Perugia, July 26th

The city of Perugia is built on a hill-top some 500 metres high with the oldest part of the city dating back to Etruscan times. We visited the National Gallery of Umbria which houses the most important and complete collection of Umbrian painting, embracing a period from the early 13th to the late 16th century. We saw a number of important paintings by Perugino, who taught the famous Renaissance artist, Raphael. We ended our visit by painting the Fontana Maggiore (fountain) in the Piazza Quattro November, one of the most beautiful squares in Umbria.

On Monday, July 27th, we pack and get ready to leave on Tuesday, July 28th, for a long flight home.

Piediluco, July 24th & Cascata delle Marmore, July 25th

Piediluco Lake is situated on the south eastern tip of Umbria and is the largest natural lake in the region. It closely resembles an Alpine lake, and it was interesting to see the Italian cypress trees growing along the shoreline. While we were visiting we watched the national Italian rowing team practicing for competitions. We spent the morning painting the lake and the boats.

The next day we went to Terni to visit the Cascata delle Marmore (Marmore Waterfalls). These falls are formed from the Piediluco Lake. In 271 B.C., it was the Roman consul, Manlio Curio Dentato, who created an open pit canal dug out in the rock that created the Cascata delle Marmore that spill into the Nera River below. The waterfalls are a beautiful site praised by artists, painters and poets. The misty spray from the waterfalls cooled us off while we painted.

Spoleto, July 23rd

Spoleto was at one time the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. You will observe the ancient Roman remains still evident in the restored first-century Roman Theatre, the Roman remains of arches such as, the Arco di Druso (dating back to 23 A.D.), the fourth century church San Salvatore, and the Roman engineered Ponte delle Torri (also known as the Roman aquaduct). We also visited the Duomo, whose facade is carefully designed of Romanesque and Renaissance elements. Inside this church, you will find fresoes by the great Florentine artist Fra' Filippo Lippi dating from 1469. Check out the photos and drawing.

Montefalco, July 22nd

On the way to Montefalco we stopped briefly at a sunflower field for a photo shoot. You can see from the photo that the sunflowers were almost as tall as us. We arrived at the ancient city of Roman origin. It's name means, "Falcon Mount", because it is so high up and provides spectacular views of the Umbrian landscape. We visited the church of San Francesco and studied the frescos of the Florentine painter, Benozzo Gozzoli.

Assisi, July 21st

Assisi is a Medieval town high up on the top of a hill. It is known as the "green heart" of Italy. The landscape includes the silver green on the valley floor from the olive groves, emerald green from the grape vines, and deep green from the evergreen oak trees. It was here that St. Francis was born and founded his new religious order. The San Francesco Basilica is frescoed from top to bottom by the leading artists of that day, such as: Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini, and Pietro Lorenzetti. These artists painted the life of St. Francis on the walls of the Basilica. A quote from St. Francis states, "slow down and be joyful...you have reached the hill of paradise and this church will knock you spiritual socks off". Which it definitely did!!!

Studio Day , July 20th

Today we got to spend the day in the studio and a chance to create art based on all of our experiences and everything we have seen so far. We have taken the plein-air painting techniques and combined them with some of the fresco compositions and architecture that we have seen in Florence , Siena, and the various Umbrian small hill towns.

Studio at La Romita

The studio at La Romita is in the chapel of the 16th century monastery. Our schedule since we have arrived at La Romita is busy. Up at 6 a.m., breakfast at 7 a.m., on the bus at 8 a. m. Each day we are visiting a different city and location. At night we return to work in the studio and take lessons from an outstanding professor , Marilyn Derwenskus, Ball State University. She guides us and demonstrates various art techniques that we will share with our art students and other teachers when we return. Many nights we are in the studio until midnight working on our various art projects. Check out the picture of us working in the studio and some sketches of work.

San Gemini, July 19th

Today is Sunday and we experienced an Italian Catholic Mass at the Chiesa di San Francesco in the small town of San Gemini. The actual piazza San Francesco is in some way a connecting point with the heart of the Renaissance era and was on the ancient route of the Via Flaminia (road to Rome). Many people from Italy and abroad have traveled to San Gemini to drink the water of the springs which is believed to treat various health problems. The artwork was started on location, but will be worked on and completd in the la Romita studio.

Umbria's Traditional Folk Music, July 18th

After a long day of plein-air painting, we were invited to attend a traditional Italian folk music concert. The group is called Sonidumbra (Musica della tradizione orale umbra). Click on the picture to see a short video of the performance.

Todi, July 18th

Todi stands out for its beautiful hilltop position and its enchanting Medieval atmosphere. According to a legend regarding the origins of Todi an eagle indicated the hill on which the town was to arise, and in fact the eagle became its coat of arms. The artwork was painted from the steps of the San Fortunate church.

Carsulae, July 17th

An ancient Roman town dating back to the 3rd century B.C. located near the town of San Gemini. Near the end of the 1st century B.C., Carsulae became under the rule of Augustus (27 B.C. - 14 A.D) who built many monumental buildings. Carsulae is located at the top of a hill which was part of the 'road to Rome' called Via Flaminia. Around the 6th century it was destroyed by an earthquake. The plein-air paintings and photo are from this site.

Orvieto, July 16th

Plein-air painting was wonderful in the park at Orvieto. See photo. The highlights of the day was seeing Signorelli's Frescoes in the Orvieto Cathedral along with a museum trip to see Greco's bronze sculptures and figure drawings. The weather here is a toasty 100 degrees.

Plein-Air Painting

After spending four days in Florence and seeing famous Renaissance paintings, we observed how the mystic blues, radiant golden light, and sculpted land formations found in the Italian countryside had influenced these artists. The landscapes found in the Umbria and Tuscan regions have been painted in the BACKGROUNDS of many of these paintings. Check out the paintings by Botticelli, Leonardo, Filippo Lippi, and Raphael to observe how they painted the Italian landscape. Many of these landscapes appear mystical, but the mountains really do look blue and the landscapes really look like someone sculpted the hills. Here are some of our paintings from the first day. We will continue to show our paintings from each days plein-air experience.

Valle San Martino / July 15th

Our first day of plein-air painting! We packed our backpacks and traveled several miles from Terni to arrive at the village of Valle San Martino. This is a small rural community with a population of about 30 people located high up in the hills. We settled in and began drawing and painting fabulous views of the surrounding area.

La Romita / July 14th

We have arrived at La Romita!!! It is situated on a mountainside above the city of Terni.
It was established in 1548 as a monastery by the Capuchins and remained an active monastery until the early 19th century. After the friars left La Romita, it was purchased by the great-grandfather of Enza Quargnali, who is the La Romita School founder, and for the past four decades has been used by art groups interested in painting the picturesque hill towns of Umbria. The picture above is the courtyard where everyone meets.

Siena, July 13th

We reached the Medieval city of Siena driving south from Florence, through the beautiful hills of Tuscany. We arrived at the Piazzo del Campo, which is famous for the Palio. In the same piazzo stands the Palazzo Publico where we saw some of the most important frescoes of Siena's artistic heritage. We spent time drawing and painting scenic views from the balcony. We ended our day visiting the Cathedral of Siena with it's beautiful frescoes, stained glass windows, and inlaid marble floors. This was definitely our favorite cathedral.

Il Papiro - Marbelized Paper, July 12th

We stopped in at Il Papiro, a paper shop, and learned how to make marbelized paper using diluted acrylic paint mixed with ox gall and distilled water.

Academia Gallery, July12th

The Academia is the museum that houses the most famous sculptures by Michelangelo: the "David", the "Slaves", and "St. Mathew". Michelangelo carved the "David" out of a tall and narrow block of marble which took him a little more than two years to finish. The sculpture stands about 18 feet high. VERY impressive!!!

Uffizi Gallery, July 11th

Today we went to the Uffizi Gallery which is one of the most beautiful and important museums in the world. It houses some of the greatest masterpieces of art, most of which comes from the private collection of the Medici family. Masterpieces such as Renaissance artist, Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" and "Primavera" are located there. Also, we saw Leonardo da Vinci's "Annunciation" and the unfinished "Adoration of the Magi". Since this painting was never finished, we were able to see how Leonardo would start a painting. This was very interesting. We purchased several books and a comprehensive video on the Uffizi artwork that we can't wait to share with our students.

Arrival to Florence, July 10th

After a long flight to Rome and a several hour wait for a train, we finally arrived in Florence late in the afternoon. In the short hours left of daylight, we explored the Piazza Duomo and Ponte Vecchio (a bridge with many small shops). We will stay in Florence until Tuesday, July 14th and then on to La Romita. Tomorrow, we will visit the Uffizi. Ciao, until this evening.

All packed and ready to go!!!

We packed our art supplies carefully into plein-air backpacks, and then into our suitcases. We are bringing both tube and pan watercolors, acrylic paint, travel palettes, watercolor blocks, assortment of brushes, pencils, pastels, and an assortment of Fabriano watercolor and drawing paper.

Next stop - Rome, and then on to Florence for a four day tour before the workshop begins.

See you in Italy!!!

The Workshop at La Romita School of Art

July 14 - July 28
New Directions in Watermedia

The workshop, taught by Marilynn Derwenskus, will provide abundant opportunities for creativity on location and in the studio. We will start each day exploring a different ancient Umbrian hill town to sketch, paint and photograph. In the afternoons, we will continue our artistic exploration by creating paintings in response to Italy from our morning experiences. We will end each day with watermedia and drawing demonstrations along with the next days project guidelines including slide lectures and individual and group critiques.