As mentioned in the previous post, we’re off to Maine today. Here is a sketch I did to get myself in the mood and practice a bit with a little different technique, using pencil instead of a pen.
I’ll be back with loads of travel sketches for you. Stay tuned…
Painting scenes from Italy is altogether fun. Not only is Italy full of intact, ancient buildings, it is that very aspect that makes it scenic. The thing I like most is the variations in the blocks, forms and angles of the buildings and roof lines. Everything seems to simply follow the existing terrain. A novel idea, eh?
This scene is of a place called Colle Alta. At this early point in my journey into sketching and painting scenes from Italy, I’m not going to pretend to be in tune with Italy, or that I’m some hip, seasoned traveler, in the know about all things Italian. Heck, I’ve never been there. I do eat a lot of pizza though. And I grew up happily listening to Dean Martin on the record player. So I’m just going to learn about the places I paint, and enjoy painting them, and imagine what it would be like to be there. One day I’ll go, and then I’ll be hip, and justifiably travel snobby if I so choose.
So dear reader, let’s have a tiny geography lesson shall we?
Colle Alta is the well preserved medieval center of a town of 20,000+ called Colle di Val d’Elsa. This means “Hills of Elsa Valley”, Elsa being the river that passes through the valley. The town is located in Tuscany, in the province of Siena. Perhaps one of the most beautiful parts of Italy. Certainly from the viewpoint of an artist.
Colle Alta is in the upper part of the town and is the oldest part. Have you ever heard the phrase “so and so is as old as dirt”? Well dating from the 9th century AD, this town qualifies. When I hear that phrase, my mind always conjures up an ancient scene like this.
Most people agree it is a real treat to tromp around such a place and experience the ancient-ness of it. I would certainly be one of those people. One day I will likely do that. In the mean time though, I simply look at the skyline of the Blue Ridge Mountains when I’m tooling around in North Georgia and remember that Mother Earth Herself is so dang old it isn’t funny. I marvel at the ancient geology right here at home and try to make sense of it…much like I marvel at the idea that this man made town in Italy is still intact after so very, very long.
It’s a wonderful thing that which is ancient…all of it…here or there.
I’ve driven by this shed a hundred times. It sits just off the road to the side of a house in an aging neighborhood. The neighborhood replaced what was once rural land maybe forty years ago. The land was cut up into lots, one to three acres I would guess. This place may be a couple of acres.
Today, people use the road to bypass traffic jams on the primary roads. The neighborhood is surrounded by new neighborhoods packed with $700,000 and up homes on 1/2 to 3/4 acre lots. No doubt this place, and the rest of the neighborhood, will be “consolidated” and sold to a developer in the next ten years or even sooner…to pack in more people and mini-mansions.
The old shed survived the first round of development and even got a shiny red paint job on the door. Though no one has seen fit to keep it that way. Now the shed sits facing the road, the door being the first thing one notices when the place comes into view.
Like an old dog, lying in the sun, wearing his old red collar, watching all the traffic pass by…long since having served his master. Not a care. Not a worry. Biding time.
Back at the end of August we took a quick little trip to Seattle. The flights were on special so off we went to this city we had never seen. Seattle is known for coffee. Starbucks, among others, is headquartered there.
Originally, Starbucks was located inside the Pike Place Market in Seattle. Now, the first store is across the street and this is a sketch of the place. I would equate it to a shrine of sorts. Apparently, coffee lovers that visit Seattle, take the pilgrimage down their to get their picture taken in front of the “original” Starbucks. And of course they buy something.
On the inside it looks like a typical Starbucks. On the outside, it looks like a family diner you would see in a small rural town….nothing to write home about. I’m glad they kept it that way. It puts on display for all to consider, what humble beginnings and a good idea can turn into.
If you ever visit Seattle, go by there for the heck of it.
As I mentioned in the previous post, this is the original fruit stand in Hiawassee. Others have come up since but few have the management expertise and visionary thinking of this lady. The place is big as fruit stands go, with much to offer….
Fruits
Vegetables
The afore sketched flower division
Bird houses
Jams/jellies/sauces
Portable sheds delivered to your property
Outdoor furniture
Lake accessories such as float tubes, etc.
Assorted other nic-nacs
and of course…Hot Boiled Peanuts
She is the owner/manager of the Hiawassee Fruit Stand. There are some other fellows working there also, one of which is her significant other I believe. I suspect they manage the thing together but she seems to be the one in charge.
I can tell you one thing I’ve observed in visiting the place….it’s an all cash business and it’s always busy. There’s no telling how much moolah goes through this place in a week!
Good products, good service, practical management. The secrets of success.
Tucked away in the North Georgia Mountains is Hiawassee. A nice little town with a beautiful lake, lake Chatuge, surrounded by the highest mountains in Georgia. There are plenty of good restaurants, shopping, high end lake homes, rental cabins…and…The Hiawassee Fruit Stand.
There are several fruit stands now, but this one is the original and the largest.
Here we have the flower division as I call it. It sits to the side of the main structure and this nice elderly woman keeps it tidy. Or at least she was on this day. I can only assume it’s her job to do so.
Could be she just likes flowers, is an organization freak, and didn’t like the way the owners were keeping things. So she set about to fix it.
Things work that way in Hiawassee.
I watched her working for a while, moving flats here and there. She finally got a bit weary and sat down to rest amidst the Gerber Daisys, Dusty Millers, and tons of other flowers and plants I couldn’t name.
Her back to me, and still…I thought she made a fitting subject for a sketch…sitting there surrounded by flowers . She looked content enough to sit there the rest of the day.
Things work that way in Hiawassee too.
Pencil and watercolor. 3–1/2” x 5–1/2”. 30 minutes.
This is the last of the sketches in my travel journal for Glacier. As you view the other sketches, you’ll see what I learned about the process. Next trip, I’ll be more productive!
All of these were done in the summer of 2005.
