Piazza del Campo My first visit to Siena was in February 1999. It was a wonderfully bright and crisp, sunny ( but cold ) morning. When we arrived, the shell shaped Piazza del Campo where the famous Palio horse racing is held twice a year, was very quiet. It was just a little too cool […]
Painting on Location Susan became the Artist’s Wife in 1993 when we got married. It was Susan who first introduced me to Italy two years previously. She had lived in Venice for five years and was always enthusing about the country, its people, the culture and of course, the food and wine. We made our […]
Academia Bridge The view from the Academia Bridge of the Santa Maria della Salute and the Grand Canal is probably the definitive view of Venice. In 1630 Venice experienced a devastating outbreak of the plague. The Republic of Venice vowed to build a church to be dedicated to Our Lady of Health. A student of Andre […]
Pistoia My first taste of Tuscany came in the autumn of 1998 when Susan and I travelled to Pistoia. We spent a week with members of an evangelical church. Pistoia lent its name to the pistol which it started manufacturing in the 16th century. We enjoyed a wonderful sunny day wandering around the hills surrounding Pistoia. […]
Umbria In the autumn of 2006 my wife and I travelled to Italy for me to do a special commission of a clients property in Umbria. After doing the preparation sketches, we then went on to Tuscany to a little town called San Quirico d’Orcia. It’s close to the towns of Pienza and Siena. As […]
Umbrian Farm House In 2006 I was commissioned to do a watercolour of Casa Panfili. It’s a wonderful Umbrian farmhouse with spectacular views over the Niccone Valley. The owners, Al and Betty Stuart wanted a painting that captured something of the beauty of the valley. They also wanted me to show how Casa Panfili is […]
Venetian Light watercolour The Tourist A few days ago I was watching the film “The Tourist” starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie We were on an plane travelling back from one of my overseas work trips. Most of the film was set in Venice which made it very watchable. It triggered off many memories of our […]