Alex's Second Post

So far, I am really enjoying making art in Florence. I could sit all day and draw the churches inside and out. I just makes sense the way perspective is used and I am trying to explore new ways of making line and still capture the essence of the church. When I walk into these massive buildings, I am just in awe of how intricately planned and designed they are. They are seemingly symmetrical, but when you take a second look, everything is different. No one pattern matches any other and the marble that is used just creates this harmonious discord within the designs. The other day I was in San Lorenzo and looking up at the ceiling. Non one pattern was the same on the underside of the arches, even the organs aren't symmetrical! 

Everywhere I go, I am bombarded by new patterns and color combinations that are truly inspiring and I find myself going back to those fundamentals even in my own work. In theme sequence, I loved seeing the transformation of a drawing of a walnut shell to abstract, nonrepresentational pattern that emerged from my cutouts. I really responded to this process of making new patterns and making patterns from organic shapes. When I go onsite to draw, I notice often that two different patterns will merge in this seemingly incongruous way, but it somehow works. 

This weekend, I was in Brussels. When I walked into the Grand Place, the architecture was incredible. Every building that encompassed this square was unique, but they all fit together well. My favorite was this gothic style, dark gray museum with these exquisite arches and quatrefoils. We all immediately found a cafe so that we could escape the cold and capture some of these facades that only a pencil could describe. I loved comparing the graffiti in Brussels to that of Florence. It's fascinating how some will create engaging works of art on the archaic walls of a city. 

Pictures:

(Janna, Don't hate me....some of them are a tad blurry, but they were gorgeous and had to put put up)