Inaugral drawing class Dear All,My first day was soooper! Just as one imagines a drawing course at L’École des Beaux-Arts to be – old amphitheatre adorned with statues, in the centre of which is the nude model doing various poses for the students to draw. The professor then walks around the room and gives individual instruction, …
Relative to other small islands, St Barts has a great selection of art; however, Paris is a veritable oasis with its eclectic range of art spanning the centuries. I thus made the most of my time in this ‘art Mecca’, visiting the many galleries in and around Rue de la Seine, as well as exhibitions …
I always enjoy visiting the beautiful churches in Paris, steeped in history yet magnificently constructed and sculpted, even by today’s standards. I find the side chapels most fascinating, each one different to the next offering a variety of saints, tombs and colourful stain glass windows to ponder upon in the glow of the votive candles. …
I safely arrived at my ‘petit studio’ in the 13th arrondissement bordering the 5th, which greatly exceeded my expectations. It was more than just a studio in size and layout, having a totally separate kitchen, bathroom and hallway, so felt like a small apartment. The two floor-to-ceiling windows threw light into the white-washed rooms, simply …
Au revoir St Barth After a crazy month inundated with translations for an impending deadline, together with preparation for an equally imminent house move, I finally breathed a sigh of relief when the time came to catch the island ferry for a flight to Paris. Little did I know what was in store … I …
NYC – Local-Style “Can’t repeat the past?” Gatsby cried incredulously, “Why of course you can!” (The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald) And we did … albeit with a new twist! The memorable lanes of New York have become so familiar that this big city has started to feel like ‘home’. We no longer feel …
A month in Tuscany makes one aspire to be a master of the arts, particularly a fine artist, poet, novelist or other such fans of the quill … I could wax lyrically and complete a tome’s worth of reminiscences, but time does not allow, so I will summarise to recount those more significant impressions. Starting …
Food and nostalgia aside, Philip and I also decided to pay homage to the Early Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca (c. 1412 -1492), born in nearby Sansepolcro, famed for his realism/humanism and his geometric accuracy, particularly for perspective. He was also made famous (in England, at least) by John Mortimer’s book ‘A Summer’s Lease’, in which …
Santa Margherita As I climbed the long, steep Via Crucis of Etruscan Cortona, I could fully empathise with pilgrims intently trekking to a religious destination. I was en route to Santa Margherita, the ancient basilica at the summit of this fortified Tuscan town in Italy. My pilgrimage was to revere and record the religious art …
ARRIVAL IN CORTONA Four weeks in Tuscany – a perfect place to spend a summer off-island and an ideal location for Philip and I to reunite after two months apart (respective travels: P – Madagascar, me – England). We were to stay in the beautiful, fortified hilltop town of Cortona, near the border of Tuscany …