Milan, Italy - 1

23 January 2014 - Milan, Italy
18" x 24", acrylic on paper

 During our vacation in Turin, Italy this past September, we made a daytrip to Milan.  This is a view in one of Milan's lovely parks.  I'm planning more Milan paintings.  I still haven't finished with Turin views, though (luckily for me; I go through serious painting withdrawal symptoms if I run out of views to paint and have to scrounge about for more subject matter).



 



Thought I'd include some Milan photographs from our trip: 

Not to state the obvious, but Milan was a gorgeous city.  It was a fun adventure!

Turin, Italy - 16

14 January 2014 - Turin, Italy
12" x 16", acrylic on canvas

Turin, Italy - 15

6 January 2014 - Turin, Italy
12" x 16", acrylic on canvas

I painted this one while listening to Ngaio Marsh's Death and the Dancing Footman.  I still haven't gotten to the end of it.  It'll have to wait until I continue on with the next painting (which I just started up).  The setting for Death and the Dancing Footman is pretty "classic", in an English country manor, involving a collection of characters all antagonistic to each other, though the murder doesn't happen until quite a bit into the book, and then Inspector Alleyn doesn't make his appearance until after the murder.

I seem to be on something of a mystery reading tear right now; I've been simultaneously reading Elizabeth Daly's Henry Gamadge mysteries, ones which, unlike Marsh's books, I haven't read already.  I've managed to keep the plots separate (mostly).  I just finished The Book of the Crime, and, before that, The Book of the Lion, and now am starting up And Dangerous to Know.  I've been really enjoying her books.  I don't think I'll be able to stop until I get through all of them.

Turin, Italy - 14

2 January 2014 - Turin, Italy
18" x 24", acrylic on canvas

Lately, I've been listening to Ngaio Marsh's Rodderick Alleyn mysteries while I've been painting, which means the paintings are infused with murder and a cast of caricature suspects.  I wonder how much the books influence how I paint...

For this painting, I mostly listened to The Nursing Home Mystery.

Turin, Italy - 13

28 December 2013 - Turin, Italy
12" x 16", acrylic on canvas