Un Conversazione con Signor Pietro (A Conversation with Signor Pietro)

Un conversazione con Pietro, il padre di un amico.
Agosto, Verona
 
Buon giorno Signor Pietro! Hai dormito bene?
Sì, grazie! È tu?
Bene, grazie! Che cosa fai, oggi?
(Signor Pietro ha pensato per un momento... seriamente)

Ha risposto, felicemente: Niente!
Un momento di silenzio... perché non ho mai visto qualcuno che è così felice per non fare nulla.
Ho letto prima, quindi ho detto: DOLCE FAR NIENTE!

 Lui era molte felice. Finalmente, qualcuno dice è bravo per non fare niente!

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A conversation with Pietro, my friend's father
August, Verona

Good morning Signor Pietro! Did you sleep well?
Yes, thank you. Did you?
Yes, thank you. What are you doing today?
(Signor Pietro thinks for a moment....seriously.)
Then brightens up and answers: Niente!
One moment of awkward silence as I have never come across someone who is so happy that he has nothing to do that day.
Then I remembered reading something. So I replied brightly "DOLCE FAR NIENTE!" (It's sweet to do nothing, an Italian old saying)
And Signor Pietro beams happily for someone supporting his "doing-nothingness"

FLORENCE in Autumn

14.10.2012

                     I am rather sad that summer is over, although Florence has scorching summers due to it lying in a basin of a river valley with surrounding hills . It just means my time here in this beautiful place is shorter. Now's the season for chestnuts or "castagna". The Florentines call them "marroni" which means brown. I am waiting for the pretty autumn colours, but also glad that the deciduous leaves are taking their time to change. I like how I can observe the gradual change, the tops leaves turning from green to orange first. It's the same feeling like you anticipate your child to grow up, but hoping that the process won't be too fast.

               This is another view of Ponte Vecchio, from Lungarno degli Acciaiuoli. It's a narrow lane with pretty heavy traffic and lots of pedestrians. The shops along this sunny stretch of road boasts of the view of River Arno. There are many tourists shops, shops selling leather goods and a couple of café. They charge extra for sitting at a table, so if you do not wish to pay extra yet enjoy the view, have a takeaway coffee and stand along here.

                  This place is somewhat special to me due to the acquaintances I have. I like to visit my friend Michele occassionally, the one who owns a Enoteca just one lane behind at Borgo S.S Apostoli. Just a few shops down, is an artist, Signor Pasquale Naccarato. His charming little studio hangs his works with reproduction of paintings by Caravaggio, Raphael, Vermeer and many more. 

His little pet pigeon is also named Caravaggio and he sometimes croons when there are visitors. Pasquale just spent some precious time going through my sketches yesterday afternoon, giving me his advise and the direction I should go. I really appreciate his warmth and his time. He is one of the fortunate people that can turn his passion into a career. Of course, he is very talented as he is self-taught in his oil technique.

http://www.ildipinto.com/

12.10.2012 

                 This is the sight that greets me every morning. The view from the kitchen of the apartment I rent in Florence. The surrounding apartments, part of the marquee in my neighbor's garden is visible, the metal structure that allows creeping plants to grow and makes sort of a little canopy. The little weird stump in the backyard with the laundry line wrapped around.  

FLORENCE - once more

26.09.2012

                 September is a month of changes. I got into a relationship, I made some new decisions and I met many interesting people. I made some new friends, Anna, Taka and Chinwe. In September, I said hi to Anna and Chinwe. In September, I said bye to Anna and Chinwe. Dear dear Chinwe. She made Florence in the month of September a little more than heaven for me and we really bonded. I'm not sure why this seems to be the only picture we took together in the month we spent together. It's not the best of us, I was having some fun with her plaits and we were fooling around with Anna and Taka in Piazza Santa Maria Novella.  Chinwe or "Chi Chi" brought me so much laughter in September and we shared so much together. The best I could offer her as a farewell gift is my lifelong friendship and a sketch of the Duomo from the Oblate.

         This sketch of the Duomo and Campanile was a great view from the Oblate. http://www.bibliotecadelleoblate.it/

                  It is the public library with a really nice environment. My first official visit to it was to study my Italian, but needless to say, I got seduced by the view and got this instead. It took me 2.5 hours to complete the sketch.

17.09.2012

                 The Basilica di Santa Croce, or the Baptistery of the Holy Cross from the grand cloister. The sides of the stone wall, showing slightly the Gothic marble façade. Not so sure what you call those things sticking up. Spires? Well then two of the spires are shown from this side.  It is the burial place of the most illustrious Italians - Dante, Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, just to name a few. Also known as Temple of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell'Itale Glorie).
                  
                    Dom and I visited it in mid September, but I only had time to catch up with it now. The frescoes and sculptures in this church is amazing. I have run out of adjectives to describe my every visit to a church or museum. It just never fails to awe me, no matter how many times I see a fresco or a sculpture.


September/October 2012

           Gosh, I have never heard of people complaining about travelling. At least not when they are travelling for pleasure. But it had been such a crazy few weeks and lagging behind with my work I can't wait to get back to "routine" life in Florence and start working my ass off.

           But nothing, no matter how much work I have will stop me from pursuing my passion. So here's returning my sketchbook and pen on Florence once again.

            This is my second attempt of doing a full page of my sketchbook 21 x 29.7cm, of one of my favourite sites in Florence: on Ponte Vecchio. I tried to capture the folds in the fabric on the canopies outside the shops and as usual portray people in silhouettes.

PORTRAITS

30 August 2012

            I had refrained from trying portraits for a long time. I think drawing people and animals are more challenging. It's not just the issue of perspective, they have got to resemble the person in question.

 

            I was inspired by a friend's quick portrait and wondered if I could maybe just try. My first one made my object looked like a madman and not publishable!

          Again, I attempted on a flight, choosing Robert D. Junior. I tried several on my family members and had intended to do a family portrait of my external family. Project stalled! I am in no way close to getting any resemblance. I did all these on the flight, on the way back to Europe.

I think Robert D. Junior was my best attempt at capturing the features and expression. 

Leonardo will probably not be very happy seeing this...

Oh! Apologies Carrie, I didn't to mean to bring you agony...

What happened to Cruise's charming eyes???

Johnny Depp's suspicious expression was not well portrayed.

Ah....this look more like caricature of me than a portrait!

OUTside Italy

            I did decide I wanted to just focus my sketches on Italy. But at times I just get seduced. It is so much more amazing to sketch outdoors, looking at the actual thing. I also get to interact with more people who are usually curious and they stop to watch.

13.08.2012

            I could not resist seeing what I can get out of the windmill when I visited Kinderdijk. Sitting in the gentle breeze and warm sunshine after a light drizzle, it was such a joy taking a good spot and capturing it on pen and paper. The Italians are truly in tuned with art. Even outside Italy, the groups of people who stop to watch me were mostly Italians. So there was this Italian family and we were having a jovial conversation and one of them asked if they can take a look at my sketchbook. They realized most of my sketches are about Florence and asked why I didn't draw any monuments of Japan. Well, that's because I'm not Japanese. Then the gentleman asked... ah, where am I from. Singapore. Ah, isn't Singapore part of Japan? No, Signore. Japan is up north. Singapore is far away lying on the equator. Nevertheless, it was interesting interacting with different people, telling them a little about my world and learning more about theirs. I finally finished after 2 hours.

14.08.2012

           Amsterdam is not just about prostitutes and smoking pot. It is a much much more sophisticated city. It boasts of many world class museums. I had only a day in Amsterdam, so I chose the Rijksmuseum over the Van Gogh museum. I had such a wonderful few hours admiring the works of Flemish artists in the Golden Age. Works of Vermeer and Rembrandt. Their ability to capture light and shadow with the oil technique. I never knew I could be so mesmerized by a still-life painting of objects like dinnerware. Each object is reflected into another - a glass jar, pewterware. The lustre and the reflection is captured to such details it seemed like I was looking at a photograph.

www.rijksmuseum.nl

         Before I ventured into the museum, of course I needed my afternoon coffee. I was sitting in the cafe, a real coffeeshop, not the famed ones in Amsterdam where people smoke pot and this was the scene that greeted me. The historical Dutch houses along the canal. My coffee break took 1.5 hours before I completed this.

05.10.2012

              I made it to Switzerland finally. My plans were deterred in August when I had to return home due to emergency. In October, I was having some trouble getting train tickets due to my bad habit of doing things at the last minute. But I finally made it to Engelberg (after a stressful trip of having to change four trains from Florence to Milan to Arth-Goldau to Lucern and finally Engelberg) and able to grace a good friend's wedding. Such a perfect place for such a beautiful occasion. Of course, I cannot resisit taking this traditional Swiss house down in my sketch book, surrounded by the crisp autumn air, majestic alps and the dingling of cowbells.

              So I was honoured to witness the holy matrimony of my good friend Peiling and Martin. I was also really pleased to have the chance to contribute a little to this happy occasion. They asked if I could prepare the guest book for them by drawing their silhouettes with the mountains at Engelberg as the backdrop. They got the idea from http://www.etsy.com/listing/74660916/custom-silhouette-wedding-guest-book

                I think it's really brilliant, and special for the couple that the guests leave their imprints on their big day. But Peiling's idea was more brilliant, to customize the background to a place that means so much to her and Martin. And it's all hand-drawn! From everything to the words. At first we weren't so sure how to make the balloons fit into the landscape. Should we have them flying around the air? Should we change into hot-air balloons? etc. But it helps that Peiling always have a clear idea what she wants.

                Here's what it looks before the guests left their fingerprints. It was the first time I used a brown sketch pencil, and first time I tried sketching landscapes. I was thinking of how I could try achieving different texture of the pastures, the rocks, the snow capped tops. But I guess it will take a bit of imagination my someone looking at my sketch. Most importantly, the couple is the main objective, and I hope I was able to capture the characteristics of Peiling and Martin here. Peiling's was easier with her ponytail. Martin was a little more challenging. But if they could see it as themselves, that's what matters.  And so I guarded this with my life until I reached Engelberg and handed it safely into Peiling's hands.

            Here's the finished product, hanging in the newly-weds home! I selected a font named "Snell Roundhand Black" from Microsoft Word and drew it accordingly.

VENETO - Northern Italy

August 2012

         August was a month of travels as it is summer. Most Italians take a vacation during this summer month and most school and offices are closed. I had planned to go several places visiting friends residing in different parts of Europe.

         I travelled for a few days in Prague. The amount of diverse architecture there is just astounding! It is impossible for me to catch up with sketching Prague, so I did the best - I do not sketch at all. Haha! Well, I will prefer to focus on Italy.

       I reached Prague through Venice, so I thought it might be a good idea staying in North Italy rather than catching a train back to Florence before heading to The Netherlands. I was fortunate to find willing hosts in Padova and Verona. I spent half a day in Venice, with the company of a very generous friend Ale who picked me up from the airport and took me around Venice.

05.08.2012

            Venice is too beautiful not to take home some sketches with me. There is still so much I wanted to sketch on Venice and half a day is not sufficient to see this amazing place. So to Venice from me now, just Ponte Rialto, which reminded me so much of Ponte Vecchio back in Florence.

06.08.2012

How could I have missed one of Giotto's masterpieces? Padova is the home to the fresco Last Judgement by Giotto. It is located in the Cappella degli Scrovegni, also known as the Arena Chapel. During my short stay in Padova, I only managed to see the Prato della Valle and the two churches in my sketches below:

          I reached Padova, my second stop in the region of Veneto to meet my wonderful host Francesca. That was the first time we met, after chatting on Skype once. I realized the characteristic of the two main churches in Padova are the many domes in pale blue. I sketched this Basilica di Sant'Antonio on the spot and presented it to Francesca, in return for her kind hospitality. Saint Anthony is also the patron saint of Padova, though born in Portugal, he died in Italy and this is where he rests.

            This was where I sat for about 3 hours to capture the church before entering to admire its glory. It is also here that I got acquainted with Martina and Maria, two lovely girls from Salerno who stayed abit to watch me sketch.

             I sketched another main church of Padova, Monastero di Santa Giustina. It is just a small distance away from Basilica di Sant'Antonio. For this of Monastero di Santa Giustina, I tried using a different technique. I used fine horizontal lines to define the edges. I was trying to display different textures on the brick wall from the tiled roof.

          There is such a stark difference in the interiors of both churches. While Basilica di Sant'Antonio is covered with frescoes and marbles, Monastero di Santa Giustina has a much simpler interior. Nevertheless it has a vast collection of paintings and sculptures that are also valuable. 

        

           This is the beauty of simplicity inside the Monastero di Santa Giustina. I also omitted all other details as I only wanted to focus on the design of the dome interior.

07.08.2012

            My next stop in the region of Veneto is Verona, which I have longed heard of ever since I met my old friend Federico. It's unfair that some places just have everything - the beauty of the mountains and lake from nature, beauty of monuments from men. That's what Verona offers.

             Here's Scala della Ragione, I love this perspective as well as the shadow made on the adjacent wall and the steps. However, if I am to improve on this, I will highlight only the staircase, which is the main focus of this sketch. I will darken the stairs and sketch the rest of the structure in lighter tones.

           The last I took with me is Juliet's Balcony, perhaps the most visited place in Verona. I could not get within a metre of the bronze Juliet, not to mention the balcony. Well, I didn't want to join the crowd or harrass Juliet. I was happy to catch a glimpse of her, knowing she's doing alright and her balcony is well-kept and still standing.

        It's true that people are most productive during troubled times. Just like the birth of the Renaissance was at its height in the midst of political turmoil in Italy before her unity. Apart from the first sketch of Basilica di Sant'Antonio, all the others here were sketched looking at photos I took on my trip. I was back home in Singapore for about two weeks as dad was sick and hospitalized. After he was discharged, I stayed at home most of the time just to spend some time with him. I was thankful I could be back in such times.

SIENA

14.07.2012         

               It was Akiko's last day in Florence as she continued her quest around Italy to conquer the Italian cuisine. I hadn't been to Siena and it will be great to send her off to Siena.

               I had my first osso bucco in Siena, which means "bone with a hole". It refers to the bone marrow in a cross-cut veal shank. This one we had was cooked with a saffron sauce.

               It was fun wandering and getting lost in the little alleys around Siena and I love capturing quiet scenes of a place. This is a residential alley in Siena. It was so peaceful and pretty with the potted plants lined up along the alley.

        

           The Cathedrale of Siena with its distinct black and white bands of marble. They never got round to completing the new façade shown on the bottom right of the sketch due to the plague known as The Black Death that hit Europe in the 14th century.

 

           We were overlooking the landscape of Siena from this little hill. I wanted to try capturing the different textures of vegetation and also to present the houses with just simple strokes rather than always going into the details. I was not able to give light and shadow to this landscape as it was covered with ample sunlight.

              One of the most famous piazza and building of Siena - Palazzo Pubblico with Torre del Mangia at Piazza del Campo. It means "Tower of the Eater", its name derives from its first guardian, Giovanni di Balduccio, nicknamed Mangiaguadagni for his tendency to spend all his money on food. This piazza is so spacious and surrounded by buildings, that part of it will be in the shade depending on the sun's position. Akiko and I sat in the piazza for an afternoon coffee.

ALBEROBELLO

20.07.2012 - 22.07.2012

              It was like the town of Smurfs. Or, a movie set in Star Wars. I was expecting little blue people to walk out of these charming trulli anytime. All the houses in Alberobello are white and some areas, where there is sloping ground, we could climb up and sit between the roofs of two trulli.

                 Dom invited me to tour his hometown in Alberobello. I was wondering half the time if he is an elf in disguise and glancing secretly every now and then to see if he had pointed ears.

                 We wandered around the piazza on my last evening there, together with Dom's cousin Clelia. We had great fun making faces at the camera and Dom and Clelia did a great shot of simultaneous jumping! There was a little kid that tried to join in the fun.

Clelia and me

          Here's a sketch of Dom in front of his parents' shop which is two trulli joint together. I tried to portray the gentle curves on the roof with more darkening and wanted to capture the texture of the grey roof.

Dom and I in front of a row of trulli opposite his parents' shop.

SAN GIMIGNANO - then and now

08.07.2012    

               A medieval town of towers that makes you wonder if you've walked into a movie set. I first visited San Gimignano with Akiko and Junko in July.

            Akiko and I got along really really well and at first she wanted a sketch of the Duomo of Florence. But we had such a great time together in San Gimignano she thought having a sketch of that will be more meaningful. So here's Piazza della Cisterna, with its famous well. It's my first attempt to draw a full page of my sketch pad 21 x 29.7cm. The rest were done in half pages.

22.09.2012

          My second visit was in September. I was with my cousin Weiling who was visiting and also another flatmate of mine, Chinwe. It was awesome to see their delightful faces when we entered the walled city. No one could not possibly not like San Gimignano!

Chinwe waving happily

Cousins in stripes!

                  Weiling and me, our butts feeling especially cool sitting on that medieval bench. Ok, it's just me. My butt feels good sitting on something medieval.  

MILAN o MILAN

29.06.2012 - 01.07.2012          

               I did not have the intention to visit Milan - not when it's renown for its luxury goods and being a fashion capital. How to resist temptations??

                I met up a good friend Varian when he was attending a meeting in Europe and came to visit. It was also my first experience staying in a mix hostel. I reached one day before Varian and decided to look for a hostel. Going the rugged way is always the most interesting to travel. It wasn't the most comfortable night given the summer heat and having someone that snores louder than a train, but I met some interesting travellers and get to hear some interesting stories.

            It pays to do homework before travelling if not disappointment awaits. Milan is the home for Leonardo da Vinci's Ultima Cena or The Last Supper. Like all things famous, it will have scores of visitors and of course impossible without reservations. Oh well, I can just feel it's presence from the outside then.

               

                This is Santa Maria delle Grazie, where Leonardo's master piece is house in the refractory. I tried standing at the edge of the piazza to sketch but could not maintain the posture for too long and so took a picture and sketched on the bench.

            

                Italians in general appreciate art. It's inculcated in them. Whenever I sketch in the open, I get curious passers-by usually Italian. You might argue of course. I am in Italy. But even when in other European countries, the ones who usually stop to look are Italians.

                It's fun to travel on my own, but also glad of company, especially at meal times. So I was happy to be on my own for a day and I receive my dear friend at the Milan train station with open arms.

Ciao Varian! Benvenuti a Italia!

        

                 At the first glimpse of the Duomo of Milan, my reaction is: Are they for real? Do they have to go to that extent for a cathedral? 6 centuries to complete? And no way am I sketching. It will make me crazy. But I have an appetite for doing pretty crazy things nowadays. Probably just to challenge myself. So here goes.

                I could not bear drawing the sides as that is usually my preferred perspective than to capture the façade straight on. I wasn't that crazy.

                 That's about it I could take home from Milan. I wasn't too impress, although I had to say, some of the Milanese balconies were breath-taking. I felt like Rapunzel could walk out anytime to let her hair down to her prince.

FLORENCE - a song in my Heart!

          Back to Florence after some adventures in a big city. Florence is like a little home and whenever I disembarked and see the train station of Santa Maria Novella, I always have a little song in my heart. Oh Florence, do you reciprocate my feelings? Are you glad to have me back too?

           It is not possible to feel bored in Florence. There are so many beautiful places, one will never run out of things to do or see.  And some places are not enough just to go once.  

     
           This is a portion of a wall viewed from outside of the Ceramics museum in Giardino di Bòboli. I think I was mistaken that it was part of Porta Romana. What I love about it is the bricks with the creeping plants growing on and around it. I just love plants on walls. I sketched this on the spot, overlooking the Tuscany landscape, under a nice afternoon sun and gentle breeze. It is one of my favourite so far. It was the first time I used a fine tip ball point, so I was able to include some fine features of the all bricks and leaves.

          This is a staircase in Giardino della Rosa in Piazza Michelangelo. Yes, in this piazza you see the copper replica of David, standing there so resolute over the times.  The staircase is very pretty with grass and flowers on both sides. It is here also that I first see an artichoke plant - rather than the bulbs in the supermarket.

            Located near the Piazza is also the church of San Miniato. This is probably the highest point in Florence, where one can admire the panoramic view of the city. The church is free to enter, and has very different interior compared to other churches I visited. It has got wooden scaffolding for the ceiling and every panel painted.

               The first time I walked along Via de' Cerratani and the Duomo loomed into view, it really took my breath away. It's like you are approaching a huge gentle giant. So capturing this view in sketch is mandatory for me. The people on the streets are way much more than this, although perhaps this is true in the early mornings. An expert will tell you standing on the streets will not give you such a perspective. Well, one expert did ask me if I was flying above the ground when I did this.  It's impossible to stand for hours to sketch this. I'd be run over or just get rooted to the ground at the end of everything. I took a picture and cropped it so that the road I was standing on wasn't so long before it reached my main objects. Joanne wanted to buy this sketch, but it's difficult to collect money from friends. So I sent this along with the Piazza di Spagna off to her.

            I wanted the Basilica di San Giovanni to be the main focus here. And tried to see if I can catch the gist of the Duomo façade with just simple strokes. San Giovanni or Saint John the Baptist is the patron saint of Florence. This Baptistery has witnessed the baptisms of many geniuses that Tuscany produced like Dante. I sent this to dad as a Father's Day gift along with a card but it got lost in post! Italian side or Singaporean side? Is it possible I wrote the wrong address after decades of staying in that address??? -_-|||

          Another view of Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, this time the side view of the stone walls facing Piazza dell'Unità Italiana. It's a common sight for me, waiting for the bus to get home at Via degli Avelli. 

 

             This is a typical alley in Florence, stone cobbled streets,  narrow alleyway with buildings on both sides. Yet it is still possible for Florentines to navigate through these alleys in cars! Beautiful cobbled streets they are, but they are a torture to a lady in stilettos. Once is enough for me... I will not sacrifice my feet or my stilettos in the name of vanity again!

ROME - 1st stop out of Florence

25.05.2012 - 27.05.2012

The trip where I met new friends and also where I met him. At a train station in Rome. Perhaps God wrote this script for us. Who knows what lies in the future. Perhaps we'll get to jump in the Trevi Fountain like Sylvia and Marcello to share a dance?

      

             I went on my first trip within Italy by rail to one of the most romantic cities in the world - Rome. Well, or so it is believed. Media and websites tend to romanticize a place with all it has to offer, so we make our own judgement when we experience the place. It IS romantic. Like everywhere else in Italy.  I think that's why Italians smooch everywhere they go. Walking on the streets, in the park, in piazzas, looking at a monument together. So it's a pretty lonely place to be if you're on your own. Of course with the Roman empire leaving their legacy even after so many centuries, I had to take with me some sketches of Rome.

             I spent the weekend in Rome to meet up with a lady I met back in Singapore, Laura. We were taking Chinese painting lessons together and she was back to visit her parents. I reached Rome a day earlier before I met Laura, so I was very generously hosted by Vincenzo and his lovely family. Elisabetta was not in the picture as she was busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen to get dinner ready.

           Here's Laura with her lovely daughter and parents. We had great sugo all'amatrician with a rather fat pasta, something that looked like penne but it's name slipped my mind. Laura brought tofu - a kind of rather firm beancurd back from Singapore and asked me how I usually made it. So I cut into cubes, shallow fried it and sprinkled a dash of peperoncini (or chilli flakes) and we had them with salad. Ooo, yummy. I do miss tofu!

          I toured Rome on my own the next day, before meeting up with Laura again in the evening. So I went through all the places that a tourist should in Rome. I got ripped off by two Spartans at Piazza di Spagna. That was my very first lesson that nothing is ever free in Europe. They took my camera, one Spartan snapped a photo of me with his mate and asked me for 10 euros. I was just in shocked even as I took out my wallet and handed them the note. 

          

 

           Yeah, I was still smiling when I took this photo. That was before I was 10 euros poorer. It is such a beautiful piazza however and the steps were popular with tourists sitting on it and just taking in the May sun. Hey, I'M IN ROME!

          Piazza di Spagna. This sketch was presented to Joanne, who was deciding between this and another sketch of the Duomo from Via de' Cerratani. I thought it'll be nice to send her both, and my sketches will have a good home and owner.

            I wandered a little aimlessly and reached Via del Corso and chanced upon this magnificent church with the word humiltà or humility written on its glass doors. The Italian word is umiltà, so perhaps this is Latin? Indeed, humility is one of the virtues we require for a devotion towards religion. How else can we bow down to a higher being? This church is magnificent in its interior adorned with so much marbles of so many different variety and colours. Green, pink, yellow, maroon. Once again, nature never run out of ideas for designs. Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio e Carlo was truly the first church in Italy I ventured in. From then on, I realised that every church in Italy is a museum of painting and sculptures. From the ceilings to the walls and floors. Every chapel, every pillar, every tile is a work of art.

           

               Something is not too right with this sketch. The horizontal markings on the pillars are not aligned. I was quite pleased with the perspective as well as the lighting and shadow achieved, but then I forgot about the horizontal stuff and they ended up this way.

             Time was running late. I have yet to see the other great monuments! I got rather lost finding Fontana di Trevi. I would have loved to capture its beauty in my sketches, but doing so will mean drawing sculptures rather than buildings and I will not wish to do them injustice.

           

              These were the pillars from the left side of the Pantheon. I needed to rest my legs a bit from all the walking. I only had a felt pen, which I hadn't master control over. It was difficult to create light and dark areas and I was sketching on a textured paper at the back of a pamphlet.

         So here's my third attempt at the Pantheon. Somehow the first two attempts just got interrupted... I reached my destination on my flight, then my train arrived on my second attempt. The third time, I was determined to get it done. This is a very "postcard" perspective. 

           Another splendid church in a splendid piazza - Chiesa di Sant'Agnese in Piazza Navona. I will never run out of places to kiss in Italy. This piazza is very special with 3 fountains aligned and elliptical in shape. Water of the fountains are supplied by the Vergine aqueduct, built in ancient times. After some pestering by Zachary, my 8 year old nephew who wanted me to reproduce this sketch for him, I decided to give him this instead, together with my sketch of the Colosseum, which I gave to Teck, since he and Angela had spent a holiday there before.

             My first view of this magnificent Roman architecture wasn't under the best circumstances. I had a full bladder and was in desperate need of a toilet. Lesson number two that nothing is ever free in Europe. Not even the toilets. I was willing to give ANY amount to use a toilet then. Why can't I find the golden arches of M when I need them???? I had to convince the waiter that I will buy a gelato after using their toilet. So this view was captured after I released the burden of a full bladder, holding a gelato I still remember was pineapple and peach flavour. Was rather good if it was not because I was standing under the rain with the cold wind and late for my dinner appointment.

             So my second attempt at the Colosseum, looking at the real thing and about one month apart. Comparing my two sketches of the Colosseum, it did inspire a young Danish I met at the mix hostel in Milan. He asked me if I just picked up a pen and started. Yes. Anyone can do it if they try. So he said he is going to do just that the next day. Get a pen and a sketch pad. To help him get started, I tore a few pages of my sketch pad and gave it to him. I hope he is getting well with his sketching now!

          It's a cliché but I'd still say it. Life is full of surprises. I should be annoyed with myself for leaving my jacket behind at Laura's place, had to waste the morning going back to get it and not have time to tour more of the historic centre of Rome. But I was not too grumpy about it. Just annoyed at myself for having to spend that cab fare. I went back again, got to meet some of Laura's relatives, and they invited me to stay for lunch. 

      

              I get to pat Yuke again, a big gentle dog of Laura's parents. He does not move so fast or see too well, but wag his tail fervently whenever I call his name.

         So, I happened to be at that place, at that time. In Aurelia, at around 4pm in the afternoon on 27 May when I first met him. Ticket office was close on Sunday, so I wasn't even sure if there was a train. He was at the platform, not too sure if there'll be a train. (But he was waiting ... for something ... wasn't he? hmmm) So he said he could help me with the language if I need to get tickets on the train and we talked. And we exchanged contacts. And we chatted all these months.

       My first visit to Rome. I promised to return and I did. Perhaps throwing that coin into the Trevi Fountain made it real.