Sleeping Elena

Elena drifting peacefully in a sea of calmness.

Watercolors on paper, 33x24cm
Click on image to enlarge

Far far away

Exactly one year ago I was working in Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra state, and the house of many Indian corporations and Bollywood. I visited the house where Mahatma Gandhi was living in the 1920s when he was fighting for the independence of India, and I saw the festival of Ganesh, or Ganapati like He is called here.

Watercolours on paper, cm 22x33
(Click on image to enlarge)

But this is also the time of the year when Elena birthday occurs, and so I was not too happy to be far, far away. You can't really go back to home for the weekend, from here. I took this picture with the self-timer, from my hotel room - it is dark outside, but in Mumbai the sunset happens quite early and I was in contact with Central Europe, 3:30 hours ahead of me.

Snowfall

Another drawing from this summer holidays.
Actually the snowfall happened last March, but I did not feel like drawing this until last August. And once it was pencilled and inked, I did not find the will to colour it until yesterday.

Watercolour and Indian ink on paper, 24x33cm
(Click on image to enlarge)

A reason for this is that HP just replaced my scanner, which quite unfortunately had a faulty blu sensor and made everything yellow. With my bright, shiny new Scanjet handy I felt greatly inspired. In fact, this weekend alone I reached the production volume I usually make in a quarter:

1) water-coloured this drawing
2) sketch of Clara playing chess with Felicia (will become a ink+watercolor)
3) sketch of Felicia sleeping on the piano and first turpentine+burnt sienna draft on cardboard, ready for oil
4) sketch of Elena kicking a yokotobigeri (will become another Photoshop graffiti)
5) and many ideas for future pictures...

Footprints

Before moving up to Brengaz our house in Valtournenche was just in front of the lake of Maen, a shallow reservoir which holds the water from the Marmore river. We often took the kids for a walk around the lake, especially to reach a little playground on the opposite side.

This drawing is made after a picture I took some years ago. The children are really young, Alberto is even using a pacifier. And they are all concentrated in making marks and lines on the snow.

I always liked this picture because it shows the twins close to each other and doing the same thing (just like today), Clara engaged in the more difficult task of sketching with her finger, the crisp light of a sunny day, the bright, saturated colours of the jackets, the calm image of Cime Bianche in the background.

Watercolours and Indian Ink on paper, 24x33cm (Click on image to enlarge)

I fancied long-since about this subject but I could not decide what technique to use. Then last August I went for Indian ink and watercolours, which seems about right. Still I think that I should try also something different, maybe thick oil colours and knife? Or would it be too cheesy?

Anna

I made this portrait of Anna in early January, when I was back from a business trip to Prague. After the client meeting I had a couple of hours before flying home. I spent this time visiting the Mucha Museum, dedicated to the work of Alphonse Mucha. Go and see it if you are in Prague.

Anyway - I love Mucha's work, I often copy his prints to learn how to draw.

So when back at home I made this watercolor portrait of Anna in no more than 2 hours, which is for me about 10 times faster than usual.

Speak about being inspired by a great master...


Watercolor on paper, 24X33 cm (Click on image to enlarge)

It's the art: trail #13 on the Matterhorn

The Normal Italian way to the Matterhorn starts from the hut Rifugio Duca d'Abruzzi, at 2,800 meters. The simplest way to reach this hut is the trail #13 starting from Cervinia, which is simple enough for a walk with the kids.

The trail is actually an unpaved road where meeting various brands of smelly SUVs and off-road vehicles conducted by city jerks is all but unfrequent. But it also provides a great view to the Matterhorn, the glacier of Plateau Rosa and the mountains surrounding Breuil.

(Click on image to enlarge)
Watercolor on paper, 24x33 cm

This watercolor is made after a picture taken in a sunny Sunday of September 2004.
I consider this the best time of the year for this trail, right after the holiday and just before the snow - that means perfect weather and not many SUVs around.

It's the art: Elena with dragon

Elena has always been for me a difficult subject to draw, I made many attempts which regularly ended up in the bin - except this one.

Also I always thought that she would be the perfect subject for a portrait along the style of Alfons Mucha, with a halo surrounding her head and a raging dragon symbolising her tough, untamable inner glow.

Ink and watercolor on paper
33x48 cm
(click on image to enlarge)

It's the (martial) art: Anna with fighting Felicia

The cat doing some kung fu position is an idea I took by reading Rumiko Takahashi mangas. And combining Anna's peculiar grin with the cat she found some months ago generated this watercolor.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Watercolor on paper, 24x33 cm

More precisely the stance in the bottom right corner is a Taiji classic, tso peng from the sequence Grasping the sparrow's tail, while the others are bits of wushu's bu xing: ma bu, pu bu and duli bu.