Arriving in Italy

On Saturday, I arrived in Italy in a little town called Montecastello, located within the region of Umbria. I will be staying there for the next 6 weeks, in which time I will get the privilege of studying painting and drawing while being surrounded by the beauty of Italy. Montecastello is like no other place I have ever visited in the world. It is like stepping back in time. The whole town is stone, all the buildings are connected and intertwined, and everything shuts down from 1 to 5 in the afternoon for the people to just enjoy living. You can’t walk by the bar/café without seeing a group of old men playing cards. Not to mention, the location is simply beautiful, being on the top of a hill with picturesque valleys below.


Here is a view of one of the main terraces.

And some views from the roof of my studio...

In the Hamptons For Brooklyn Goes East

This past Saturday was the opening of Brooklyn Goes East. The show was out in the Hamptons in a cozy little cafe called Hampton Coffee. There was a great turnout and the setting had a relaxing atmosphere, with wine, H’ors d’oevres, and the opportunity to look at interesting art and share artistic visions with others.

Below are the two pieces that I had in the show.

The show featured a wide variety of artwork from Pratt Alumni and Pratt students. Ellsworth Kelly, who has art hanging in both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art, contributed one piece to the show, which can be seen below.

Brooklyn Goes East

During the month of May, a small sampling of my artwork is going to featured in the show Brooklyn Goes East. The two pieces, Dad and Self Portrait come from my Family Portrait Series, which consists solely of charcoal portraits I did during the month of April. To view these pieces, you can check out my drawing portfolio at http://www.blanktonart.com.