Follow the Journey
One artist, one daypack, one sketchbook filling up fast. This is the live map of my working trip through Europe… every pin is a stop on the road and a journal story to go with it. Click a pin to read what happened there, or start from the beginning in the An Artist in Europe journal.
The dotted line is the route so far. New pins land while I keep moving, so check back in. Same pen, new pages.
Over the Bernina: a Little Red Train and a Vanishing Glacier
Sunday was meant to be a rest day. Instead: a red train over the Alps, a walk through a century of melting ice, and two donkeys with the best address in Switzerland.
Varenna: an Owl Above the Lake
A sketching day in Varenna on Lake Como. Train up, walking trail through the olive trees to Castello di Vezio, eagle owls at close range, then gesture studies on the ferry pier as the lake week wraps up.
Como and Cantù: a City That Knows Its Craft
A business day in Como and Cantù, where silk built a city and lace built its neighbour. Talks with a silk printing house about printing ink work on fabric, plus 62 reference photos for the studio year ahead.
Chiavenna and Piuro: Drawing the Pompeii of the Alps
A day of sketching in Chiavenna and Piuro, the alpine town buried by a landslide in 1618. Mossy alleys, soapstone workshops, green-glass river water, and evening pages turning gathered photos into working ink drawings.
Bellagio: Old Bicycles, New Crowds
A July ferry trip to Bellagio on Lake Como, where the crowds rewrote the plan and a stone house covered in retired bicycles stole the day. Five photos, all texture and geometry, for future linework.
Bellano: the Fisherman’s Son Who Painted His Village
Giancarlo Vitali spent ninety years painting Bellano and filled Milan's Palazzo Reale at 88. A day at the Orrido gorge and art set into the village walls becomes a lesson: look harder at what you have.
North of the Postcards: Making Camp at the Quiet End of Lake Como
Skipping the glamorous end of Lake Como, an artist sets up a travelling studio in a village house near Colico, planning a week of daily sketching trips to Bellano, Varenna, Bellagio and Chiavenna.
Florence: Meeting the Forger Who Fooled the Louvre
A sketching day in Florence from the Oltrarno side: gesture drawings in the Boboli Gardens, gallery research on Via Maggio, and the strange story of Giovanni Bastianini, the sculptor whose bust fooled the Louvre.
Rome in a Day: Marble Giants on Borrowed Sleep
One jet-lagged day in Rome, seen through an illustrator's eyes: the Colosseum before nine, sketch notes at the Vittoriano, pop surrealism at the Dorothy Circus Gallery, and pricing lessons from the Piazza Navona street artists.