I did this landscape painting looking south over the Roman Forum ruins in Rome,Italy. It was a busy spot with tourists until I spilled my mineral spirits on the ground ( accidentally, really!) and then people stayed away from me. The Roman Forum ( Italian: Foro Romano) is a plaza surrounded by the ruins of …
I did this cityscape painting over two days at the Piazza della Minerva in Rome, Italy, one block behind the Pantheon, which you see in the background. This is one of the most curious monuments of Rome, the so-called Pulcino della Minerva. It is a statue designed by the Baroque era sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini …
This is the second landscape painting I did at the Parco degli Acquedotti (Park of the Aquaduct), which is a public park in Rome, Italy. It is part of the Appian Way Regional Park and is of approximately 15 hectares. Although just 8 km from the center of Rome, the park has been protected from development …
I had a wonderful couple sessions making this landscape painting at the Villa Sciarra, which is a a surprisingly quiet park in Rome, Italy named for the villa at its center. It is located bit up a hill from the neighborhood of Trastevere. It’s full of sculptures, gardens, fountains and a playground. I painted with …
I painted this painting right behind the Galleria Borghese, which perhaps houses the finest collection of decorative wall art I have ever seen. I had noticed the gardens during my visit, and came back the next day to do two small paintings. This is the Fontana Di Venere (Fountain of Venus) at the rear facade …
This is a night painting I did in Rome, Italy of the Ponte Sant’Angelo. Completed in 134 AD to span the Tiber, from the city center to the towering Castel Sant’Angelo. The bridge is now solely pedestrian, and provides a photogenic vista of the Tiber River and the castle. It’s of course a busy place, and …
I did this painting on a paint-out with Rome’s Sketchcrawl Roma group at the Baths of Caracalla (Italian: Terme di Caracalla). It was a great day and the Sketchcrawl Roma group had arranged free admission and a tour for us. They were second largest Roman public baths, or thermae, built in Rome between AD 212 …
This painting is available by clicking here. This painting was done on an outing with some Roman friends to the wonderful Villa Pamphili park. The Villa Doria Pamphili is a seventeenth century villa with what is today the largest landscaped public park in Rome. It is located on the Gianicolo (or the Roman Janiculum), just …
This painting was done on the first day that I met some of the local painters in Rome. It’s a gorgeous cemetery established in the early 1800′s. There are many beautiful sculptures and graves. We had to get permission to paint here, and I was told to say “ permesso di Signora Mela” if challenged ( …
Villa Borghese is a large landscape garden in the naturalistic English manner in Rome, containing a number of buildings, museums (see Galleria Borghese) and attractions. It is the second largest public park in Rome (80 hectares or 148 acres). I spent a lovely sunday afternoon here watching Romans and tourists picnic and play. This …
This painting was done on a cool March night on the Piazza Farnese. My biggest audience were the waiters running back and forth to their storeroom and murmuring words of encouragement: “bella, bella!” This is the Chiesa di Santa Brigida, a small Swedish church dedicated to Saint Bridget of Sweden, who travelled to Rome in …
These columns are just to the right of the Theatre of Marcellus ( Teatro di Marcello) which is an ancient open-air theatre in Rome, Italy, built in the closing years of the Roman Republic. At the theatre, locals and visitors alike were able to watch performances of drama and song. It was completed in 13 …
Short shrift. That’s what describes what Palazzo Massimo (Palazzo Massimo alle Terme) gets from tourists (and probably most Romans). And it’s to bad because it’s a wonderful collection.What was especially interesting to me were the fresco cycles from excavated roman buildings spanning the years of about 200 B.C. to 400 A.D. They were just stunning … Continue reading »
By far the best part of my trip to Italy to paint and learn about the culture, has been the local painters and fellow artists I met here. How did I find them? Well actually the first thing I did is google “plein air Rome” until I found the blog of a transplanted U.S. painter, … Continue reading »
This past Easter Sunday I attended the Urbi et Orbi (to the city and to the world) Easter message from the brand new Pope Francis. I’m staying quite close to the Vatican, so I had to go. It was crowded, apparently a quarter million people, but it felt very special to be there, despite that … Continue reading »
On March 4th, 2013, I landed at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport. I admit it was a relatively sudden move for me. I had spent most of 2012 in Maine and then had returned to Chicago and later North Carolina. My restoration work had been slowing down and I decided to realize one of my dreams: to … Continue reading »
In October of 2012 I did a quick 2-day trip to The White Mountains from my then home base of Portland, Maine. It’s only a couple of hours ride to the White Mountains from Portland, which was one of the reasons I moved there. The Whites are great because it’s just about the only place … Continue reading »
Maine MedicalCenter, Portland, 11 x 14 in., Oil on Linen Continue reading »
