Artfully Tasteful Tour of Tuscany- Monteriggioni Picnic and Poggibonsi Market Day

What a great group!  Standing in the shadows of Monteriggioni- Our Picnic Destination

Going to Market has been one of the fun things we have done this week…repeatedly.  It’s always a colorful time when the stalls go up and the fresh produce comes out in any town, but this market is a bit larger than most.  We’ve seen exotic mushrooms and beautiful vegetables and fruits on our table at mealtime and this day, we saw them in the market at every turn. 

Today was Poggibonsi, a town with quite a vibrant market scene.  Our mission was to search out food for our picnic in the walled medieval town of Monteriggioni.  After gathering our treasures we trekked up to the picnic site in scenic Monteriggioni and enjoyed our feast. 

After our picnic, we returned to our Tuscan home away from home, and readied for our evening meal with an art lesson for those who were interested, optional massages, cooking class, and aperitivos before dinner.  All in all, a great day!

Zucchini flowers- another example of the beautiful exotic food available here.

Heidi and Gary at the market

On the way to our picnic, we stop at the Market in Poggibonsi, Tuscany.  Vicki Thomas is ready for our scavenger hunt.
The goal is to seek out some good food for lunch in Monteriggioni

Jack and Vicki Thomas find some yummy things to contribute to our picnic feast

Becky and Dianne rest on one of the tiny trucks at the market

What a feast!

Vicki's smile tells you just how good it was

Jack and Jim are enjoying the good food and wine.

An adorable shop in Monteriggioni

Michael opts for wine instead of gelato

Ken and Joan Chartier

Just one more bite of gelato for Jim and Ginny Ward

Ken gets "Happy" feet when the music is playing our theme song!

Paul and Rebecca Zdybel explore the back alleys together

Dianne Morrell and her granddaughter Morgan are making memories on this trip.

Heidi Vukov strikes a pose in Monteriggioni, Tuscany

Ken Chartier relaxes in the square at Monteriggioni

Gary is gauging whether or not there is room for one more gelato?

What a great group!  Standing in the shadows of Monteriggioni- Our Picnic Destination

Next year's trip is scheduled for the first week of October 2015.  Contact me if you're interested in being part of what is sure to be another great time. =)

Rebecca Zdybel
Artist, Instructor, Art-Travel Instructor
Art Lessons in all media
Myrtle Beach, SC
rebecca@artmyrtlebeach.com

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Our Artfully Tasteful Tour of Tuscany Begins!

Our home in Tuscany is San Fedele.  Over 1000 years of prayer permeate these walls and give it a very special atmosphere.

Our first morning begins with some yoga on the deck overlooking the hillsides all around.

This cross was restored by the same man, who as a boy had once helped his father to install it 75 years earlier.

Even the simple things are beautiful here!

The Market at Ponzone is bustling on Sundays

Our chef for the week is Andrea Anichini.  He will be giving us cooking lessons during the week and preparing our meals every evening. 

Our Sunday dinner- a very special BBQ.  Absolutely fabulous!

Another captivating view of the hills surrounding San Fedele. 

Breakfast is on the terrace every morning. 

Renatta makes us a beautiful cake daily to accompany a delicious breakfast. 

Our studio is spacious and allows for us to leave things set up during the week.  

After our first Art lesson in Tuscany we begin our first painting of the week. 

Aperitifs on the deck are something to look forward to in the evenings before dinner. 

Art on the Fly- Thoughts on being an Art Adventurer

I'm off on another adventure!  Once again I'll be trying to make art on the road...or in this case, on the fly.  I've just arrived in Greece after an overnight flight.  I'm sitting in the cafe' enjoying a few minutes of free WiFi and a cappuccino.  I'm again reminded of how great a cup of cappuccino can taste!  Europeans have got the formula, or perhaps the right machines for great coffee.  I'm feeling pretty rested despite light sleep on the plane.

I had almost an entire day to kill prior to meeting my group in Athens at the Aegean Airlines counter.  I'm thinking I may use today as a time to do some drawing and perhaps just try to capture quick sketches here at the airport.  There are a lot of interesting faces here...

I've decided to not expect myself to create a lot of finished work while here.  I am going to try to capture moments through sketches and quick studies.  I hope loosening up will allow me to be more free and less inhibited.  That pressure to do "great things" can be stifling, and I had a bit of that feeling on my last trip.

Waiting to begin until you can do something great is a sure way to never get anywhere...

Those of us with perfectionist instincts can fall prey to that kind of trap if we're not careful.  When I first began doing art, I wouldn't start a painting until I knew where I was going to hang it!  How silly that seems now, but I'm sure someone out there can relate.  Thankfully, I've moved past that kind of mindset, but every once in a while I have to fight for the right to just jump in and do something simply for the fun of it.

We all have to begin somewhere...

Those of us who come to art later in life have to sometimes be willing to set aside the sense of competence and accomplishment we have achieved in other realms of our life.  There's almost a need to surrender our egos to the process of exploring something new and very challenging.  If we are going to learn new things as adults, we have to be willing to play around and perhaps fail occasionally.  Ironically, I've found that some of my best work has resulted from just giving myself permission to play around and have fun.  When I have joy in the process it tends to show up in the painting.  As a result, I'm all about encouraging my students to HAVE FUN and paint what interests them.  It's a formula that has worked for me, and I'd predict it would work for you too.


You may or may not know about my recent trip to Tuscany May 2013.  While there, I painted and drew my way around Tuscany and Cinque Terre with an art group led by my friend and mentor, Karlyn Holman.  I had lots of fun, sketching here and there, and painting when possible.  I loved what I did, but didn't have a lot of "finished" work upon coming home.  Prior to leaving on this trip, I did some work on a few of those sketches and had fun bringing a few of them across the finish line.

Here are a few of the watercolors and paintings which have resulted from my adventure in Tuscany.


In the painting I call “Bubble Boys”  I tried to capture a sense of light from the left and use it to shine a spotlight on the main characters of the drama I was trying to create.  The scene was a quiet corner in Castellina.  The young boy and the old man were in a separate location in the same town.  I had been charmed by their interaction and took some photos of them.   Later, I decided to merge them as characters into my scene after I’d drawn the location as I’d found it.  The scene was originally without people.  After assessing the drawing, it felt lifeless and so I placed the exchange between these two into the scene.  The result is this painting.  

Sketch done on location with figures inserted later

Bubble Boys
Watercolor and Ink on Paper
11X15

The villa pictured in this scene was very near San Fedele.  By pure chance, I ended up perched atop a ruin of a celtic altar in order to capture the scene.  The whole experience was magical...on a Tuscan hillside by myself and in the midst of all this greenery.  This painting begs the question:  when is the painting complete?  Sometimes the answer is, “when I’ve said all I have to say on the subject”.  I’m not sure if this one is complete...I still am tempted to inject an image of the fawn that visited me at the end of my time there, but for now, this painting is at least a remembrance of my magical moment at Villa Casa Nova.

Villa Casa Nova, Chianti

 The rooftops of Siena were not altogether evident in walking around town, but after photographing my way through the city I found that some cropping and zooming allowed me to focus in on some of the abstract patterns found above the rooflines.  There is a lot going on above the street level as you can see...wires, dishes, balconies, terraces, antennae, and more.  It was fun to treat them as patterns and make that the focus of this painting.

Rooftops of Siena

I was able to gain permission from the photographer to paint this aerial view of Porto Venere in Cinque Terre pictured below.  We met while on a ferry boat shuttling between the towns which form the Cinque Terre.  She and her book of photographs were lovely.  In painting it, I used a bit of collage to create a sense of the texture in the hills.  What I was really going after was the sense of the dramatic setting for the church at the entrance to the harbor and the steep incline on these precipitous cliffs.  I think the perspective of the composition helps get my point across.  It’s incredible that people have lived their lives for so many centuries perched on the sides of these cliffs. I’m hoping this piece conveys  some of my sense of wonder at the beauty and the ruggedness of the area.

Birds Eye View- Porto Venere, Cinque Terre

Our home base in Tuscany was the restored former monastery of San Fedele.  Such a romantic place!  That was the intention of this painting...to capture the romance of the location there.  I decided to give the wrought iron fence some prominence and push the lighting to create a sense of warmth.  I hope these paintings give you an idea of how wonderful it can be to augment your travels by capturing your memories through photography, drawing  and painting. That's why I'm on another art oriented trip...I can't get enough!

San Fedele, Chianti

As for Tuscany, I can’t wait to go back!  Showing San Fedele and the Chianti area to friends and students who may want to join me is next on my bucket list!  Let me know if you’d like to be part of our adventure in Sept 2014!!!  Cost is $2695 per person and includes art and cooking lessons, double occupancy room, two meals per day and all transportation from the airport and around the area to local sites I feel l will be conducive to painting, drawing, and photography.   

Please contact me if you're interested and I'll fill you in on all the fun details!  rebecca@artmyrtlebeach.com

My Greek Adventure will continue for the next couple of weeks.  

Our First Stop:  the Island of Lesbos!  I can't wait to learn more and paint my way around this ancient and beautiful country!  Here's a taste of one of my first Greek photos...lots more to come!  Stay tuned...

Molyvos: on the Island of Lesbos, Greece

Rebecca Zdybel

Artist/ Art Instructor

Myrtle Beach, SC

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Tasting Tuscany

I don't care what anyone says, there is no better food than in Italy! The "fresh factor" probably accounts for most of the fabulous tastes, but ahhhhh, the food is fabulous.  I had a new whole grain salad the other day...at least it was new to me:  spelt.  It resembled barley, but it was so tasty in a salad with EVOO and grilled veggies.  Yummmm!

Then there is the wine.  The Chianti region is where we are staying. The special appellation known as Chianti Classico (a dry smooth red) can be made here.  It's a red wine that pairs well with food. You may not be aware, but the making of wine is very controlled and regulated by government officials who inspect the agricultural methods, bottling and content of the wines which want to be considered Chianti Classico.  Many of the vineyards make extra wine that they do not  bottle.  For these wines,  they don't bother to preserve them by adding sulfites.  This makes it seem that we can drink more and not suffer the normal headaches we might get otherwise (at least that's what we're telling ourselves as we drink from lunch through dinner!) They serve these un-preserved wines as their house wines.  The house wines are often great, and because they are meant to be drunk right away, they are not available outside the country.  These are sometimes white and sometimes red, but almost routinely delicious.  Another reason to visit Tuscany!

I am staying at a restored monastery known as San Fedele.  The owners made their fortunes in the cell phone industry and hopped off that fast track for life in Tuscany.  They felt a special kinship to this land and this property and claimed a piece of it for themselves.  After over 7 years and an incredible investment of energy and money, they took the property from abandoned ruins to restored beauty. It has a very good vibe and is tastefully authentic.  We have WiFi and good plumbing.  The rooms are spacious and modern.  Our group also has a large room in which to use as a studio for painting during the evenings or inclement weather.  That makes it especially ideal for our group.  The other evening, as the sun was setting and we were drinking some wine before supper, we were treated to a triple rainbow of incredible intensity.  None of us had ever seen such a thing, and I will forever associate San Fedele with that moment.

Though all the things I describe are great, one overwhelming perk of this place is the food!  Breakfast is cooked by Renatta, the owner.  Those generally feature a couple of home baked cakes, yogurts, fruits, meats, eggs, breads and juices.  It's very good, and I am not a breakfast lover.

 We eat lunch elsewhere as a rule.  Andrea is our chef in the evenings, and we have had extraordinary meal after extraordinary meal thanks to him. He is a lively and funny guy who loves to describe each course we eat every night.  Generally there are 5 courses: Anti-pasti, Prima Pasti, Vegetable, Salad, and Dessert.  All the food is organic and fresh  He doesn't use anything which is frozen, and shops every day for the food.

Last night's Anti- pasti:  Tuscan Salame with large peppercorns, spinachini (baby spinach), and home made chicken liver pate' on Tuscan toast

Our chef- Andrea Anichini

We have been so spoiled.  The pasta is amazingly fresh (and made by our Chef's sister-in-law).  The vegetables and meats are from local producers and are incredibly tasty.  Our chef Andrea is a fabulously enthusiastic cook and loves to tell us all about each course.  He puts such heart into his efforts to serve an authentic and tasty representation of Tuscan cooking at it's finest.  I will miss his warm hospitality and our happy conversations about food and life and art.  His talents and sweet friendship really added to my time here. He offers lessons in his home kitchen and comes to the US to cook in the off season for special events.  I hope to find my way to his table again...either here or on our side of the Atlantic.

Arrivederci San Fedele...I will leave a little part of my heart here.