Paintings of Rome
In the spring of 1998 we spent several days in Rome so that I could explore opportunities to paint this ancient city. We stayed in a cheap hotel in Campo de’ Fiori which literally means “field of flowers”. I painted several watercolours on location of various landmarks including Rome Rooftops but really just scratched the surface. I returned 3 years later to get more reference material. Over the last 20 years we’ve visited at least another 3 times for different painting commissions. These have mainly been of Roman architecture like the Colosseum and the Arch of Titus.
Colosseum
On one of the afternoons we went onto the roof of the hotel which offered lovely views of the city. I painted a watercolour of the rooftops looking into the sunlight. I sold this sketch from our gallery once we returned home and forgot all about it. Recently I was looking through some old photographs of my paintings in one of my albums. It’s probably worth saying that this was a physical photograph, not a digital one. I came across the photographs I’d taken of my sketches which included the one of the rooftops. I photographed it and posted it on Instagram. Even though the sketch was painted 24 years ago, the feedback was positive. I decided to paint an A6 Valentine’s card for Susan of the scene.
Valentine’s Card
Susan loved her Valentine’s card so I painted the A4 watercolour above for display in our gallery. It’s a painting which has a lot of depth created by the washes of colour, contrasting colours and strong angles. These take the eye through the composition in a pleasing way. I find myself enjoying the scene and wishing I was back on the Rome Rooftops enjoying the views with Susan!