My husband, Sam, and I have been married since 2005, and we love living in Raleigh, NC.. Sam is a great writer, photographer, sailor, and a technical guru. Without him, there would be no blog. I’m a landscape oil painter and enjoy working outdoors, beginning most of my paintings on-location.
In Sept. of 2013, we set out on a two week adventure to Italy. The following posts describe our travels and feature many of the paintings I began in Florence, Siena, and Portofino.
Our trip was inspired by my good friends and customers, Jim and Valerie Long, who spoke to me about their many travels to Italy and their love for the people, food and landscapes in Tuscany. In fact, they commissioned a painting there. Thank you Jim and Valerie for your expert travel advice!
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Welcome to my blog!
Day 12 – Painting in Portofino!
Plans changed this morning: Instead of driving to Portofino first thing, I walked my painting gear down to the Recco harbor to catch a ferry to points south along the coastline. I'm especially interestedRead more
Day 11 – Thunderstorms in Recco; Sightseeing in Camogli
It poured rain today, but I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to be ‘stuck’ than Hotel Elena. Set up laptop in Cafe & FINALLY answered some businessRead more
Day 10 – Downtown and Harbor Views in Recco
A gorgeous day on the Ligurian coast! Although my Hotel Elena in Recco offers a wonderful breakfast & terrific views of the Recco Harbor, I wanted to get OUT early thisRead more
Oops, wrong train . . .
Story by Sam Q. Bass, Thurs., Sept. 12th: YESTERDAY, while Sharon was out painting, I spent the afternoon walking around old Siena. I was fortunate to join the last VIP tour to theRead more
Day 7 – A Bright Clear Painting Day in Tuscany
Sadly, Sam began his return trip to Raleigh early this morning. He will fly from Florence to Paris to Detroit, and finally Raleigh. I will be lonely without him the next few days. I'm especiallyRead more
It must rain to keep Italy green
First day plans were slightly altered by rain, but we still had a great day touring the countryside for some good painting spots. We have a few shots to share of old Siena from motoringRead more
Our drive to Siena
After a quick trip to our favorite art store and good bye to our friends at the Hotel Il Guelfo Bianco we were off to the airport to get ourRead more
Day Four – A rest and sightseeing day
The last full day in Florence was a wonderful resting one with casual sightseeing and wandering. After a leisurely breakfast checking email and catching up on loose ends, we headedRead more
Day three in Firenze
Saturday in Florence was just a busy as any weekday, but everyone seemed noticeably more relaxed and celebratory. It was another beautiful day, but quite hot. By the time we set up, it was 93, andRead more
Two paintings started in downtown Florence!
Our second day was picture, and painting perfect. The weather continues to be beautiful and the colorful scenes of people and architecture never disappoint. Thank you for all your greatRead more
Our first day in Florence
Travel fatigue and technical issues delayed our first post, but we hope we are off and running now. Our first day was magnificent. Our Hotel Il Guelfo Bianco, Via Cavour 29, is PERFECT and well located to Florence'sRead more
The overweight check in challenge
Made it through our first baggage challenge, thanks to our new friend John, Delta friend of the arts. The golf/art bag weighing in at 62 pounds was excused by ourRead more
Getting ready for the trip
We have been busy getting ready for our two-week painting trip in Tuscany, Italy. Packing for two weeks abroad is challenging enough, but add several canvases, oil paints, brushes, and easels; and all of it mustRead more
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