ARTINMARTIN: Noel's Italy Paintings

A few scenes of Italy which are now painted on canvas and forever engraved in my memory.

Noel

ROMAN ROOFTOPS

One of the very first scenes I photographed on arriving in ROME, and just outside our apartment (the shadow on the lower right corner is actually that of the Pantheon). Aside from the earthy (terra cotta) tones and interesting geometrical shapes I was also intrigued by the contrast of the very old and relatively modern. These buildings have stood for hundreds of years with some of their stone and brick having been salvaged from much, much, earlier constructions, yet they are for the most part in good repair. The rusting television antennas, on the other hand, already obsolete after just a few decades, speak volumes about a more wasteful time. I also enjoyed the seemingly separate eco-system that seems to be evolving here.

THE MOON…THE PANTHEON… AND THE JAZZ

In front of the illuminated Pantheon every night the Piazza della Rotonda teemed with hundreds of people from all parts of the world and various entertainers competing for their tips. One particularly magical evening as we were being serenaded by this quartet the moon popped out from behind a cloud as if to take in the show as well. The yellow building directly over the saxophone player’s left shoulder was our home away from home for two weeks – top floor apartment, one hundred and nine steps up and (puff, puff) no elevator!

FLORENCE WALL

This fall foliage bedecked old stone wall with gate is typical of many that parallel the streets in the suburbs of Florence. Once again for the sake of extra oomph and scale, I used my magic brush to paint in the two characters, one of which Carol-Ann thought looked strangely familiar.

CHIANTI TROUBADOR

A picturesque street in the town of CHIANTI nestled in the foothills of the beautiful wine making province of TUSCANY. The musician was taken from a photograph I had shot earlier in ROME and transported by way of my paintbrush to provide interest and scale to this scene. I liked the “Welcome to Italy” poster effect that resulted.

Here I am standing beside the ceiling tile I painted to be donated to the Meaford Hospital Auxiliary for their fundraising. The tiles are sponsored for $100 as a donation to the hospital or in memory of a loved one and are put on the ceiling for all to enjoy.

The subject is my rendition of Michaelangelo's "The Delphic Sibyl" from the Sistine Chapel ceiling in Rome! Above is a needlepoint of "The Last Supper" by my sister, Bernice, and below is the table top my wife, Carol-Ann, painted (a closer view of the painting can be seen under the next blog entry).