Imagine yourself wandering through the cobblestone streets of this medieval hilltop village in Tuscany. You stop at a sidewalk cafe for a cappuccino and pull out your sketchbook to begin drawing an ancient stone building across the way. Sip…….look……..paint……..see. This is the way we experience Tuscany, taking the time to meander and explore, or to […]
Category: Workshops
2016 Workshop Schedule
I’ve put together an exciting line-up of classes for 2016 – see all the details on my US Workshops page. I’ll be teaching on both coasts and across the pond, so check out the schedule and see if there’s a workshop that might be right for you. Here are a few of the highlights… In […]
Day Trip to San Gimignano and Saying Goodbye to Tuscany
It had been a fantastic week at Fattoria Bacio and our final days gave us more of the same. The sunrise Thursday morning was spectacular… and the skies cleared by breakfast time, forecasting a perfect day for our trip to San Gimignano. But as we ate our breakfast, a stealthy fog began to fill the […]
A Vineyard Tour and a Visit to La Meridiana
I’m back from Europe safe and sound, and I can’t wait to tell you all about Cornwall, but first, let me continue with the story of my week teaching at Fattoria Bacio in Tuscany…. After a morning spent painting at the villa on Wednesday, we enjoyed an afternoon tour of the Fattoria Bacio vineyards. Alberto […]
Hanging Around the Villa
After a full day in the bustling city of Siena, it was nice to have some time to relax at the villa on Wednesday. Wednesday morning, and every morning, when I woke up and looked out my window, I just had to smile…I was in Italy! One of my sketches of the view from the […]
Sketching in Siena
We took the train into Siena on Tuesday and spent the day walking around the city. Siena is famous for the Palio de Siena, a horse race that is run twice a year around the Piazza del Campo, the large sloping square in the center of town. There were no horses to be seen on […]
Certaldo – A Hilltop Gem
The medieval town of Certaldo is just a few miles down the road from Fattoria Bacio. It’s so perfectly preserved that visiting it is like stepping back in time. Certaldo is a lesser-known Tuscan hill town, so we almost felt like we had it to ourselves yesterday when we visited. We spent hours wandering about, […]
Fabulous Fattoria Bacio
We’re happily ensconced at Fattoria Bacio now and loving every minute of our time in this beautiful place. The villa is perched on top of a hill, surrounded by vineyards, olive groves and hilltop homes. It couldn’t be prettier and the amount of visual stimulation for an artist is almost overwhelming! I feel like I’m […]
The Day We Were Supposed to Be in Florence :(
Guess where I am……………no, not Florence…… Hint: Look at the magazine covers. Yes, I’m in Paris! For eight long hours. In the Charles DeGaulle Airport, waiting for a flight to Florence. This isn’t what I envisioned when I dreamed of seeing Paris someday. Our flight was delayed last night out of Pittsburgh, causing us to […]
San Clemente Diary – Days 4-6
(San Clemente Diary continued from this post) JULY 27, 2015 After two days of teaching, I had a day off today. I was up early since I can’t seem to get my internal clock set to Pacific time. Patti had told me about a coffee shop up the street, so I quietly left the house […]
