Artist in Residency - Somewhere out here in Tuscany

My brain is so confused.  It doesn’t know what language to speak.  Today, I yelled out “Good Morno"…instead of Bonjourno!  I promise it was a total slip up.

Lest anyone think this is a luxury vacation and that I’m frolicking around sipping wine all day …here’s the way it is.  

The artist in resident’s duties are to be available for lessons twice a day, 3 hour sessions, 6 days a week.  Sundays are my day off. When not teaching, I have free reign of the Borgo, but they really prefer the artist to be painting on the grounds so guests can become educated/acquainted with art. 

The artist is given an artist flat for the duration, no internet, no TV, no AC.  But there is something magical about your windows open at night, feeling the cool Tuscan air breezing in and hearing nothing but silence. The lizards like it too.  The artist is provided 3 meals a day, two of which I eat with the staff.  (Sort of like Downton Abby)  Most of the staff is from somewhere else….Albania, Romania, Slovakia…one florist from Britain and a pastry chef from Canada.  Very few speak English. Now you can see why my brain is a jumbled mess of languages.  You don’t know how many times I’ve said, “Oui” instead of “Si”. By the end of the day, this is what I look like.

I am delighted be able to eat breakfast with the guests to become acquainted with them. Most are Americans, British or Australian.  Several have been from North Carolina…but they’ve been Duke grads.  Hopefully, they will want to sign up for lessons.  However, it is a record heat wave here in Tuscany..and that means HOT! (frankly, if I were a guest, I’d rather be touring vineyards and having “wine” lessons.)  

Guests are signing up for lessons though.  Every student is at a different level but most are beginners.  My trouble is trying to simplify the lesson so that they can be successful.  The most challenging is that I can’t just give a simple monochromatic light/dark lesson because the grounds are to beautiful that everyone wants to paint the gardens.  That is incredibly hard! So I try to have them focus a very small area that inspires them. I’ve never officially taught before so you might say this is “on the job training”..in Tuscany….not a bad thing, I’d say.

Every day I paint from almost sunup to sundown.  Accept for two days ago when, Rosie,  the florist and I escaped in the staff “Ferrari”  to a nearby icy river to swim.  Every artist has to be bit of renegade.  Without us the world would be a complete bore.  Besides, it was blistery hot!  Maybe the next entry will be about being chased by a wild boar.  Seriously. They are plentiful here, you know.