Return to Italy

Hilltown at Night- acrylic on canvas

Before I became a Spirit Boatist, my passion was painting Italian hill towns. For me, traveling in Italy is deeply satisfying and puts me in an altered state of mind.  It is great for the body and the spirit too.
I have always the adored smaller hill towns composed in a toy like fashion- building blocks magically arranged in a triangular progression taking you upwards to the top of hill. As a kid in flat land Chicago, I longed for topography and hills are very exciting to me. That is another reason I choose to live in San Francisco.
In the 80's and 90's, Leo and I found our way around Italy by following our hearts. I would draw on-site, my eye following lines that jumped from roof to roof and house to house. Spaces opened up to form a piazza or close up to become a street. Before I became enamored of this subject, my armchair travel was enriched by Norman Carver's book, Italian Hilltowns which I poured over for inspiration.
http://normancarver.com/
https://books.google.com/books?id=IuZ_JgAACAAJ&dq=inauthor:%22Norman+F.+Carver%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Zj5QVfDpHo_0oASb14CQCg&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAg
There are so many levels of time represented within these places - a sense of history and intrigue that ignited my imagination. Another Italophile, Rick Steves has explored the territory that I am talking about and brought the Cinque Terre to thousands of travelers awareness. I love them too.
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/tuscan-hill-towns
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre

Leo and I have traveled extensively over many of the Italian provinces absorbing as much of the art and architecture as we could but I felt a deeper bond when I could stop and sketch a scene that could be translated into a painting. One of my favorites is Spoleto, where we spent several weeks in a friend's 13th century apartment. There are many many more that are still calling to me.

Next week, we are once again going to Italy and visiting more dramatic sites. It has been 13 years since we have been. This time there will be a family reunion and second reunion with an old lover, my former fascination, the hill town.
Today I have my internal work as a Spirit Boatist to tend to but Italy provides a rich and exotic external place for my psyche to play in.