Sharon Bass

Blog

  • My New Blog

    My New Blog

    Welcome to my blog!

  • Day 12 – Painting in Portofino!

    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 interested to see the San Fruttuoso harbor, and today is the LAST day the ferry runs this season. Unfortunately, because of the heavy rains last night, the ferry was canceled. But here’s the silver lining: while waiting, I met a wonderful woman named Julianna and her pup, Willie. Turns out Julianna is the mother of Elena, who works at my Hotel Elena (first names coincidental). Julianna’s English was excellent and I was thrilled to chat with her for awhile.

    After determining that the ferry wasn’t coming, I returned to Plan A and readied my gear for a 30 minute drive south along the coastline to Portofino. What amazing views! And Portofino is ALL THAT – a clean, quaint harbor surrounded on three sides by pastel colored buildings, restaurants and upscale shops. The colors of the harbor took my breath away…don’t miss the photos!

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  • Day 11 – Thunderstorms in Recco; Sightseeing in Camogli

    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 business & personal emails while the wind howled & the waves crashed. Amazing views out the big windows of the Cafe. (more…)

  • Day 10 – Downtown and Harbor Views in Recco

    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 this morning and walk to the nearby plaza to experience the people and local color. At La Perla Cafe I ordered a double cappuccino and read the paper. I’ve included pictures here of the downtown markets. Look at the sun on the pastel buildings! (more…)
  • Oops, wrong train . . .

    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 the very TOP of the Siena Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Siena). The cathedral is a medieval church, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta (Holy Mary, Our Lady of the Assumption). The cathedral itself was originally designed and completed between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier structure.

    Please enjoy the photo gallery pictures below and the amazing views I saw from the top. (more…)

  • Day 7 – A Bright Clear Painting Day in Tuscany

    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 especially grateful for his sacrifice of time to create content for this blog almost every night! While I readied my canvas for the next days’ painting(s), he wrote about the day, created the photo galleries, patiently waited for an internet connection, and so on. It’s been such a gift to share our experiences with you thru his blog efforts. Thank you Sam and safe, safe travels home!

    Good news: The owner of our Hotel Villa Scacciapensieri, Michela Nardi, has commissioned me to paint a 30 x 40 in. canvas looking out at the Tuscan landscape! When she asked me to consider doing this painting I just about fell over. What a wonderful opportunity! I began her painting early this morning – setting up my easel on the property and looking out over the Cypress trees and villas to the hills beyond. It went really smoothly as I’ve already painted this view once before (on Monday), and even made a couple of improvements. Please check out the canvas in the photo gallery.

    In the afternoon, I drove north towards Vagliagli, and found a WIDE OPEN landscape of several villas, vineyards, and lots of sky. Thunderstorm clouds were forming so I didn’t waste any time and got to work quickly while the skies were still blue. I feared rain, but eventually, the clouds passed and the afternoon brought clear, bright light. Please see this canvas in the photo gallery also!

    Tomorrow morning I’ll be finishing Michele’s painting here at the villa, and then packing up, checking out, and driving to the coast. I’m excited to see the Ligurian coast and share my impressions with you! Good night and God’s sweet blessings, Sharon

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  • It must rain to keep Italy green

    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 motoring thorough and stopping between rain showers. (more…)

  • Our drive to Siena

    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 our car. And a bit later, following one wrong turn on the autostrade, we were on our way to Siena. (more…)

  • Day Four – A rest and sightseeing day

    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 headed up the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo to get a panoramic view of the city. We took lots of pictures, Sharon made a sketch of the city, we had a wonderful conversation with a local artist (bought one of his water colors), and other conversations with couples and groups who wanted their picture taken. We enjoyed a picturesque lunch atop the hill and made flexible plans for the afternoon. (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, and probably hotter on the street, the only vantage point that worked for the painting. It turned out to be a rather busy intersection.

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