, so waste in large masses is abundant. John and I had a neighbor in Texas many years ago who said that
cities would call him to come get rid of their pigeon population. Apparently in Austin, Texas, when pigeons gathered on rooftops
and did what we all do, their poo eventually turned to dust and was blown all over the city. A different kind of smog.
And our neighbor joked (I hope it was) that he sold these pigeons to gourmet restaurants in the Northeast USA.

Here in Florence (Firenze is its real name), Italy, a law was passed last time I was here: a 50 € (euro) fine to anyone
caught feeding a pigeon। So stay healthy -- and rich. ciao, ciao.