Italian Architecture, Mixed Media Fine Art Painting, "IF WALLS COULD TALK- CORTONA" by International Abstract Artist Kimberly Conrad

The "Walls of Italy" is a series inspired by photos I took of the walls and architecture on my recent trip to Italy, more specifically in the town of  Cortona. This painting also represents the oldest part of town where the outer walls of the buildings were dilapidated- and many years/layers were exposed. These buildings were all occupied, and our guide assured us that the insides had been beautifully renovated, and decorated. 

This is the third piece in the series. View the first two HERE

30"x19"x1.5" Mixed Media on Canvas

Click HERE for more info on this piece.

 Visit http://KimberlyConradFineArt.com to view other Kimberly Conrad paintings.

 Oh how I miss Italy!! Especially Cortona!!

A Thought for Today....

Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life.
 
Anna Akhmatova



  Kimberly Conrad Contemporary Art Gallery
 Boarding House Studio Galleries
 220 East 7th Ave (Governer's Park)
 Denver, CO 80203
 303.881.2258

Mixed Media Fine Art Painting, Italian Architecture "The Secrets of Cortona" by International Abstract Artist Kimberly Conrad

I am so excited to finally be sharing this painting with you.

My favorite part of my recent trip to Italy was the time I spent in the magical town of Cortona. I took hundreds of photos of architecture, especially the WALLS while in Italy.

I have three series of painting planned from the trip and this is the first piece in the mixed media series "The Walls of Italy".

This piece was inspired by a photo I took on a walking tour of Cortona in the oldest part of the town. The outsides of these structures (all occupied) looked as if they were crumbling and many had rusted metal from who knows what exposed, but we were assured that the interiors were beautifully restored and modern!!

Oh the stories and secrets those walls would tell if they could talk!! And yes...the metal grill was actually slightly crooked on the wall and a rusted key was also really on the wall!!

24"x24"x1.5" Mixed Media on Canvas

Click HERE for more info on this piece.

The photo that inspired this piece is shown below.

 Visit http://KimberlyConradFineArt.com to view other Kimberly Conrad paintings.

A Thought for Today....

Travel brings power and love back into your life.
 Rumi


  Kimberly Conrad Contemporary Art Gallery
 Boarding House Studio Galleries
 220 East 7th Ave (Capitol Hill)
 Denver, CO 80203
 303.881.2258

Mixed Media Fine Art Painting, Italian Architecture "The Secrets of Cortona" by International Abstract Artist Kimberly Conrad

My favorite part of my recent trip to Italy was the time I spent in the magical town of Cortona. I took hundreds of photos of architecture, especially the WALLS while in Italy.

This piece was inspired by a photo I took on a walking tour of Cortona in the oldest part of the town. The outsides of these structures (all occupied) looked as if they were crumbling and many had rusted metal from who knows what exposed, but we were assured that the interiors were beautifully restored and modern!!

Oh the stories and secrets those walls would tell if they could talk!! And yes...the metal grill was actually slightly crooked on the wall and a rusted key was also really on the wall!!

24"x24"x1.5" Mixed Media on Canvas

Click HERE for more info on this piece.

The photo that inspired this piece is shown below.

 Visit http://KimberlyConradFineArt.com to view other Kimberly Conrad paintings.

A Thought for Today....

Travel brings power and love back into your life.
 Rumi


  Kimberly Conrad Contemporary Art Gallery
 Boarding House Studio Galleries
 220 East 7th Ave (Capitol Hill)
 Denver, CO 80203
 303.881.2258

Italian Architecture, Mixed Media Fine Art Painting, "Old Cortona" by International Abstract Artist Kimberly Conrad

My favorite part of my recent trip to Italy was the time I spent in the magical town of Cortona. I took hundreds of photos of architecture, especially the WALLS while in Italy.

The "Walls of Italy " is a brand new series inspired by photos I took of the walls and architecture on my recent trip to Italy, more specifically in the town of  Cortona. This painting also represents the oldest part of town where the outer walls of the buildings were dilapidated- and many years/layers were exposed. These buildings were all occupied, and our guide assured us that the insides had been beautifully renovated, and decorated. 

20"x20"x1.5" Mixed Media on Canvas

Click HERE for more info on this piece.

 Visit http://KimberlyConradFineArt.com to view other Kimberly Conrad paintings.

A Thought for Today....

Travel brings power and love back into your life.
 Rumi


  Kimberly Conrad Contemporary Art Gallery
 Boarding House Studio Galleries
 220 East 7th Ave (Governer's Park)
 Denver, CO 80203
 303.881.2258

Day 3 in Cortona.......Part 1, My recent trip to Italy with Kimberly Conrad

Day 3 in Cortona.......Part 1

Day 3 was just as marvelous. We had a demo on the terrace of the hotel by Joan Fullerton, then split up to "paint the town".

Judith Babcock and I headed out together just as it started to rain.
We didn't mind it a bit, as it gave us a different experience then the two days before.

The lovely Judith Babcock...just walkin' in the rain!

The rain even SMELLS lovlier in Cortona!!

We ducked into a little cafe for a bowl of bean soup...it was amazing....but of course:)

We visited the only book store in town, which is also home to the only art supplies in town....

Books and Art Supplies

Directly across the little street from the bookstore is that little  real estate listing place in the movie.....where Frances sees the listing for Bramasole.

I watched the movie again the other night, and when she's standing there looking at this...you see the bookstore behind her....and my heart leapt and shouted  "I was there just a few weeks ago....shopping for art supplies"...I know, I know, I have the worst case ever of "I LOVE Italy"!!!!

Judy and I headed back to our rooms for a bit as the rain continued...she painted from

her balcony, and I watched the sky from my balcony and took pictures.

My oh My those Clouds!!

We headed back out ( raining again) but it was our last day in Cortona and could not be wasted...

More photos of the rainy streets and lovely shops

Pharmacy....

The Bank.....

I love how the flags line the streets

Blogger will not allow me to upload any more images for this post....so I will call this Day 3 in Cortona Part 1 and share part 2 next time!!

Abstract Seascape,Coastal Living Decor,Beach Art "The Sea Cried Out IV" by Colorado Contemporary Artist Kimberly Conrad...and ITALY

 Kimberly Conrad Contemporary Artist "Pouring Color Into Your Life"


FRESH OFF THE EASEL....


 Seascape Painting

 30"x30"x1.5" Acrylic on Canvas

 Click HERE  more info.

 Visit http://kimberlyconradfineart.com to view more of my work.

 Visit http://coastallivingart.com to view my SEASCAPES.


 Kimberly Conrad Contemporary Art Gallery
 Boarding House Studio Galleries
 220 East 7th Ave (Capitol Hill)
 Denver, CO 80203

DAY 4 in ITALY.....DAY 2 IN CORTONA -Part 2 The second half of Day 2 in Cortona, we took a guided tour of the town. It was market day in the main Piazza....

 The one purchase I regret not making while in Italy was a HAT!! I am a big hat girl, and there were so many beautiful hat shops. I could have just had one shipped home....hmmmmm

I had artwork, pottery and wine shipped home...why not a hat?

We were introduced to a couple of the churches. I was not taking notes, so unfortunately do not remember the names of the churches.

Church 1:

The churches were very dark inside.

A famous dead monk preserved in this glass case at the alter....don't really understand  putting a dead body in a glass case for the world to look at forever, but it was a common theme in the churches. Very eerie.

Church 2:

Many frescos and partial frescos in these churches dating back to the 1200's.

The architecture in all of the churches was magnificent.

This church had the robe of a famous monk preserved ( I think maybe he was sainted-can't remember)

I should have listened more to the stories but I was enthralled with the architecture.

The side courtyard of the church, and above you can see the tiny windows of the tiny rooms where the monks had lived.

We then toured the oldest part of the town. Some of these buildings look unstable from the outside,but supposedly they are very stable and have been renovated beautifully on the inside.

I am CERTAIN that the balconies of some are NOT stable.

 (You can't judge a book by it's cover).....

Again, everywhere you look, the architecture is breathtaking. 

This is Jennifer, one of our artists....doesn't she look like she belongs there?

Actually, Jennifer is an interior designer, and said at the beginning of the trip that she is not an artist, but her paintings during the trip proved otherwise!!

Each night at dinner in Cortona, the artists shared what they had painted that day.

And Finally...Dinner. My FAVORITE dinner of the trip , as we were on the terrace of a restaurant that over looked the main Piazza....where we painted from the day before.

This night Cortona said Goodnight with a Beautiful full moon!!

Contemporary Abstract Expressionism Painting, Green Art, "Organic Abstracts-Green IV" by International Contemporary Artist Kimberly Conrad

Kimberly Conrad Contemporary Artist "Pouring Color Into Your Life"

  24"x18"x1.5" Gallery Wrapped Canvas/Available

 This painting is wired and ready to hang.

 Click Here for more info.

 Visit http://KimberlyConradfineArt.com

 To view my latest SEASCAPES, visit http://CoastalLivingArt.com




A promised, this week I will share in detail my recent trip to Italy.

I purchased that beautiful little travel sized computer ( fits in my purse, weighs less than 2 lbs) so that I could share the trip in real time, but the internet never cooperated. It seemed that if I could log on at all, it was very slow and intermittent.

Maybe that was how it was supposed to be......more time to soak it all in.

Italy was wonderful, marvelous, magical there really aren't sufficient words to describe the experience. I fear I will be using the same descriptive words over and over again.

 If you have been there, then you know. If you have not, then you must go:)


So....the beginning... The predicted three hour wait in the security line ended up being 20 minutes so we were quickly through with much time to kill, and started with a fabulous lunch at the Chop House in the airport. This was Joan's birthday...what  beautiful way to spend a birthday right?? Flying to Italy!!

With Joan Fullerton and Judith Babcock

The ten-hour flight went much more quickly than I anticipated ( even though I only slept an hour) and before I knew it we were landing in Florence.

I had this teeny tiny little room at Hotel Boccaccio.

My Little Room!

My travelmates thought it was  quite comical , as their rooms were larger with REAL beds, but I thought it was sweet and intimate. It seemed to wrap it's arms around me in a welcoming embrace.

As I'm writing this I'm scrolling through my images on my computer and find myself literally weeping.

I've been running at mach speed this first week home, so today, Saturday, is the first chance I've had to sit with my memories, thumb through my journal pages, scroll through my images.

I'm hit with the overwhelming beauty of the trip and what a profound experience it was for me.

I traveled some in Asia in my 20's but this was my first trip to Europe and it was long overdue!
I have been working extremely hard for a very long time with little time or thought of much else, outside of course for family.

This trip was life giving to me. I rediscovered parts of me I thought had long died, and was reunited with pieces of myself that had been lost for many years, and though I have wanted to make this trip for a very long time, it may not have meant to me then what it meant to me at this time in my life. I cannot stop weeping this morning.

Anywho.....

We checked in and hit the streets heading straight for the Duomo!!

Just look at the detail on this building....

What is there to say.... a picture speaks 1000 words!!
It began to rain so we ducked into this little place on the street there in the Square-for what was my first Italian cappuccino... ...

Maybe it was the surroundings speaking to my taste buds but it did not taste anything like a cappuccino at Starbucks!!

The ceiling of our coffee shop.

The carousel in the Piazza was beautiful and though the child in me was stirred, shockingly I did not ride it ...we were just so excited to move on. I think I thought I would return for a ride at some point but regret that I did not.

With Judith Babcock and Joan Fullerton

We were perusing the shop windows and taking pictures when Joan discovered we could see our reflections, so we took images like this all over the city and I'm sure they are going to pop up in mixed media paintings by some of us over the next few months!!

Isn't the refection COOL?

 Dinner at LA SOSTA DE' GOLOS, a delightful place on the street, of course al  fresco...with
 pasta, red wine,  gelato and people watching!!

That my friends concludes day one.... what I can remember of it, it was quite a whirlwind and very overwhelming in a MARVELOUS sort of way!!