Flew to Italy on Xmas to join my beloved Giamila and her family on the Ligurian Coast at the beautiful town of Sestri Levante for eight days and then travel together by train back to spend 5 days in her hometown of Milano.
Giamila, her mother, father, brother and sister-in-law had already taken a train to Sestri Levante, so when I flew in to Milano, I had to hop on a train that took me into the main train station, Milano Centrale where I then boarded another train for a two hour plus ride to join up with them. As I speak no Italian, Giamila taught me a couple phrases to aid me in finding the right train. “Scuzi, dov’é il treno per La Spezi”?
Being that I hadn’t switched to a European SIM card in my cell phone, if I headed off in the wrong direction, it would have required some serious focus on the part of a traveler who didn’t sleep on the 12 hour trip from Chicago to Italy to get back on track.
All worked according to plan and Giamila met me with huge smile and warm embrace at the train station of a glorious seaside town whose views, baked goods, and seafood were off the charts.
The above drawing is an imaginary landscape drawn during the train ride, the very smooth train ride I might add, back to Milano.
Drawn with Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens, fountain pens, Platinum Carbon Ink, in Hanemühle, Tomoe River Paper, and Stillman & Birn Nova Series sketchbooks.
Welcome back good to see your work again! Looks like a terrific trip and your studies of the statues are wonderful! Thanks for posting.
Frank B
Thank you Frank. I’ve been tending so many social media sites, that it has taken away energy from BND. Had to know some days which is the most effective, the most engaging forum.
Don, I’m a huge fan of your work, been following BND for years. Though I’m mostly an oil painter, I’ve also tried using Pitt pens for on-location drawing. Despite my best efforts, however, my sketches look nowhere as fluid and painterly as yours. I’d love to know more about your workflow, how you choose to organise your pens and so on. Have you ever considered making a video tutorial series or, heck, start your own art-themed YouTube channel? I’m sure there are many aspiring artists out there who would kill for a piece of your mind.
With immense respect (and greetings from Finland),
Sam
Thanks for sharing these drawings. It really took me back there – I went last May. Nice drawings!
Thanks for the comments Sam. I’ve given little snippets here and there on how I manipulate the Pitt Pens and underlying concepts on image development plus there are a couple quick videos of me in process. My challenge regarding reaching a wider audience through social media is that I haven’t really stepped up to besting the learning curve of filming and editing myself drawing and haven’t run down a the right person to work on short, useful instructional videos. All that may still be a couple years into the future. Thanks again for reaching out. Cheers!
And thank you Susan, for the comments.
Cheers for taking the time to reply! Just so you know, when I first chanced upon your work, I was so impressed that I would go around showing them to all my classmates in art school. Peeps got really tired of me being “Don Colley this, Don Colley that.” However, I seriously think you are one of the best draftsmen alive today – certainly my favourite – and it is a crime that your work doesn’t get around more. If I wasn’t located on the other side of the globe, I’d certainly make an effort to come to one of your appearances in the Chicago area. Would be a blast to see you demo in person!
Also, I’d definitely encourage you to take a shot at wider social media exposure. Compared to the time and effort it must’ve taken you to reach your current skill level, picking up the basics of filming and editing gotta be a breeze.
Anyway, all the best to you for your future endeavours!
Sam, thanks so much for your encouragement on taking steps for wider exposure. Cheers brother. There is a short couple of videos of me drawing on YouTube, patch in Don Colley Opus. Ryan Mund made some videos of me.
Hey Don,
I always enjoy your work. Looks like you had a great trip. Hope to see you in San Antonio.
DannyZ
I opened this just hoping to enjoy your drawings but also found the story of your trip to Sestri Levante!! Wonderful way to get news. We are in Viet Nam right now and may come through Chicago sometime in the next 6 months.
Helena Worthen and Joe Berry