Morning Nap, Villa Glori

Morning Nap, Villa Glori

Morning Nap, Villa Glori. 8×10″, oil on panelThe name can be misleading here, as there really is no villa to be found in the park of Villa Glori. There is however an enormous and wild park, lined with trees and dotted with columns, monuments and contemporary sculpture.Wandering the park, I was captured by the dappled morning light and the bright new acid green of spring.Stumbling upon this scene of a man napping on the bench in the late morning, I immediately wanted to set up and paint, but hestiated feeling like an invasive vouyer. Deciding that it’s just part of daily life I went ahead and started to paint. My lovely “model” stayed sleeping fitfully for awhile, until awakened by some chatty passersby and set to walking the park himself.Sometimes I am amazed by just how many (what seem to me) secret and endless amounts of green space there are in Rome. This park in particular seems a little abandoned and left to the wilds, which is what gives it its charm. Though full of people jogging, walking their dogs and catching some sun, it’s uncannily silent as the city passes by below.