Back to things as usual ... gorgeousness

I ADORE Venice for its luxury!  And what a story!  What an amazing history.  To go from a little outpost that got its start in the salt business to a major trading center and place where fortunes were made, absolute power was held and people in positions of authority and wealth threw everything they had into a sort of artistic/architectural one-upmanship.  Beauty, exoticism… it’s everything I aspire to J… baroque pearl necklaces, wine with lunch, eating fish with the head still on… !!!

However.   I miss my sweet little Viterbo and I was very happy to leave yesterday with a sort of YEARNING for this little medieval hobbit village.  So now I’m back.  Sigh.  Back to the twisted medieval streets, the abundance of blooming jasmine and magnolia, the swishing and screeching of swallows, the movement of storms through here, so quick and furious, my little home.

Today is Monday and it’s back into the swing of being a student.  I had Dante class this morning and then went to the grocery store.  I had to replenish my kitchen with fresh vegetables, some interesting breads, wine, pasta and cleaning supplies.  I made a simple lunch of beets, tomatoes and olives, and some dark grain bread that I spread with a kind of soft cheese (not sure what it is) and topped it with asparagus.  Divine.

After completing some cleaning tasks I headed out to see if I could do a few sketches.  I am really trying to do these minute long sketching drills that our teacher has us do in class.  Here are some that I came up with.  It is an exercise in just getting the essence of shapes without getting too fussy or thinking about it. 

It started to rain a bit so I tucked into a church and did this.

Then I walked to the papal palace (built between 1255 and 1266) and walked around… another storm came through.

This is the church of San Lorenzo (12^th and 13^th centuries) and it’s important for many reasons.  One, it houses this work that is attributed to Gerolamo da Cremona.  Its ethereal look is due to the genius of its perspective and the lush, cadmium colors that explode off the surface.