Setting the Tone

Hello from Italy. Firstly, I’d like to explain the absence of recent newsletters; my 92 year old father had a heart attack. He survived this remarkably well but as a result he needed an operation to install a new heart valve. I’m happy to say this too was a success and he is back home recuperating rapidly. I have spent some time supporting my parents through this process.

Before I embark on that course I am reviewing my technical drawing skills, especially those associated with tonal drawings.

I hope this will help me to master a more technical approach to the drawing of drapery, an important part of my strategy to understand the technique of monochromatic underpainting, which first became part of an artist’s training in the early Renaissance. Here you can see it being used by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, so I’m feeling confident it’s worth the effort.

For now I am drawing, then in a few days time there are further treats in the pipeline; I’ll be spending a week travelling through northern Italy on a painting road trip. Our travels will begin in Florence, kicking off with one of the best collections of Renaissance art in the world at the Uffizi. It’s a while since I was last there and I’ve learned more about art history, become a painter and learned to speak Italian in the interim, so the experience will be very much enhanced.

Have a great week.

Fiona