tomatoes

Last week, we were in Caorle –  a beautiful resort town just outside Venice. There are brightly coloured buildings everywhere with painted wooden shutters, narrow alleyways that lead to cobbled squares surrounded on all sides by cafes, restaurants and ice cream shops and in the centre of town, a bell tower dating from the 11th century. The seafront has a long promenade lined on one side with large boulders into which sculptors have carved all manner of things – dolphins, lizards, faces, hands etc. – and at the far end on a promontory is The Church of the Blessed Virgin of the Angel, a pretty little church overlooking the sea.

So what did I draw? Some tomatoes and a workman's orange van.

In my defence, the only time I could find for drawing was just after lunch when everyone else went for a siesta. Unfortunately, the sun was at it's highest point then and there was very little shade anywhere. I managed to find some shelter by a wall, but this was the view I had and drawing en plein air that day was very uncomfortable, so the results aren't great. It's safe to say that my drawing mojo abandoned me during my holidays which was very frustrating given that there was so much to see and draw.

The tomatoes (from Fede's dad, grown in his own garden, with a fantastic flavour) are the best things here – drawn indoors, sat at a dining table in a cool shady kitchen. I left a blank space below, intending to draw other lovely foodstuffs we ate whilst we were there – breads, cheeses, courgettes, olives etc., but didn't get round to it. Probably too busy stuffing my face to stop and draw...

TWSBI Diamond 580 with Platinum Carbon ink and watercolours in A4 Stillman and Birn Alpha Series sketchbook.