tuscany - siena and castiglione del lago

julian drove us artists (minus rolf plus daniel) to siena early morning and we parked just outside the city walls; like all other tuscan towns we visited, siena is walled city, perched high on a hill. after a short walk through some narrow streets, we arrived at the piazza del campo (where the aforementioned il palio is held) and we were faced with a magnificent view of the shell-shaped piazza and the torre del mangia. The entire square is surrounded by lovely buildings and all streets in siena seemed to lead into the piazza. it was perhaps one of the liveliest and prettiest squares we visited during our time in italy.

shortly after taken a million pictures of the square...

...we took a tour of the siena’s cathedral, the duomo, an ostentatious looming structure constructed of white and black (colours of siena) marble in alternating stripes (reminding me of sephora). I loved the stripes, seemed such an avant garde modernistic touch to an otherwise pristine example of romanesque architecture.

we walked through the cathedral, visiting the piccolomini library and baptistry as well as the narthex beneath the duomo. traditionally, the narthex was an area for visitors to spiritually prepare themselves before entering the more holy cathedral. the narthex was filled with earth for the last hundreds of years and it discovered only a decade ago. up on excavation, the narthex was found to contain 13th century frescoes depicting old testament stories and scenes from the life of christ. the frescoes, having been covered by earth, are well-preserved, its colours without the fade of weathering, light and humidity and considered to be in its original shades; it is rare to find frescoes close to its original form and such a treat to see painting in such intense and saturated colours.

for lunch we stopped by a little restaurant owned by the capatino (“mayor”) of civetta (the district of siena that the last victory documentary had featured). we tried to catch glimpses of the civettean residents we had seen in the film and that one of the stable boys was also working in the restaurant. before lunch, we’d run into a tour guide that was in the documentary; daniel approached her and confirmed it.

we were left to our own devices in the afternoon. daniel and I wandered the city, in search for italian leather shoes and an owl (symbol of the chivetta district) souvenir. siena had an extensive and lovely selection of shoe and handbag stores. and lo and behold, I came across two pairs of shoes: one was a pair of suede oxfords; the other was a classic pump… I wished I had a million dollars, choosing between the two pairs was the hardest thing I’ve had to do.

I decided I needed some gelato to help make a wise decision. we stopped by a gelataria at the piazza del campo. we seated ourselves on its cobblestoned center and enjoyed our last serving of gelato- this time, a delicious rich dark chocolate- and people watching.

the sky started to cloud over and daniel and I made our way back to the shops to get my shoes. the gelato had not made me any more decisive and I forced daniel to make the decision; he chose the black pumps. (the shoes are awesome, but I should have purchased the oxfords as well!)

by the time I left the shoe store, it was pouring outside. we found fellow artists hiding out in a shoe store nearby. the other women artists were also on a shoe hunt, and the store were offering italian brand boots (i.e. miss sixty etc.) for only 40 or 60 euros! I gave daniel my most charming look and he relented to purchasing yet another pair for me, but unfortunately (or fortunately for his wallet) I could not find a single shoe, of the hundreds, that fit my feet! leanne, the australian artist, escaped with three pairs (oh the injustice)!

when the rain cleared, four women all with at least a pair of shoes in tow and my daniel with a little owl souvenir in his pack, caught a train back to chuisi. siena was my favourite day in italy. there was just something about the city that I loved- maybe it was the documentary which gave me a better understanding, and subsequently connection, of the people. that and all the great stores.

in the evening, we went to the sleepy umbrian town, castiglione del lago known only for being the “town near the largest lake (lago trasimeno) in the italian peninsula”. we stopped by julian’s cheese and charcuterie guy to load up on souvenirs. I coveted everything in that store: the truffles, the spreads, the biscotti, the olive oil!- but only took home some food souvenirs for my mum and an olive wood cheese board for myself. it took so much self control not to purchase the olive wood rolling pin, olive wood salt and pepper shaker, olive wood bowl, olive wood cheese knife etc.

our last supper in italy was one of the best meals we had in italy- and since mandy’s cooking was utterly delicious, that’s saying a lot. there was prosciutto- costing 30 euros a pound we were told- and five different bruschettes to choose from. the entrée was an asparagus and pancetta lasagna, rich and creamy goodness. I topped off the meal with a light english trifle; and daniel with the best pana cotta ever. our stomaches had never been happier. dinner, of course, spanned over a few hours. we discussed art and culture and shared stories from our respective home, like all previous nights. one of the american women was unsure of who the david statue she sat at the galleria gorghese was, confusing biblical david with achilles (of greek mythology), much to the amusement of daniel and me.

and eventually it was time to go, not just the restaurant, but the siliano and tuscany and italy..

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an epilogue

it’s been over a month since we’ve been back from italy; the tastes, sounds and sights we experienced, a faded memory. life has long settled into its regular rhythm. but I am left inspired by all the beauty experienced in that two weeks. life is seemingly better and sweeter than before the trip...

tuscany - studio day 3

back last august, while planning for another vacation, I got the notion of painting abroad into my head. not sure how. not sure why. it was just something I really wanted to do. I did some research and looked up painting holidays in both france and italy. then I came across the artist in italy website where it painted a beautiful picture of a holiday in tuscany, personable, cozy, intimate. that was the painting holiday I wanted to participate in. the posted prices, might I add, the least expensive of all the other painting holidays out there. I pitched the idea of doing the painting holiday to daniel, backing up my proposal with excel spreadsheets of budgets and budget forecasts (at the time, daniel had recently come out of unemployment and finances were tight). we decided to go for it, together, because even though he wasn’t to paint, he would very much enjoy a vacation and the experience; and traveling together was high on our bucket list for our first few years of marriage. I emailed the hyzlers, multiple times with a million questions, and mandy was also quick to respond with clear answers to my inquiries. daniel and I made our deposits, confiming a trip to italy… and then it was a long nine months of waiting for the trip to come.

painting in tuscany is such a dream come true. everything here is an inspiration, from the landscape, obviously, to the studio in which we paint in. julian has this fabulous set-up, a large airy and bright room (oh the natural light in here is phenomenal!) with different stations for different mediums (including two macs for photoshoping tutorials and needs) and an abundance and a variety of supplies, an artists delight. one of the (many) selling points of artist in italy is that all supplies are provided for, eliminating the need to pack and travel with canvases and whatnot.

julian himself was wonderful. his knowledge in art history is astonishing. he had a comprehensive understanding of italy, its culture and its people, and always provided great insight and stories to the places we visited. of course, his dreamy british accent and lingo (“blimey!”) made his anecdotes all that much more interesting. his experience with the fine arts is diverse, and I wonder if there is any medium in which he has not worked with. he was a great instructor, encouraging the artists to find and develop their own styles. while the painting course was for watercolurs, julian was flexible to let us use whatever medium we fancied; one girl quickly abandoned the watercolours and spent her time with acrylics and tempera.

the actual painting aspect of the holiday really challenged me, less so in a technical way but more of a philosophical “what is the meaning of life” way. I redefined what an artist is what my perception of an artist is and questioned my own standing as an artist (I have never in the past- and still not really- considered myself an artist). I reflected on how art- whether it my interest in art history or the actual painting aspect- and creativity- from tinkering away with a design for a pair of earrings to the actual painting aspect- defines my identity. I also began to fully appreciate God as a creator and an artist, and thought of what He wants for me as creator and (possibly even an) artist, how to use my creativity and passion for the arts and crafts to draw closer to Him and for His glory. artist in italy was what initiated reflection of these things and God’s conduit in communicating some of the answers to me. I am still wrestling with some of my thoughts and questions of art and creativity, but will ever be grateful to the experience with artist in italy for starting it all.

anyway, the last studio day was rather uneventful for blogging purposes. there was something about it being the last chance to paint that urged all the painters to do little but paint and create. I spent my time playing around with monoprinting and painting from the sketches from arezzo. I even skipped my midday walk with daniel!

dinner that night was the last meal to be eaten at siliano. The most memorable part of the meal was the brushette served with fresh ripe tomatoes and buffalo mozerella. would you be surprised to hear that that was first time daniel and I tried buffalo mozerella? we loved it. we loved all of mandy’s food and her cooking, from local and organic tuscan meats and produce, was such an inspiration in itself. it has prompted daniel and I to eat more cheese and drink more wine at home, to use marscapone and honey as spread (both so yummy with toast!), and to use quality olive oil despite it costing three times more than the ones sold at loblaws.

julian showed us “the last victory”, a documentary about the il palio of siena… let me try to describe the il palio, it is a biannual bareback horse race in the city of siena, a tradition that has been occurring for over 500 years (watch the beginning of james bond quantum of solace for a brief introduction). so, siena is divided into little districts. twice a year, once in july and once in august, the districts participate in il palio for honor and boasting rights. months leading up to the race, the residents of the districts center their lives on preparing for the 90 second race. the documentary followed the residents of one of the districts in sienna, chivetta, allowed a glimpse of what the race means to the people of siena and how much of their identity is rooted in the district in which they belong to. if you’ve ever been to siena, plan on visiting siena in the future and/or interested in a good film, watch the last victory.

after the movie, we all crawled into bed to ready ourselves for a day in siena! siena was our last day in italy which means I only have one more day to recap!

tuscany - arezzo

in the morning we scrambled into julian’s car and left for another day trip. it was forecasted to rain, but our fingers were crossed for a bright and cheery day. on the ride to arezzo, we passed by beautiful fields of poppies and these little yellow flowers. I tried to keep my eyes open, to not miss any piece of inspiration, but the sway of the car put me to sleep. I woke up just as we arrived.

the main event of the trip was a visit to the basilica of san francesco. in it was a series of frescoes painted by piero della francesca depicting the legend of the true cross. I knew neither the legend of the true cross nor the piero della francesca so greatly appreciated julian’s presence and knowledge. he recounted the story of the true cross, stopping now and then to point out some interesting facts about the painting and painter, while we gazed upwards at the paintings.

we left the church just as the crowds of school kids began filing in. there was some time before our reservations at a small trattoria so we all dispersed to explore the town. arezzo is a very wealthy place, apparent in its selection of fancy clothing shops and well-dressed people. daniel and I followed people around, trying to subtly and inconspicuously take pictures of them in their fancy smocks (we failed to get any good photograph). and then it began to pour— cats and dogs! we found a little awning to take cover. it was rather romantic.

the rain didn’t last long and stayed away the rest of the day.

for lunch, I ordered a pici pasta with a funghi sauce. daniel had a wild boar stew. first time to have pici and boar. this trip was turning into one of so many culinary firsts.

after lunch the group separated again. I found a place at the piazza grande to sketch the façade of the buildings across from the saint maria della pieve at the pizazza grande. I hoped to use the sketches for some monoprints and painting on the last studio day. the square had these cute long and narrow buildings with fancy doors and windows. it was great fun drawing them.

daniel took off with alexis.

eventually it grew too cold to be still, and I packed my art supplies away, ready to go for a walk. it wouldn’t be a day in the town if mischief wasn’t caused. daniel insisted on climbing the city walls, while not high it did look over a 4 four story drop.

siesta was just ending for the day and the little shops were calling me to find a wooden pinochio or a purse or something! we walked into a couple of cucina (kitchen) shops and I wanted everything. olive oil! balsamic vinegar! biscotti! pasta! jam! truffle oil! I took control of myself and only purchased some truffle spread- for myself- and honey- as souvenirs.

we walked and walked, in and out all these wonderful shops and then across one displaying delightful leather goods in its windows. but alas, it was closed! we rattled the doors, pressed our faces against the window. empty. the welcome sign on the door indicated an open store, but it wasn’t! we decided to walk around some more and come back to it a bit later... our minds were with the leather shop and no matter what other store we entered, it just didn’t seem as interesting. so back to the leather shop, we went. but alas, it was still closed! with heads hung low and shopping spirits dejected, we turned to walk off, only to find the shop owner returning.

the shop was wonderful, wonderful smells, gorgeous items, and unlike the leather shops we had visited in rome, this one had more than just bags and wallet. there was jewelry, shoes, belts—and assortment of accessories! right away daniel went to search for a messenger bag and almost right away found a beautiful one, rich red-brown, lined with suede and had many compartments for modern day gadgets. he hesitated but I urged him to get it; its mild leather scent was intoxicating. while he hummed and hawed, I tried on some bracelets. I hesitated over some shoes, black Italian leather ballet flats, cute and classic, should I? daniel finally decided to get the bag and I decided against the shoes, but I did make out with a few bracelets.

by then it was time to reconvene with the rest of the group. we met at a café and shared our shopping triumphs. joyce, one of the american women, had bought boots! I did not regret passing over the flats, but now I wanted shoes more than ever.

back at the siliano the sun was shining brightly. daniel and I took advantage of the daylight (forecasted to rain the rest of the week!) and went in search for poppy and yellow-flowered fields.

I found tuscany the most beautiful at this time of day, early evening, before dusk. the shifting light yields a luminous and glimmering land. the colours of the grass and trees don’t seem to want to stay still, shifting and changing to different shades. the land is alive, moving, swaying, bustling. It is so incredibly beautiful.

I loved that day.

but that night I was struck with a sense of sadness. the halfway point of our stay in siliano and come and gone and we only had two more days in the inspiring land. there was still so much I wanted to see and paint and explore more…

tuscany - studio day 2

studio day 2 started off the same way as all days at siliano started: a simple breakfast at half past eight. breakfast consisted of yogurt and granola, pastries and toast accompanied by jam and honey. daniel took a liking to eating toast spread with butter and honey so much, we’ve incorporated it into our morning routine here at home.

once the plates and crumbs were cleared away, julian gave a demonstration in monoprinting, a technique in making prints which involves transferring ink or paint from a plate (in julian’s studio, the plate is an ikea glass top) to paper. the beauty in monoprinting is that it is an exercise of spontaneity- no two prints created are alike- and it allows for a combination of painting, drawing and printmaking.

I continued with my painting from the previous day, the one of the tuscan landscape behind the siliano. unfortunately, it was raining and I had to finish my plein air painting using a photograph as reference (thank goodness for digital cameras!). I painted the same scene over and over again, experimenting with different watercolour techniques. Julian would come by to show me a new one or suggest a colour mix. I practiced more than painted, doing quick skyscapes over and over again and trying to create the illusion of trees simply by adding different greens onto paper. by the end of the day, I completed three paintings of the same landscape, each subsequent one using new brushstrokes learned.

a platter of prosciutto and different salamis was served for lunch. I love proiscuitto; it’s so perfectly salty. daniel and I dined out in the back and tufo came to join us. tufo was on a doggie diet and being hungry all the time, he’d come by whenever we were eating and rest his head on your knees, waiting for some food to be slipped to him. after awhile, he’d give up and move on to the next guest, placing his head gingerly on another knee and staring up expectedly with his big brown eyes. it was the most adorable thing ever.

I wished I had a dog.

after lunch daniel and I took our midday walk. apparently the estate has a couple of swimming pools as well as tennis courts, but in our little time there, we only found one of the pools. and unfortunately it was too cool for a swim.

the day came and went as quickly as it had arrived. we all gathered around the studio table, always lit by candlelight, for yet another delicious dinner, the highlight being the dessert. dessert was pears poached in vin santo, a tuscan dessert wine, and served with marscapone; it was so incredibly yummy. daniel and I kept on ogling each other with our “OMG why have we not had this before” look.

dinners typically lasted almost three hours. we’d sit around for hours and swap stories of our lives from far away. dinner conversations always provided such great insight into cultures of other countries as well as art, history, and pop culture.

that night I snuck out early. daniel and the other guests remained in the studio to share youtube videos with one another. I went to chat with my family via skype and then snuggled into the warm bed to journal, to capture the hundred million great things I experienced that day.

tuscany - chiusi and citta della pieve

bright and early we all scrambled into julian’s land rover for a daytrip. tufo, who loves car rides, was found camping out in the car and julian had to drag him out.

after a ten minute car ride, we arrived in chiusi, a most ancient of italian places, and a powerful etruscan city dating back to the 3rd century BC (at least!). today, resting halfway between rome and florence, it is a sleepy tuscan town, a pit stop for tourists on their way to the bigger cities.

our first stop in chiusi was the cathedral of san secondiano, built around 560 AD. inside, the church has 18 mismatched columns taken from different roman buildings around the area; no column is alike. the walls are decorated with what appears to be a colourful mosaic, but at a closer look, it was realized the walls are painted frescoes, made to imitate the look of mosaic.

across the street from the duomo (cathedral), there was a wonderful little etruscan museum which has one of the most important and extensive collections of estruscan pieces of italy. we walked through it as a group, with julian leading and relaying information about certain pieces—it is so great to have a guide. I found the christian symbols appearing on artifacts pre-dating Christ the most interesting. early christians adapted pagan symbols to be inconspicuous, julian explained.

afterwards Julian took us for a walk, showing us the sights. the most impressive, a view of the tuscan landscape outside the city walls. it was absolutely breathtaking.

we were let to wander after our tour- actually, we were encouraged to sketch—but daniel and I wandered instead. after climbing and jumping off things and taking many pictures, we bumped into our fellow artists, all painting. whoops. we settled in the square outside of the duomo but I couldn’t concentrate with painting and wrote postcards instead. nearing the end of my third postcard, I realized I was practically famished. fortunately, julian came around the corner and hurried us to lunch at a delightful pizzeria. I ordered a cream pizza and it came out in this funny crust: brittle and crunchy like toasted pita bread! but very yummy. and very big. I gave mine to daniel to finish. we ended the meal with panna cotta for dessert, another first for both daniel and I. it was delicious.

we left for citta della pieve after lunch. citta della pieve is an umbrian town and birthplace to pietro vannucci (perugino), raphael’s teacher. though only ten minute drive from chiui, citta dell pieve had a completely different feel, less charming (but still very lovely) and much more medieval. all the buildings were constructed from a saturated red brick, faded from time and the eternal sun.

we made our way to find the little gelato shop and I order pitashio and coconut, my favourites. every bite was delicious.

julian then took us to some oratory to see perugino’s "the adoration of the magi". it was great having Julian there because he explained the history and the significance and little tidbits about the painting. I would have never known that perugino painted the nativity scene to be set in umbria italy!

all day we passed by such charming doors and flower-potted windows. sometimes we would find a door open and take a peek in to find a little square flanked by buildings! since the streets were already so narrow, the squares were completely unexpected. it was always such a delight to find these hidden squares.

late in the afternoon, we made our way back home. daniel and I sat in the back of the land rover and it was an excruciating ride, bumpy and winding. by the time we reached the house, I was completely nauseous and went to take a short nap, waking up an hour and a half later to find all the other artists painting! whoops. I was completely slacking that day.

the sun was setting but still high in the sky, its beautiful light grazing the landscape behind the siliano, making everything glow. I knew I had to paint the view and took out paints into the backyard, trying to capture the stunning scene.

daniel took alexis (the camera) out on a walk and came back with some great photographs.

I LOVE TODAY, I thought over and over again. it was such a good day.