Nov. 09, 2019 | Posted in Reports, Painting and Drawing , Student Reporter | Tags:Kristin Fiorvanti, Painting and DrawingReporter: Kristin Fiorvanti | Course: Painting and Drawing

Painting and Drawing vol.16 (One-Year Course – Kristin)

Something New
This week has been a huge come-down of energy. Temperatures are rising in Florence, heat exhaustion is real, and I can’t believe I’m still so tired after my exhibition. I guess I did spend a lot of time committed to it; so my question is: what now?
I expressed this problem of low-energy and lack-of-inspiration to my teachers. Of course, it’s normal to hit a dry-patch. It’s harder to swallow, though, when your passion doesn’t even motivate you any longer. I’ve found myself wanting to completely change course –to try something new. I felt a new subject would help, so we began some surrealist work.

This is the start of my surreal subject. I chose surrealism in an attempt to combine everything I’ve learned: realism, landscape, and abstraction –to create something dreamlike.

The reference painting I was using was in oils but we decided to use watercolors. Getting a realistic look with watercolors can be quite difficult, but all you need are 2 or 3 round brushes of different sizes.

In our Basic Lesson with Professor Lorenzo, we began a study of the goddess Diana bust in our classroom. It was a painting lesson but no one else had painting materials, so we started with a drawing; next week we should all have our supplies for painting.

The next day, I made more progress on this piece. Slowly, I began to add layers of paint to create depth.

The process unfolds. I’m impressed with the patience I had to create a realistic subject with such a flimsy medium such as watercolor.

This week, I also had some surprise visitors from my hometown in the U.S. Sarah and Adam have just gotten married, and they spent a few weeks here in Italy on their honeymoon. I’ve been feeling a bit homesick as of recent, so it was refreshing to see a few familiar faces. I was excited to show them around and share some things I’ve learned. Pictured above is us at Piazzale Michelangelo –with one of the best sights of the city.