My best good friend Pat

After my Hannibal workshop we made our way upriver to Quincy Illinois
for a visit with my very dear friend, Pat Surface. My first official
visit to Quincy was orchestrated by Pat years ago. I fell in love with
the place and made some great friends there. Pat ordered pizza and we
caught up on happenings in the art world. There never seems to be
enough time for these moments!

One day in Hannibal

This weekend I had a quick trip to Hannibal MO for a one-day landscape
workshop. For my demo painting I recreated one of my more notorious
pieces, the Missouri State Quarter design. This group was filled with
old friends and some new ones. We had a fast, fun Saturday and shared
some good ideas. I revisited some of the Mark Twain sights while in
town and channeled my inner Huck Finn.

Ohio watercolor artists

These are some fantastic painters that I had the pleasure of spending
a colorful weekend with. They taught me a few new painting trucks,
introduced me to some cool new music and helped me coin the phrase
"umber happens".

Fall Foliage landscape demo

The colors of the fall were in full array this weekend. It was fun to
interpret the blazing trees. My workshop artists had plenty to keep
them challenged!

Cuyahoga Valley Art Center

It's warm indoors today!

Chilly, but fun.

My workshop was out in the fall weather yesterday morning. The cold
snap made it a little tough to hold a paintbrush, but the fall colors
warmed us on the inside. We did our best to soak as much of it in as
possible. The rest of the weekend we'll be painting inside the art
center.

Fall colors!

Right on time for my workshop, the fall colors in the Cuyahoga Valley
National Park do not disappoint! I'll have to pull out my tube of
Perinone Orange.

I have a speaking engagement tonight at the Cuyahoga Valley Art
Center, then will be painting in the park with my workshop tomorrow
morning.

Italy sketchbook workshop

The jetlag of coming home from Italy has given me plenty of time to
download photos in the middle of the night. I'll have to adjust
quickly and head for a fall foilage landscape workshop in Ohio next
week.

My dreams are filled with Italy and my new friends from that
adventure. I miss them already. We'll have to get together soon for
some cappuccino, runny eggs and rock hard bread soon.

The sketchbooks were awesome and hold a wealth of ideas for a lifetime
of painting and memories. We filled our time with some really great
experiences! I can't wait to paint!

Final dinner in Venice

Great views in every direction!

Sketching on the go

Last day in Italy

We painted on the smaller canals in Venice today. Some of my workshop
artists have incredible sketchbooks from this trip! I am incredibly
pleased with the work they did.

Today was our last full day in Venice. We fly home tomorrow by way of
Frankfurt Germany.

"Sunrise St Marks"

"Rain Bonnets"

Gondolas

What symbolizes Venice more than it's gondolas? These cool boats are
inefficient, expensive and as romantic as you'd imagine. They sure
make Marla smile!

"Prima Luce"

For those brave enough to venture out at sunrise, you can find Piazza
San Marco without people and cafe chairs.

The columns

The columns in Piazza San Marco are my favorite feature. I love the
griffin symbol on the top of the left "swizzlestick".

"Floating Palace"

If you visit Venice in November or December you will get the floods of
high tide that frequently turn Piazza San Marco into a lake. Visitors
walk on tabletops to get around the square. It provided a nice
reflection for my watercolor, "Floating Palace".

St Mark's Basillica

One of the heavily detailed buildings that makes Piazza San Marco so
incredible is the Basillica. It's a daunting task to paint but many of
my students tackled it with great success.

Murano

The glass factories on the island of Murano are fun, but a tourist
trap. I've practiced blowing glass with some of the best here, but for
most visitors it is a show and then straight to the showroom. It feels
a bit like a timeshare sales pitch. With the inflated Euro, the
treasures here are far too expensive presently. I always get at least
one awesome piece to bring home though.

Sunrise on the Grand Canal

Chilly in Venice this morning, but the light is hauntingly beautiful.
My workshop artists have gone in two groups this morning; one to tour
the Doges Palace and another to Murano. We'll meet up this afternoon
in Piazza San Marco for sunset painting in one of the world's most
interesting outdoor studios!