Faces of Palazzo Forani, Casperia
I’m always fascinated with unique architectural features, and on my trip to Italy, I saw all kinds of funky things on buildings. These two face carvings on the big front door of Casperia’s Palazzo Forani called me to sketch them. I did the one on the left while standing in the street on some loose paper, and drew and painted the other one from a photo a few days later. I pasted them into my travel sketchbook.
While drawing them, my imagination wandered into creating scenarios about the rationale for putting these dudes on the front door. Scare away townspeople from asking for handouts? The owner was a recluse? Or a guy with a weird sense of humour? Or the artist just created what he wanted and the owner didn’t really care?
Whatever the reason, I’m glad they were there – fun to draw!
- Platinum carbon black ink
- Various artist watercolour
- Fabriano cold pressed 140lb studio watercolour paper
Art We Wonderful by Marion Younan 
I am enjoying your art in all its variations. I ‘think’ I want to ‘be an urban sketcher’, but have found the key to unlocking my inner door in that direction. Slowly finding my artistic side through writing, tangling, and dipping (a frustrated toe) in watercolors. But so far sketching comes to a screechung halt right before pencil meets paper. 😀
In the meantime I thiroughly enjoy what you and several other sketchers share with me. Very satisfying to my soul.
Thanks for your kind words and thanks for sharing your exploration of your Artist, Sammy! Sounds like you are doing lots of really expressive things, so kudos! I sometimes still get that screeching feeling too when I look at a blank page, but I always try to remember the words of a recent art teacher who said to me, “It’s only paper – there’s plenty more where that came from.” I should get a t-shirt that says “It’s only paper” for my sketching excursions! LOL!