I had the opportunity to take watercolor lessons at the Accademia dil Giglio in Florence. Having suffered from art block since 2022 it was the perfect environment to start over. I revisited portraits, my main focus since 2020, and explored landscapes for the first time.

My wonderful teacher encouraged me to try new things. One was especially out of my comfort zone. I’ve never done life drawing formally before, especially nude models. My teacher’s advice was to not change mediums and keep using watercolor for the sessions. I noticed other artists were using different media as well. It was very challenging to capture a figure in under 3 minutes using watercolor. It felt great! Slowly going up from 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 15 minutes to half an hour. At first 5 minutes felt like 3 seconds, not enough time. With practice, 30 minutes felt like an eternity. This really helped train my eye to the essentials, what is the minimum you need to capture form.

My time at the academy, sadly, was very short. The plein air sessions had not started yet. And I felt too awkward going by myself. I must admit I was afraid of pick-pockets. Hopefully, this is not my only chance at painting in Italy. Until the next one! Salute!

M