"I will broaden the boundaries of my days to include that slow, Italian sense of time."
--my diary, the day after returning home, reflections of my time in Italy
flowers at the Easton Farmer's market, my first day back home from Italy
This is my final blog post about Italy: reflections upon returning home. This post also contains all my Italy-related posts, together, at the end, for your convenience. Thank you for following my journey!
July 28th, 2017 (my diary)
I'm home. I came home last night. Ian picked me up at the airport yesterday. We stopped for espresso on the way home. (I have developed a real liking for espresso!) I'm soooo tired today. Happy. I felt domestic, and I went for a long walk around town getting special treats to make a delicious dinner... I went up the hill and bought olives and sausage at the Italian deli. I also went to the farmer's market and bought lettuce and tomatoes, veggies and peaches.
Peaches at the farmer's market. They are saying: "Paint us! Paint us!!"
I went to visit a local artist friend and I talked exuberantly about my experience for two hours!
I'm pretty tired. It will take me a long time to write about my adventures. But for now, I'd like to say that I have a good feeling about doing art in a broader way. Preparing, thinking, listening, looking: these more passive tasks are just as important as actually putting paint on canvas. [I elaborated further on this in a blog post called "Intentional Loitering."]
I will broaden the boundaries of my days to include that slow, Italian sense of time. I'll allow myself to enjoy cooking, singing, music, and all those simple, good things in life.
I'm going to have more fun and put more focus on my compositions. I'll play around with colors and collage, and abstraction. I'll try some still life paintings in the style of Susan Jane Walp. (She was an artist I met in Italy. See "Loveliest of What I Leave Behind.")
Life is so good. I was also realizing, as I walked around my city today, that Easton is beautiful. I thought maybe it would be depressing, coming back to the United States after having been in Italy, but it's so beautiful here! I really see beauty everywhere: the alleys, the market, the streets, the river, the flowers...
flowers in my garden
July 29, 2017 (my diary)
Up early in the morning, missing my espresso. I have to settle for a small strong black of coffee in a small cup. I ordered a macchinetta and two cute little espresso cups online yesterday. I'm looking at an art book of Piero della Francesca paintings, and feeling nostaligc about my wonderful (and exhausting) field trip to Urbino, Arezzo, and Sensepolcro... wandering ancient streets with my artist friends, so wonderfully happy, so lost in a maze of cobbled alleys and vistas and rolling hills, talking about art until my heart expanded. It must have doubled or tripled in size!
[Talking about art: see Laura Vahlberg: 10 Tips on Painting, Lessons Learned in Civita Castellana, Italy]
A little sketch I did in my apartment in Italy. You can see I was greatly influenced by my new addiction to espresso, and what I learned from listening to Susan Jane Walp, a resident art teacher there.
August 22, 2017 (my diary)
I'm struggling with feeling badly about my output in Italy. [My Paintings and Sketches from Italy.] I was just so overwhelmed there. It wasn't that kind of trip for me. Someday I would like to do an artist residency where the focus is on production. But this Italy trip was about something else. I have to trust that I did the right thing, that my intuition led me on a true path.
Is it still inside of me? Will it grow and bear fruit? Or will I slowly lose it, as it fades in memory...?
August 23, 2017
Italy is over. Two damn sad.
It feels just like a dream...
"Playing Around" one of my first paintings upon my return home, a little espresso cup. 10x10.5"
I'm very much influenced by my encounter with Susan Jane Walp, who also frequently paints an "imperfect square." Read: "Loveliest of What I Leave Behind."
My love-affair with my new Macchinetta Continues:
"Macchinetta" oil on canvas, 9x12"
"Volevo Scriverte Lettere" oil on canvas, 11x14" (Translation: I wanted to write you letters.)
"Caffè e fragole" oil on board 9x12" (Translation: coffee and strawberries.)
"Morning Alone" 3.5x4.75" collage with painted paper
"A Traveller in Italy" oil on board, 8x10" There is a postcard of a Piero della Franchesca fresco as well as a little green business card with pink flowers, which belongs to an artist I met who greatly inspired me: Christina Renfer Vogel. You can see here, again, the influence of the artist Susan Jane Walp, whom I met in Italy.
Here are ALL of my Italy-related blog posts!
Dreaming of Italy (July 13, 2016)
I'm Going to Paint in Italy (June 20, 2017)
Agonia e Sogni (a cartoon series anticipating my trip to Italy)
Loveliest of What I Leave Behind (paintings by Susan Jane Walp, whom I met in Civita)
Laura Vahlberg: 10 Tips on Painting (another great artist I met in Italy)
Intentional Loitering (a new perspective on creativity, brought back from Italy)
Roman Moon (poems I wrote in Italy)
My Paintings and Sketches from Italy
Story of My Trip to Italy: Part 1
Story of My Trip to Italy: Part 2
Story of My Trip to Italy: Part 3, Florence
Story of My Trip to Italy: Part 4, Piero della Francesca
Story of My Trip to Italy: Part 5
Alone in Florence (Italy Part 6)
also... coming next month: my roommate from Italy, the amazing Kristen Peyton, will be having a solo show in my studio gallery!!!! I'm thrilled and honored beyond words to be able to have her work in my gallery.
"Resonance"
a solo show of work by Kristen Peyton.
opening reception Friday, July 27th, 6-9 pm
"Studio Visit" an oil painting by Kristen Peyton
Lauren Kindle Studio and Gallery
7B North Bank Street, Easton PA
Open hours: Saturday July 28th 10-5 and Sunday July 29th 12-4 pm.
and by appointment 267-247-6364
see Events on my website
Here I am (left) with my roommate Kristen (right), eating fantastic food at a little restaurant near our apartment in Civita Castellana, Italy. Kristen was the best roommate I ever could have wished for, as well as being a wonderful, kind, supportive human being, and an incredibly inspiring and talented artist.
Come meet Kristen in person on July 27th!!!