Spring Along the Aqueduct

Spring Along the Aqueduct

Spring Along the Aqueduct, 12×10″, oil on panel“Are you still out there painting ruins and stuff? Why don’t you paint something real!”This is what a friend of mine (and an Italian) said to me lately about my paintings, he’s so bored with all this ancient ruins stuff. Maybe he’s got a point, but at least he didn’t scoff at today’s painting (modern living tree juxtaposed with ancient ruin aqueduct..). This is the park near my house. I just love going here, if nothing else for the great company. It’s one of my favorite painting haunts right now, and I think I’m just bedazzled by the fact that my neighborhood park has a Roman aqueduct running through it. I’m sooo American!Some old timers stopped to see what I was up to. Most of them just could not comprehend why on earth I would paint that old tree. According to the locals it was “dead” for a couple of years, but made an unexpected comeback last year. I think it’s looking great.Another old man told me about how during and after WWII this place was just lined with make-to sheds where people lived, and what is now the park was a kind of swamp, you couldn’t even walk in there. This was the countryside and there were only dirt roads. Hundrends of people were living along here and just had the public water fountain (Il Nasone) as their only source of water. Hard to imagine, but really painted a different picture of life in Rome, and aren’t we lucky that there is still someone to take the time to tell the tale. To see or buy today’s painting from the website, click hereYou can share this with a friend by forwarding this email or by going to my blog or facebook pageThanks for following and for your interest in my project!