Umbria

Our Umbria trip was a fantastic inspiration for sketching. Spoleto was a nice stop on the way out and I would have liked more time there. Although the city itself wasn’t as visually picturesque as the Amalfi Coast, to me the spaces were more exciting and I enjoyed sketching especially in Assisi. After quite some time wandering lost on our first night in Assisi I made my way up to the Rocca Maggiore realizing the stairs up to it were 15’ from our hotel. I spent the night up there reading, watching the sunset, and sitting through a lighting storm, all while overlooking the Umbria region and with a castle looming overhead. A great experience. Here’s a picture I took of the storm.
On our second day there I made my way down to St. Francis to do a sketch. I want a sketch from a particular spot in the lower piazza. When I showed up, there was actually an Italian painter with his canvas set up in exactly the spot I was looking for. I ended up placing myself about 10’ behind him. Over the course of the next two days sketching (as the shadows disappeared and I had to come back the next day to finish) I was able to communicate with him about drawing techniques despite the language barrier. We may not speak the same language, but art is universal. The sketch here is what I produced in the end.