The quarantine in Italy has been difficult, but for some of us, productive in a modest sort of way. Rather than plein air, doing a demonstration for students of working from photographs (which otherwise I would never do). Indulging in the capriccio, as an opportunity for invention when observation in the field is effectively cut off. Meditating artistically on the Triduum readings when the churches are closed.
Some of this was a consequence of limited reading in my Roman pied-à-terre, and burnout from reading academic articles on my iPad. Making things myself instead of reading about others made sense. But, in a perfect world, that would be a dynamic exchange. And when the bookstores opened again this week, I rushed out and bought four books that I immediately dove into. Ita Mac Carthy’s The Grace of the Italian Renaissance was like grace itself because it deals with what would have been an important topic of my presentation at our postponed Raphael symposium. My eventual presentation will be better for it.
And I’m writing on invention, toward my next book.
I wish we were living in less difficult times, but the challenge is doing the best with what you have. Much of the great art of the past was made in worse times.
The images below are more or less chronological...
Some of my drawing has been done on my iPad in Procreate. I've been experimenting with imitating various traditional media in a digital format, largely because it seems more throw-away.