My Italian Sketchbook

Here are a few sketches from my recent trip to Italy. There are more on my blog, if you're interested. http://draw2c.blogspot.com

At the Roman arena in Verona, we were more impressed with the exterior than the interior, until one of the visitors stood in the center and treated us all to a spontaneous aria.

It was off-and-on rainy in Florence, but we had a very nice morning in a quiet garden where I sketched across the Arno. In the upper left of the sky, you will see a mosquito.

While I sketched the Brunelleschi sculpture, two Italian women watched and then humorously, we all three tried to have a conversation as they looked through my sketchbook, making all the appropriate gestures and sounds.

As I was sketching this, my stomach lurched when I noticed the tiny people looking over the top of the duomo--not for me.

I decided that half of this very elaborate church with so many different styles, was plenty for me to draw.

This last sketch isn't mine at all. It was drawn by Laura, from Madrid, who I caught sketching me in the Florence airport as we waited for our flight. It was an hour late, but she and I had a delightful conversation about sketching and art, her studies in Florence and her future as a children's book illustrator. In the meantime, I hoped to make an Urban Sketcher of her.

Later, on the plane, the woman across the aisle from me was sketching her daughter, so once again, I had another lovely conversation about sketching and art. 

It was a terrific trip, made even better by sketching.