We are officially in Cinque Terre  "The Five Lands" and are off in search of the perfect panting.  Our instructor for this workshop, Thom Ricks has been taking us to ideal spots to sketch and experience this beautiful area.  Learning is always important, it helps me grow as a teacher and an artist.  My mind has already been reeling with ideas for lessons plans and a body of work for our Italy art show in December.  

A break down of the ideals we are to take away from this workshop: we are to deconstruct a beautiful landscape into simple shapes solely focusing on composition. Once we are pleased with our composition, we are to refine our sketch to include more detail and experience elements to draw the viewer into the painting, we as artists are trying to become storytellers to our audience. The best part, in order to become storytellers we have to explore and listen to our surroundings while we create in a Plein Air setting (I love to explore and have already hiked through the olive farms and vineyards in Volastra while heading towards Manarola) By creating a simplified sketch and building from our feeling, memory and not utilizing a picture, we are able to create paintings with more depth that can draw the viewer in and share our experience, or help them have an experience. 

This technique, although fun, has been very difficult for me to learn.  I will be up until midnight working and refining my sketches and ideas.  This area is so beautiful and inspirational my head is spinning with ideas! Tomorrow I'm off on another hike and to another amazing site in the Cinque Terre area. Please leave comments if you have questions or would like to know more :D  

I'm officially in Italy!  After a day and a half of traveling from Texas to Rome I made it to Europe safe and sound. 

Traveling with a giant portfolio was definitely a new experience for me. At first with my back page portfolio I felt quite foolish checking in through security and walking through the airport but I soon found this style is very suiting, not only did I stand out and look fabulous ;) but it opens up a nice amount of space while walking through a crowded airport. Not to worry I'll post a picture of my epic portfolio when I arrive in Cinque Terre. 

Currently I am still recuperating from jet lag, but we have already had a very busy two day period. After landing in Rome, we drove to an amazing spot called Civita di Bagnoregio. It was raining slightly but made this monastery on a cliff look so mysterious, I felt as though I was in Middle Earth. It was also quite a hike up the bridge but very much worth the trip!

After this adventure we headed towards our hotel in Todi, Italy (Located in the Umbria Region) Our hotel was quaint and the owners were beyond welcoming. The food and drinks at the restaurant were amazing. After a restless jet lag night we finally attempted some 5 minute sketching practice to prep for Cinque Terre. We were able to see the amazing Medieval buildings and drive the narrow winding streets to find a few choice spots for our composition practice ( I will post sketches in my next post) 
After Todi (which I'm dying to go back to!) We headed out towards Fiesole to stay at our next hotel location. On the way there we stopped for a delicious meal and amazing ceramics in Deruta. Stay tuned for scenes of Florence tomorrow.