That floor..

I have left my lovely but freezing studio in Il Chiesino...

The floor canvas is finally finished! It went from this first stage: measuring it roughly to be able to sketch out its peculiar shape once it was in situ in the studio,

To many happy hours painting away, with only one of two rare visitors...

To this morning's dramatic transport of the rolled-up canvas from the Chiesino by  two Ragazzi simpatici, one of them called Manuel, an Ondaiolo, with all that entails of extra friendliness, winks and discounts... It was somewhat nerve racking, because I made the mistake, first thing this morning, of confessing that I was always very scared when my floor canvases were installed. 

"Ho Paura!"

Now, that is of course not a very good beginning, because one should instead try and inspire confidence and calm in one's workmen... They had never done this before, and Manuel confessed to me, rather touchingly,  that he too avevo paura..

Which made things even worse...

But they were very professional, and faced their challenge heroically whicle I was looking on, biting my nails. The problem is that the canvas cannot really be bent so that it has any hard, sharp creases- it will damage it. And of course the space it went into was smaller that the size of itself, so it is a tricky business...

                                                     

At the end Manuel confessed to me the full extent of the drama:  in fact he had had TANTISSIMO PAURA, but that he now felt huge happiness and satisfaction! And so did I..

                                                     

Better pictures will follow- including the Dante quotation just at the entrance. Paolo, my architect is delighted with it, which makes me feel very happy. He wants his professional photographer to take some shots!

One of the last things that I painted, by the way, was  a little vignette our  walking group Camminando Quercegrossa, on our way into the Tuscan countryside:

  

                                       

Tuscan Winter

Back in Siena I have been thrown  straight back into all the lovely activities I had almost begun to miss during my three weks away...Today rambling through the Tuscan landscape which has donned the sober but beautiful colours of winter, as our walking group trekked through the country surrounding Monteriggioni- the fields are plowed and ready to sow,  the vines are resting, so the land is not fallow, but the farmers that used to till this land have moved into the nearby towns and almost all  of the ravishing old farm buildings are abandoned, apart from some that have been changed into 'Eco Tourism'

hotels. 

That was today- but the re-immersion in my Tuscan life started as  I arrived back from Florence at 5pm Friday.  By 7.30 I had made soup for the theatre group who arrived for the weekly  reahearsal.   They have become even funnier in my absence, and I think they are ready to perform, but they seem to think I need to be inserted too, in a non-speaking part..

 

 

The Piazza was lit by the last rays of a wintry sun last night, as a had a Campari Spritz  at Il Palio, and watched the happy Saturday flaneurs, having spent the day in 'my'  studio above the Chiesina, painting away. I can continue the floor canvas for another two weeks if necessary, Massimo, our Onda Priore  told me as I ran into him at the Onda Saturday morning cafe, that is good news! 

And some news from further north: my God daughter Ida is marrying her lovely Senai, born in Eritrea but raised in Sweden, this summer. About time! Very happy for them...