2023. 9” x 12”. Watercolor and gouache on paper.
City birds have no respect for statues, not even the statues in royal French gardens.
2023. 9” x 12”. Watercolor and gouache on paper.
Can you spot the black cat sunbathing on the gravestones? The Cemetery of Montmartre was a peaceful place.
2023. 6” x 6”. Watercolor and gouache on paper.
There are roses growing next to historic tombs.
2023. 4” x 6”. Watercolor and gouache on paper.
A close look at waterlilies growing in a cozy part of one of Lyon, France’s largest parks.
2023. 6” x 8”. Watercolor and ink on paper.
A rose trellis at the top of Lyon, with a hint of the Cathedral nearby. If you come at the right time, you might be able to hear some choral music while sitting under the roses.
2023. 12” x 9”. Watercolor, ink and gouache on paper.
Two rivers, the Rhône and Saône, converge at the south side of the city. At the “v” where they meet, you can literally see the water colors change. The family of swans I saw there did not seem as impressed.
2023. 4” x 6”. Watercolor on paper.
At a hillside park, the historic center of Lyon is one large quilt of red tile roofs and old stone.
2023. 11” x 14”. Acrylic and collaged paper on paper.
Taking the bus from France into northern Italy means a long ride through the alps, where the mountains seem to touch the clouds.
2023. 11” x 14”. Acrylic and collaged paper on paper.
The most scenic bus ride.
2023. 6” x 6”. Watercolor on paper.
The Giusti Gardens used to be part of a palace, but are now a public garden with beautiful views. Not pictured here was the lizard who skittered away from my park bench as I sat down to paint.
2023. 8” x 6”. Watercolor and gouache on paper.
As you climb the stairs at the Giusti Gardens, a face seems to stare down at you from the back of the garden. Is it a sculpture? An odd building? A stone giant? I am too near-sighted to say for sure.
2023. 14” x 11”. Acrylic and pastel on paper.
Inspired by some of my favorite little dudes living in the fountains of a garden in Verona.
2023. 36” x 24”. Acrylic and collaged paper on canvas.
Two medieval towers lean towards each other in the city center of Bologna. Above and in-between them, the sky is divided by the zig-zag flight of so, so many little birds.
2023. 11” x 14”. Acrylic and pastel on paper.
At night, at the center of town in Bologna, the statue of the god Neptune casts a strong shadow. Walking along a covered walkway, you can see his shadow almost before the rest of the central piazza.
2023. 6” x 6”. Watercolor and gouache.
In the 1500s, the city of Bologna started the exterior facade of the Basilica of San Petronio. It never quite got finished though, and now the half rough stone and half marble building is so iconic that I don’t think they’ll ever change it.
2023. 6” x 6”. Watercolor and gouache on paper.
Sometimes looking up and around while at the cafe leads to beautiful new views.
2023. 8” x 6”. Watercolor on paper.
In the heat of summer, sometimes it’s best to hide out underneath some trees in a central courtyard.
2023. 8” x 6”. Watercolor on paper.
While hiding from the July sun under some courtyard trees, I noticed an old gas gas lamp that perfectly divided the ceiling deeper into the building.
2023. 4” x 6”. Watercolor on paper.
If you start in the city center of Bologna and then walk up the longest portico in the world (and up and up and up a hill outside of the city), you reach the Sanctuary of San Luca. From there you can see the hills all around Bologna.
2023. 11” x 14”. Acrylic and pastel on paper.
Throughout the city of Bologna, you can walk under covered stone walkways (called portici). Outside the city, those portici give way to tunnels of old sycamore trees.
2023. 14” x 11”. Acrylic and pastel on paper.
At the water-level, the canals of Venice bloom with life in unexpected corners—plants grow beneath bridges and mussels cling to canal walls.
2023. 6” x 6”. Watercolor on paper.
The big rocks that make a gentle sort of cove along the beach at Rimini.
2023. 6” x 6”. Watercolor and gouache on paper.
A lazy afternoon at the beach with a ferris wheel somewhere off in the distance.
2023. 4” x 6”. Watercolor on paper.
Watching ocean is a little hypnotic. Especially when you are warm and sleepy from the summer sun.
2023. 4” x 6”. Watercolor on paper.
A green and yellow lifeguard boat stands out so brightly against all of the rock and sand. Luckily, we don’t seem to need the boat right now.
2023. 4” x 6”. Watercolor on paper.
The view from under my umbrella at the beach at the seaside town of Rimini.
2023. 36” x 24”. Oil and acrylic on wood.
From a distance, the towns of the Amalfi Coast look like tiny little boxes perched on the cliffs above the clear blue sea.
2023. 11” x 14”. Acrylic and paper.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was spending a day out on a boat at Positano. It turns out everything is even prettier when you’re floating in the ocean.