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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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
