Italy 2013 Challenge- Day 1 of 15: "Ristorante"

You can't "do Italy" in a week, but we certainly covered a lot of ground there recently--our first trip to Europe--just enough to whet our appetites for more! The people were wonderful, very helpful despite my [Mark's] Spanish-laced attempts to speak Italian. The whole aesthetic of the country was delightful; from storefronts to back alleys, everything was so inviting. Ruins lay scattered or stood heroically around every corner, and the landscape was fantastic! While we were there, I did an ink painting each morning--something we could see from our hotel.

When we got back home, I was so excited that I devised a challenge: How quickly could I do 15 pieces of art, 3 written pieces, and at least one piece of music, all inspired by this trip to Italy? Ping said: "What if some of the music and writing went together with some of the art?" Yes!

Six weeks later, the art is done! Okay, mostly done; I still
need to fix a few things on one of the paintings. Of the 15 pieces, there are 10 soft pastels, 2 ink paintings, 1 duotone (graphite and white charcoal on colored paper), and 2 paintings in acrylic, a medium I've not used for probably 25 years. The written pieces are in the editing stage, and the music is on the way.

For the next 15 days, I'll be posting once a day. Here's the first soft pastel I did after we got back: "Ristorante, Venezia" -approx. 8x10"/202x254mm. This little doorway was just off the canal, a lovely view as we floated by on a gondola. (Those of you who subscribe to the "Mark Ivan Cole - Artist" Facebook page will recognize this one. I couldn't wait to post it, I was so happy to have painted a subject that was such a stretch for me!)

Check back tomorrow for Day 2. Let's see if I can get the writing done and the music finished before it's time to post the pictures to which they belong. Wish me luck!