on the country road...italy



gubbio


when we drive back to rome on tuesday we will travel via the back route-- through the hilly countryside. no autostrada or toll roads for us.



we did this the last time we were here and it was worth the extra 20 or so minutes it took. really it didn't make that big a difference timewise. no one seems to know this - everyone is in such a hurry to get to the airport. honestly, sometimes the direct route (autostrada) is the slowest because everyone else is on it.


we expect to see some snow along the way.


what comes with hills?  beautiful views!







i think all houses are 4 stories tall....



more ancient hilltop towns along the way.

 







the road.  starting out towards rome - the back route.



i never get sick of sharing the photos of umbria

 

lunch on the hill between gubbio and perugia.




a cathedral of gubbio -   no shortage of art here.



umbria is in the calf of italy.

 the fields of sunflowers are here in the summertime.   oceans of them.





this is on the road to perugia - the land of delicious chocolates.  and an international university.  it is about a 20 minute drive to the south from gubbio on the way to rome, siena or assisi.  it would only be a 10 minute drive if it weren't for these lovely rolling hills.  but the beauty is heavenly.





map of umbria.  notice tuscany is to the west.  gubbio is in the north east.  scheggia is such a small town it doesn't even get on this map - but it is north of gubbio by a couple miles.   assisi is not even an hours (fetching) drive south.   st. francis walked to gubbio to talk to wolves.



more of umbria, italy



grown on the family farm.




road to the top of the mountain between gubbio and scheggia.





the area near the family farm of sunflowers.  that's gubbio in the background.



retreat, anyone?

my mother-in-law has agree to let me use a large house in the country for an artist retreat.  just wondering if anyone out there would be interested.   it would be the cheapest week in italy anyone could ever dream of.  and spouses welcome.  here is the neighboring town where the house sits in the country (but on an accessable street).
here is scheggia, italy:



god loves the italians - just look at their beautiful land.




smells devine.





tucked in rolling hills.








not completetly unpopulated.



so quiet.







but accessible to a moderrn city - just  minutes away.



more photos of gubbio, italy

one thing gubbio is famous for is its wonderful ceramics made by local artesans.  i happen to have met a few of them.  they speak english.  which is nice.  one man, grillio, who is a master's master taught in the states for a little while.  he offered to let me come in for a free lesson.  can't wait.

 a few cars with permits are allowed to park inside the medievial gates of gubbio.  gubbio is a fortressed village on a hill.

 one of the less narrow passages.  see the road sign.  this is a thoroughfare!

 a little climb to the top of the village.  no cars allowed here.

a main boulevard.  this street is very wide.

 roof tops above the wider streets.

 town square.  the piazza.

the passageway by our house.

gubbio, italy

down our street.

October 26, 2010

this is where i am right now. it smells liked roasted chestnuts. the weather is fresh and stings the face a bit. this is my husband's hometown. we are staying in his parent's home in the room where my husband was born and also it's the same room where his father was born as well. there is a lot of family history here. the streets are cobble stones and narrow. no cars allowed inside the gates - at least not without a permit. i love to listen to italians speak in this town; it is full of soft melody which is soothing to the soul.

we spend most days going to the cemetry where my father-in-law was just laid to rest last friday. that's a tradition that we don't have but i wish we did. it is so grateful and respectful and it helps mend a broken heart. god bless luigi bebi. you are missed.

Posted by lisa bebi at 9:41 AM

gubbio, italy

this is a photo of where i am right now - umbria, italy my husband's hometown.  its very green here.  umbria is the green valley that sits next to tuscany.  in my opinion, it is much more beautiful.

it is so bucolic and peaceful, i always hate to come home.  i have been here many times during our 20 year marriage.  this time is tough though because we came here to bury his dad, my beloved father-in-law, luigi bebi. 

"atlantic city refugee"

yep that's Max - my dad again...i love making him into a character - he always had such dry humor.  something about this piece just called for it to be atlantic city -- could have been coney island i guess or here in san diego's  belmont park or the midway at the san diego fair.  just a distant fairgrounds.

the san diego fair used to be called the del mar fair. i haven't any idea why they changed the name.  my dad used to take me to the press party for the fair - that was always fun - lots of midway food to eat and easy wins at the midway games.
my dad and Don Diego were buddies.  i have many photos of them together and i remember being introduced.  don diego always wore a fancy mexican costume with a large hat that hat sequins and embroidery.  my dad loved the fair----- and don diego loved my dad.  this all worked for me.


it was not unusual that my dad was friends with don diego or any number of other colorful folks because my dad owned a couple of small newspapers--- he was friends with most anyone who hoped to get same publicity. 
but see. there is where my dad and i are different - he loved meeting people and didn't mind at all that they were fast friends for publicity.   i would have a hard time with that i think.  i think i would not like to know that people were nice to me for an ulterior motive.

but maybe not.  afterall its an easy game to figure out - why not call it what it is and enjoy the company for as long as it lasts of those you would not normally know? 
i think my dad was very much old school journalist.  he liked to really get to know the person and flesh out a story.  one of his favorite rituals was to take the potential interviewee next door to bob's place the saloon, where they would have a couple "shots"  to get acquainted.   those who were seeking a spot in the news were sometimes shocked to read the angle my dad was after. 
he was a newspaper man/reporter/investigator/journalist - he always told the truth.  he told me:
"you must never lie, once you lie will never have any credibility again."   i followed that advice - maybe to a harsh fault.
my dad always carried a narrow top flip notepad ad a soft lead pencil - handy to take down a story.  he would use shorthand marks to get it down fast.  that was the reporter in him.  he also loved to hang out or ride around in the sheriff's car.

i remember his "brownie" camera man.  he always wore a hat and had his camera around his neck following my dad around.  my dad would command "snap a couple shots of that , ok Bill?"
often my dad would have these reporter photos up on his wall in his office.  i was horrified many times  to see a bloody body spilling out a crashed car.

so this painting really has nothing to do with my dad's real personality - this is just me using his image to create a character.  he would think it funny -i know.
and i am proud to say that's what he passed down to me - his own brand of wit.  and i too like to investigate and root out a story - but i paint mine. 

paris trio - sneak peek of our 3 day workshop

Part of art journalist pam carriker's kit for paris. looks like she has some very interesting instructions with her  bounty of sweet art.
can't wait!

metal artist plus whimsy is renee richetts.  she will teach us to use tin cans and other found ad fun objects we collect in paris and incorporate them into a metal book that is actually hinged.  many of her students from the last paris workshop got their work exhibited as book art! 

and then there is me!  learn to make some of your most beautiful and compelling art - something to always remember our time together in paris!

get three of us for three days and 3 unforgettable french lunches- 3, 3 for 3 for $450!  a bargain!!!  and  we will walk you around town and show you cool stuff on our days off.  you don't need to speak french we have 2 american translators on site. (renee and my husband)  and 2 gourmet cooks ( renee and my husband).
last time we had our workshop in paris, beginners in our class were able to display their art in an exhibit.  and also many of them got their art published for the very first time in somerset studio magazine!

here is a corner of our studio apartment in mid sacred heart district, paris! 

many of us are bringing our high school aged children since it will be during their winter break.  bring yours - they will LOVE you forever for it. we will show them how to get around by themselves in paris in a group.

for inquiries please email rrichetts@cox.net

gone fishin'; if i remember right...........

in the last 6 months my workshop schedule has skyrocketed. (see sidebar, scroll way down).  i am not bragging at all.  i am just saying that that is where i have been. and i am tired.  sometimes i have to remind myself as to where i have been and what i have been doing because i can't remember well enough to account for myself.  i worry that maybe i am a bum.

sometimes life becomes such a blur - one moment becomes the next and the next until one day i see that another year or so has passed.   

but while i'm living it - in that very moment- it doesn't seem as though i am busy or that its blurry at all.  i don't know why.  maybe in my old age; i have finally matured enough and learned enough  to live in the moment.  or more likely its cuz i can't remember sh*t about the past and i am too disorganized to plan my future so  i have no choice but to live in the moment!

whoever said you should try to "live in the moment" was wrong.  i can tell you.  oh sure, it has some good factors.  like right now i am enjoying dreaming up stuff to write to you, but in 10 minutes when i hit the hay, i will have forgotten about it.  entirely.  course then in the morning when i read what i have written,  i will be delighted (or horrified) at what i have said.  and no i'm not drunk. or stoned.  it's old age i tell you.

for entertainment purposes it is great - i laugh at the same joke over and over as if i heard it for the first time.  seems crazy especially when i am the one telling the joke!

but the obvious downside is........well, let me illustrate, it goes kinda like this:  my husband comes home from work.  "did you get the mail today?" (blank look) or "did any mail come today?" (blank look) or "do you know where you put the mail today?" (blank look) or "honey, you live next door, go on home now." (blank look, then suddenly realize he is trying to pull a fast one).

ok, ok its not that bad yet.  but i do get a kick out of the same old stories, that's the truth.

makes me good company to my husband who loves to tell the same tired old ones again and again.   

i remember that about him. 

if you know him, you know what i mean.  or i should say, if you walk your dog and run into him you know what i mean.  it goes like this: (everyday) "the doberman is a beautiful breed.  just look at his elegance. .... (truth: he sleeps all day)..... when he runs his muscles ripple..... (you mean if he runs).....  he is a great guard dog.... (delusional, actually he is a big sissy and hides behind the cat).  he is a great comfort".... (again, he sleeps all day and all night).   he has been saying these things since our dog was a pup........our dog is 8 years old now.

our poor teenage daughter (we were in our 40's when we had her) - you have never seen such eye rolling in your life!  i'm surprised her eyes aren't permanent pinwheels and stuck on the lawn to scare off crows.   and her heavy, heavy sighs of pure drudgery to be with us.   oh dear, poor, poor baby. 

the other day she couldn't remember where she put something.  then she gasped and slapped her forehead - she said OHMYGOD, (actually it was:  OHMY GAAAAAWWWWD)  i am becoming YOUUUU.   ("youuu" sounded like ewwww).  

i got to admit, that scared me for her.  i hope she isn't getting forgetful.  not at this age - she has her whole life ahead of her to become like me.

so why did i post a painting of a lonely old woman fishing in her boat?  because i did this piece for linda weber in chicago - it is from her photo cache.  i liked it.

the reason i have it up tonight is because..................ummm,  .........oh dear......i don't know why but there was a reason........

"intertwined couple"

my style of painting is often "painterly" - meaning i work fast and loose with my brushstrokes.  i teach many workshops, but one of my favorites is called the "glam paintover".  glam because i usually get the images from either glamorous type magazines or bridal magazines and paint on top of them.

its not ever way i paint - it is just something i like to do sometimes and it is very fun to do in a workshop.

artists have used magazine images for years and years as collage elements - so i decided to take it a step further and paint on top - because painting is what i do.  

it has some challenges like the acrylic paint i use often "crawls" on the slick paper - but i like that.  i love to see some of the actual image peek through underneath it adds interest, intrigue and, well, just an unexpected element to the piece.   the other challenge is how to mount such flimsy paper onto a canvas board or other support.  i have resolved this problem with my "never, ever any bubbles or folds" technique which i share in my workshops.  it's foolproof.  and i mean fool - like me  - proof.

so i hope you get a chance to go to my fan page or "like" page as they now call it on facebook - its free to sign up if you are not already a member.  or use this link!

http://www.facebook.com/lisabebiart?ref=ts#!/video/video.php?v=10150275417845694 

"havana" - painting

  

24" x 36" collage and acrylic paint.

i smell sweet ginger and hear drums beating faintly as she walks by.  what is she selling?

TONIGHT! watch this demo/ paintover san diego community TV

watch me as i demonstrate this large acrylic paintover/ painting technique, 9:30 p.m. October 7 on

Cox Cable Channel 23 in San Diego and

(san diego) north county-Channel 18

Watch Community Artist Connection Thursday evenings at 9:30  pm Cox Cable 23 - San Diego; cable 18 No County in line up:tonoght!  10/7 Artist Lisa Bebi will demonstrate her paint over technique

 

advanced issue - stamper's sampler...

just got my advanced issue with my "artist-on-call" work in it.  love being an "artist-on-call".  generally,  here's what that means:  i am retained by stampington, they send me products, i send in projects using said products - it gets published -i get paid.
"prrret- tay, prrrret-tay.......pret-tay good" (quote: curb your enthusiam, larry david)

workshop: encaustics for the beginner

this week in san diego, CA
encaustics 101
at bravo school of art
all materials provided.
check it out
www.bravoschoolofart.com
wednesday 10/06/10 10 am to 2 pm


encaustics: painting with wax - gives all art work a special new dimension and immediate great and saleable quality.

TONIGHT! watch a demo/ paintover san diego community TV

watch me as i demonstrate this large acrylic paintover/ painting technique, 9:30 p.m. October 7 on

Cox Cable Channel 23 in San Diego and 

 

(san diego) north county-Channel 18

 

Watch Community Artist Connection Thursday evenings at 9:30 pm Cox Cable 23 - San Diego & 18 No County line up:

10/7 Artist Lisa Bebi will demonstrate her paint over technique