Back to the Piazza Navona right around the solstice

There was heavy rain this afternoon in Civita, so I pulled out my sketchbook and painted this sketch that I had drawn late in the day on my one full day in Rome.  I had been to the Pantheon before (remember the wonky jet lag perspective?), and being a true glutton for punishment, I headed to the Piazza Navona to do one last Rome sketch.  Yes, I was still groggy with jet lag and it was probably 8pm, but I was determined to make the most of my one day in this beautiful city.

Amazing late evening light near the soltice in the Piazza Navona...it was too late in the day to paint there, so this was
painted today in Civita while I was inside during a rainstorm!

The First Pancake

With such intense jet lag that I fell right in front of my hotel upon arrival in Rome, I was still determined to stay awake and headed for the Pantheon, more or less ground zero for this amazing, colorful city...very different from the tidy gray/blues of Paris last summer.

The piazza was packed with people and it was late in the day, but I pulled out my three-legged stool, Pentalic sketchbook and mechanical pencil from last summer in Paris and claimed a spot. The view was often blocked by the crowds, but it was fun to hear them say "WOW" as they rounded the corner behind me.

I now see some really funky things in this sketch, which I will attribute to the extreme jet lag :) The pediment has shifted to the left and the buildings on the left look more than a little wobbly.

But it's a start...after the first pancake (we toss that one, right?), hopefully the next one will be better and you'll see these improve! 

After this sketch, it was off to the Piazza Navona for a second one, followed by a gelato.

Benvenuto a Roma!

First sketch in Rome, ouch, the jet lag shows!

In Roma

It's proving to be difficult to post while on the road.  I will have to post more sketches from this trip once back in Paris.  We are now in Barcelona--I am at the Urban Sketchers Symposium (which is amazing--so well organized too!) and Nicholas is on his own in a hostal doing what 19 year olds do (drinking, beach, more drinking...)

However, we did spend almost 24 hours in Rome.  What a beautiful city!  The colors seem to just glow in the Italian light--rusts, ochres, warm yellows...just amazing.  We did a lot of walking around to see the sights--the colosseum (where it started to rain), to the pantheon, to a tartufo in the Piazza Navona, and then the Spanish Steps...we came back here the next morning so I could do a sketch.  Tons and tons of tourists here and blazing heat, but this is it...my one Roman sketch in this beautiful city.

Masses of tourists and scorching sun in the morning at the Spanish Steps.
A sketch before we head on to Barcelona. July 10.