Piazza Napoleone

Coffee is important here in Italy and we’ve embraced the moka each morning https://youtu.be/oVwtNYd3eQU
We woke again to rain (ugh) and then I tripped the breaker by running the oven and dishwasher at the same time (at 6:30 am). Don’t ask! Unfortunately, I had planned on painting this morning but not in the dark (though I plan to explore abstract watercolors more fully at some point in the future.)
So I couldn’t paint (more later on why this mattered).

Class started at the amphitheater under a large umbrella and out of the rain (our group of sixteen whittled down to eleven hearty souls for the damp and soggy start at 10am). Two different restaurants opened at 11am and each turned on their own brand of music. Then construction work started on a nearby hotel and Tom gave up the competition… it was just too loud and chaotic.

Plan B was a large covered plaza at the opposite end of town. I won’t bore you with the details but Google maps in Lucca is not my friend and I had to be rescued from the spinning blue arrow on my phone. Tom attempted another demo but five sets of boisterous school children descended to eat lunch there (escaping the rain) and after 20 minutes we decamped again because of the noise (ah, the joys of plein air painting).

‘Third time lucky’ as they say… we found a covered area in the Palazzo Ducale Di Lucca where they let us set up for the rest of the day. Despite the rain and two relocations, today’s instruction was probably the best out of the entire week. It involved specifics on brush strokes, color and composition—exactly what I needed. Tom also did a great demo of the covered archway. At 3:30 there was a gallery walk featuring finished student work (see video). I had planned to finish my arch from Pfanner and my tree lined walkway but as you know, we had a morning hiccup.

Regardless, it was fun to see all the other finished results and hear Tom’s feedback. I did have the opportunity to ask him for advice on a watercolor I’d brought from home. I can’t wait to apply what I’ve learned this week. We joined five others for dinner at a seafood restaurant (the fried anchovy photo is for you Curt!)
We head to Florence tomorrow.Read more