An artful night in Firenze, Italy
July 29, 2011
When i think of art first thing that comes to mind is oil painting…with its glowing colors spread effortlessly by light handed artist…on white canvas. I expected to see a lot of it on my recent trip to italy…and i did. But, on a gorgeous…a bit too hot night in Firenze, the capital city of Tuscany, and yes, the name does sound much more beautiful than plain english “Florence” if you can pronounce it like the italians do, i’ve discovered this unique art of painting with chalk…”madonnaro” in italian…on the streets…add to that the streets of italy.
No. I haven’t been sleeping in a sock mind you…i heard of this art form before…but seeing it in the most romantic place on the planet…and to an art lover like moi…gives me a totally different experience.
Its one of those art forms i just love watching and i’m thinking ‘sure i can do it…no problem…a good brush and some paint’ but chalk? not sure.
When i spotted these paintings from far they looked like canvas on the floor painted with oils. The closer i got i realized the artist uses chalks. Many of these artists use expensive chalks to make it last as long as possible. If the artist uses cheap stuff the paintings looks poor…but if he uses expensive stuff the artist becomes poor…
I think its the progress of this unique art that the artist wants to convey…the journey…its always memorable…rather than a long lasting painting. It kind of felt bad to realize that these gorgeous paintings will not last…but if the artist doesn’t mind…i don’t either.
If you happen to visit italy some day…chances are you will see one of those.
Ciao,
