London, England: British Museum

London, England: National Gallery

London, England: National Gallery

London, England: National Gallery

Klimt designed the dress Hermine Gallia is wearing in this painting.

Prague, Czech Republic: Notes while walking

Sketching and taking notes while on a walking tour of Prague. I really enjoyed Prague and would love to return. Prague wasn't bombed during WWII, so there are an astonishing number of Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Cubist (yes, Cubist) buildings. This includes a building with decorations by Mucha, and a Mucha stained glass window. Swoon.

London, England: National Gallery

Edinburgh, Scotland: National Gallery

Edinburgh, Scotland: National Gallery

Scotland: Last stop in the Lowlands

Edinburgh, Scotland: National Museum

Florence, Italy: Uffizi

Florence, Italy: Uffizi

Florence, Italy: Uffizi

Julie (my friend and travel companion) and I had 8:30 AM reservations for the Uffizi. When we arrived, we were told that the museum was closed (no reason was given, though we heard rumors of a strike). When we returned two hours later, we got in what we thought was the timed ticket holders line. But, the thing about Italians is that lines never stay in the same places. They always change where you're to be standing for no apparent reason. Somehow, Julie and I ended up at the front of the line and were the first people let into the Uffizi that day. Due to line confusion and security, we ended up having the museum to ourselves for a whole fifteen minutes. Taking advantage of this, we stood in front of The Birth of Venus and The Primavera alone, for a whole fifteen minutes. And then the hoards of tourists arrived. But for fifteen minutes, we had a surreal and rather magical experience. Though I have to say that the glass in front of the paintings makes it rather difficult to see the entire composition from any one angle.

Venice, Italy: Peggy Guggenheim Collection

Berlin, Germany: Neues Museum

Venice, Italy: Peggy Guggenheim Collection

If you'd taken a gondola to Peggy's house, this is the sculpture that would have greeted you.

Venice, Italy: Peggy Guggenheim Collection

I really love Brancusi's work.

Venice, Italy: Peggy Guggenheim Collection

Venice, Italy: Peggy Guggenheim Collection

Unfortunately, we only had one day in Venice and it was too rainy to draw outside. Originally, we were to be there three days, but an airport workers' strike complicated our travel plans. I would have loved to draw the buildings in Venice. Ah, well, I'll just have to return.

Venice, Italy: Peggy Guggenheim Collection

Florence, Italy: Academia

Another dragon on a leash...many seem to have heads based on those of lions.

Florence, Italy: Academia

Florence, Italy: Academia

I drew a number of dragons on leashes this trip, I kept seeing them in altarpieces...

London, England: Victoria & Albert Museum

Florence, Italy: San Miniato

Florence, Italy: San Miniato

A crazy carving in San Miniato, Florence, Italy. This was a few feet away from the inlaid marble decoration posted yesterday.

Florence, Italy: San Miniato

A drawing of an inlaid marble decoration, approximately four inches in height, from the inside of the San Miniato Church in Florence, Italy.

Florence, Italy: Palazzo Vecchio

A drawing on my first day in Florence. A view of the Medici Palace, the Palazzo Vecchio, from the rose gardens.

Florence, Italy: The Duomo from the Rose Gardens

For the next seventy days, I'll be posting one sketchbook page a day. These are all drawings from a five week backpacking trip through Europe this March and April. The itinerary goes something like this:
Florence, Italy,
Venice, Italy
Florence, Italy
Edinburgh, Scotland
London, England
Bruges, Belgium
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Berlin, Germany
Prague, Czech Republic
Fussen, Germany
Munich, Germany
All the drawings were done with a cheap mechanical pencil in a Moleskin sketchbook-- most while standing up, some while walking, others while wearing mittens (Europe was freezing!).