history

The Art of Pompeii: Depicting Daily Life Through Bakeries. Watercolor journey with the course Roman Architecture by the Yale University.

An Artist's Perspective on Roman Architecture, Artist, Roman Architecture, Uncategorized, Urban sketching, Voyage

Art and Travel.  Pompeii, bakeries and millstones. Introduction. Bathing, Entertainment, and Housing in the Roman City. 1-4.

The Daily Grind

After my Roman architecture course, I turn to my artwork. This session’s lecture explored the concept of “Bread and Circuses,” an allegorical phrase originating with the Roman poet Juvenal. To understand this principle, we studied Pompeii. It is an Italian city frozen in time by the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE. Pompeii offers a vivid window into daily life nearly two millennia ago. Through this study, I envisioned the bustling routines of ancient Romans.

The Inspiration – Juvenal

The millstones have square sockets in which wooden beams would have been placed. It features an arched brick oven with a view of the millstones in Pompeii. I chose to the painting for this session about the ancient bakery. In fact, all modern ovens still keep the design of those ancient ovens that became a prototype!

How about you, do you like to paint about food?

The Sensory Experience

After a fascinating dive into Roman architecture and the insightful “Bread and Circuses” lecture (thanks, Juvenal!), I’m channeling my inner baker in this new piece, an ancient bakery. To see the process in a Pompeian Bakery, we would find a mill, a large stone wheel, and many ovens. A bakery with ovens filled with warm bread reminds us of the daily life of ancient Pompeii. The smells of baking grain also evoke this historical scene.

Painting – Pompeii Via Provinciale Ripuaria, 53, 80045 Pompei NA, Italy.Roman Architecture. Year of construction-79 BC.

Can you smell the fresh bread?:)

A watercolor depiction of a Pompeii bakery featuring an arched brick oven and millstones, showcasing ancient Roman daily life.

In Pompeii, bakeries played a crucial role in providing bread for the city’s inhabitants. Bakeries typically consisted of a mill for grinding the grains. They also had an oven for baking the bread. Additionally, there was a shop where bread was sold. Bakeries give us an incredible glimpse into what life was like in Roman Pompeii.

The Scene Setter. Itinerary to Pompeii

When I was in Pompeii, I imagined myself as an inhabitant of Pompeii. How about your experience?

After the lecture Professor of History of Art and Classics Diana E.E. Kleiner Dunham, I have the next artistic (with many sketches) and travel itinerary.

So, my suggestion during your next trip to Pompeii visit a bakery nearby, where you buy bread… Then go to fast-food Thermopolis, an old-aged “McDonalds”. Next, visit a public fountain to take some water. In antique life, kitchens, baths and running water were not available in the houses. Thus, everything was public, including the bath complex. There were also public stores and bakeries with lovely paintings on the walls.

Well, I still prefer modern comfort. But, seeing the beautiful design of public fountains and bakeries is really great. It’s a wonderful way to plunge into the past, at least for a short while.

The echoes of ancient Rome resonate through time, whispering tales of a civilization that shaped the course of Western history. From grand architectural marvels to intricate social structures, the Romans left an indelible mark on the world.

A peaceful scene depicting a resting cat atop stone millstones, reminiscent of ancient Pompeii.

All roads lead to Rome – Alain de Lille

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:)

Hope you enjoy this little slice of history as much as I enjoyed bringing it to life on paper! 

What do you think of my artwork? Let me know in the comments.

Links:

https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture/home/welcome

Tools used for my painting Watercolor Cotman sap green and mauve + Van Gogh siena paint, Derwent, Albert Durer and Faber Castell watercolour pencils. Paper Acquarello watercolor Fabriano grana grossa rouch album, 22×30 cm (9 ×12 in.)

The magic of the holidays is in the making! ✨ Join me on this artistic adventure as I explore the captivating world of #TravelVibes #ArtAdventure

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

4-6.Art and Travel. Daily Life and the Eruption of Vesuvius

Artist, Roman Architecture, Uncategorized, Urban sketching, Voyage

Watercolor journey with the course Roman Architecture by the Yale University.

I continue the paintings after the course Roman Architecture + the city of Rome with Yale’s course Roman Architecture https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture.

C. 4-6

This part of Roman Architecture‘s course was about Pompeii’s daily life in general, with many photo references. Pompeii’s streets look very modern with lots of bakeries, wine shops in the residential part of the city. For example, scientists discovered more than 30 bakeries. Few people in ancient Rome could afford to bake bread at home, so most bought it in the bakeries. Millstones for bake and for bay and ovens, that are part of bakeries look exactly as today’s bakeries in Italy. There were many fountains everywhere, for example a famous fountain with representations of the goddess Ceres.

I chose to paint the residential area with BIG pedestrian polygonal blocks of stones. It is a crossing part of the street. They are “talking” to us, telling their ancient stories about Pompeii’s daily life.  If there was torrential rain, and the water piled up, people needed to cross the street without stepping in the water, but how? Romans were ingenious and concerned about their roads and pedestrians.

The stepping stones were placed in the streets so that people could cross the roads during and after the rain. Ancient people could easily walk around and were not afraid to wet their shoes and long dresses. As they continued gathering with friends and families, walking to the city’s centre or theatre, enjoying their daily life.

https://pixels.com/featured/stones-on-the-streets-of-pompeii-daily-life-roman-architecture-tamara-vitsenkova.html

At the same time, these stepping stones were spaced apart far enough so that carts could still pass through the streets easily. The visible ruts that came from the horses and carts, between the stepping stones, show that they had to coordinate the wheels of the cart in such a way that they would span the stepping stones. Ancient Pompeii citizens could easily make their way across that stream by utilizing these stepping stones, “pondera”.

This was a genius architecture feat with responsible thinking thought about pedestrians. And even when my family walked in the city-museum of Pompeii with its astonishing view and a background of 2 majestic mountains- Vesuvius and Montezuma, we still found ourselves completely astounded by the stepping stones!

All roads lead to Rome – Alain de Lille

Bon voyage! Until the next travel :)

https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture/home/welcome

Painting – stones on the Streets of Pompeii -Daily Life, Roman Architecture

Year of construction- 79AD

Address: Pompeii

Tools used for my painting Watercolour raw sienna, permanent rose, Charvin vert imperial, Albert Durer and Faber Castell watercolour pencils. Paper Van Gogh National gallery watercolour album, 22×30 cm (9 ×12 in.)

The magic of the holidays is in the making! ✨ Join me on this artistic adventure as I explore the captivating world of #TravelVibes #ArtAdventure

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Name
Email
Your message

Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

3-4.Art and Travel. Innovations in Concrete at Rome: The Tabularium and the Theatre of Marcellus. Watercolor journey with the course Roman Architecture by the Yale University.

Artist, Roman Architecture, Uncategorized, Urban sketching, Voyage

I continue the course Roman Architecture + the city of Rome with Yale’s course Roman Architecture https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture.

Innovations in Concrete at Rome: The Tabularium and the Theatre of Marcellus. 3-4

Ancient Rome offered its citizens a number of stunning venues where they could be entertained, wined and dined. The Theatre of Marcellus was one of the most impressive theatre, located in the center of Rome. Apparently Seven famous hills was not enough for Roman architects and if they wanted to build a theatre on a flat terrain, they cemented an artificial hill and built a tribune in the very center of the city where people could sit. For this monument Romans used many architectural innovations, especially their pedestal and yes, the theatre was the precedent for the Colosseum. Theatre of Marcellus was reused as a fortress in middle ages, main prototype for Roman theatres and nowadays it is an expensive condominium. The Romans took what the Greek architects did, and then they took from the Etruscan architectural achievements. They combined the best of both brilliant civilizations of architectural discoveries, then added something of their own, developed further, without fear of experimenting.

For my watercolor reference’s painting of the Theatre of Marcello with a nearby column of the Temple of Apollo , I used the Google Earth app to view the building from a bird’s eye view. Julius Caesar planned the open-air theatre but died before it was completed. Then Emperor Augustus took up the reins and dedicated the theatre to memory of his nephew and son in law Marcellus in 17 BC, when the theatre was used for dramas and arena fights. 

https://pixels.com/featured/rome-theatre-of-marcellus-roman-architecture-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Teatro Marcello was decorated with marble statues and large bronze vases, placed around the perimeter to enhance the sound, masks of the heroes of comedies and tragedies. The inner part consisted of three tiers of marble steps, divided into sectors for noble townspeople, places for women, a separate area for common people and slaves. And the box of the emperor was separated from the other seats. Augustus ordered that the interior design of the theatre surpass in its splendor all previous buildings.

I like how Vitruvius, the Roman genius-engineer, artist, architect and writer who wrote 10 books about architecture, described the Greek columns.  Theatre of Marcellus’s Doric columns are attached to the 1st level as a “male” column: simple, courageous, no curls or ornaments. Ionic columns are on the second floor, they are the “feminine” type of column with elements of a lady’s hairstyle. Corinthian columns probably decorated the third floor, although nothing survives of the top level, this is only an assumption of scientists since this level has not been preserved.

It was also the preliminary design for the Colosseum and they are so similar… When our family first passed by the Theatre of Marcellus we thought it is the Colosseum, from a view from another side of the street… Theatre of Marcellus was built only a couple of centuries earlier than the Colosseum. I would like to buy tickets for the Roman music concerts here. Every summer there is a series of classical concerts that take place here called “Notti Romane al Teatro di Marcello” and I would imagine the ancient open-air theatre where people used to come and listen to great music or performance in 17 BC.

All roads lead to Rome – Alain de Lille

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:)

Painting – Rome, Theatre of Marcellus, Roman Architecture

https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture/home/welcome

Year of construction – 17 BC

Address: Via del Teatro di Marcello, 00186 Roma RM, Italy

Tools used for my painting Watercolour Cotman terra de siena and viridian Corman, Charvin bleu royal, Derwent, Albert Durer and Faber Castell watercolour pencils. Paper Van Gogh, National gallery   watercolour album, 22×30 cm (9 ×12 in.)

The magic of the holidays is in the making! ✨ Join me on this artistic adventure as I explore the captivating world of #TravelVibes #ArtAdventure

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Name
Email
Your message

Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

Discover Yale’s Roman Architecture Course. Servian Wall.

An Artist's Perspective on Roman Architecture, Artist, Roman Architecture, Uncategorized

Exploring Yale’s Course on Roman Architecture. Art Inspired by Ancient Rome

Let’s start my virtual journey Art + Roman Architecture + the city of Rome with Yale’s course Roman Architecture. Professor of History of Art and Classics Diana E.E. Kleiner Dunham

Why did I decide to dive headfirst into the world of Roman architecture

As I start the Yale’s course on Roman Architecture, I’m reminded of my childhood dreams of becoming an architect. Life has taken me on a different path, but it’s never too late to pursue our passions.
To share this journey, I’ll be conducting research on each topic we cover and posting my findings here. Plus, as an artist, I’ll be creating a watercolor painting inspired by each lecture—combining my love for art and history.

Well, life is funny thing. You are dreaming about one thing when you are a child, and doing another thing when you are an adult. It is never so late to start to learn our dreamy course.

My visual path to learn Roman Architecture course

As a student, I will share my knowledge. I will conduct research after each topic.And as an artist, I will add one watercolor freely painting for each lecture

How I do my paintings for the course? There is one cheerful technique called from middle tone that I have learned in my art school many years ago. I will give the link to school’s website at the end of this post.

Middle tone watercolor technique

This Italian painting technique is called the middle tone. Basically, you use two or three watercolor paints without worrying too much. The colors blend freely, creating a middle tone. You just add light highlights and dark shadows. And voila, you can paint playfully and fearlessly with this technique!

Have you embraced middle-tone watercolor technique in your artworks? Do you feel that exhilarating spark of joy? Please, I invite you to share your experience in the comments below. I would be thrilled to hear your inspiring story!

So, let’s start!

Introduction. Roman Urbanism. 1-1
Rome, Servian Walls, Roman Architecture. Year of construction- 3 century B.C.

During the first lecture of Roman Architecture, the professor taught us about the Servian Walls. They are an incredible example of ancient Roman ingenuity.

The Servian Walls stand as a magnificent testament to ancient Roman ingenuity and determination! This formidable barrier rose proudly around the legendary Seven Hills of the republican city. It was constructed in the wake of the catastrophic Sack of Rome in the 4th century B.C., a period when the very soul of the city cried out for protection and resilience. These walls embody the spirit of a civilization striving to safeguard its legacy and embrace its future with unwavering strength!

My first painting celebrates the Servian Wall, the very first ancient Roman wall! This artwork pays tribute to this remarkable monument of ancient Roman architecture, highlighting its significance and enduring beauty.

Watercolor painting of the Servian Walls in Rome, showcasing a blend of colors and light highlights. The artwork captures the ancient structure surrounded by greenery, symbolizing Roman architectural heritage.
Watercolor painting of the Servian Walls in Rome, showcasing the vibrant colors and textures inspired by ancient Roman architecture.
The early period of Roman architecture

In the early period of Roman architecture, builders simply stacked stone blocks. These blocks were piled one on top of the other to form the wall.

Rome grew over time. In the first lecture I have learned that in the late third century AD, the emperor Aurelian reigned. During this time, the impressive set of the Aurelian Walls was built. These walls were constructed to protect the city of Rome from external threats.

These fortifications represented a significant architectural achievement of their time. They served as a symbol of the resilience and enduring power of the Roman Empire. They helped secure the city against invasions. They provided a stronghold for its citizens.

The walls spanned approximately 19 kilometers

Romans were constructed using a combination of brick and stone. This showcases the engineering prowess of ancient Rome. It also contributed to the city’s defensive capabilities for centuries to come.

A new technology is concrete revolutionized Roman architecture and concrete faced with brick. We can still see some parts of the two ancient walls in Rome.

I added to this post a watercolor pencil- sketch with a cat that enjoying a view of Roman architecture, just for fun:)

A watercolor sketch depicting a cat sitting in front of colorful buildings and trees, showcasing a view of Roman architecture.
Watercolor sketch featuring a cat overlooking a view of Roman architecture, inspired by the Servian Walls and the Roman landscape.
Termini station in Rome and nearby hidden gem

We can still see the very wide section of the Servian Walls near Rome’s train station Stazione Termini station.

I must admit, I’ve wandered past a section of the fortress wall near the station in Rome many times. It’s like my own version of a tourist treadmill! Architecture is not just about buildings; it’s about shaping experiences.

And let me tell you, that Esquiline Gate of the Servian Wall? It’s basically the VIP entrance to my accidental monument-hopping tour!

“All roads lead to Rome” Alain de Lille

I completely missed this epic piece of Roman architecture in history. I just admired the architectural monuments during my multiple trips to Rome. I am gaining new knowledge with this course.

On my next trip, I will definitely return to the remains of the fortress wall. I’ll also be making a grand entrance at the gates of the Eternal City. Hopefully, they’ll have a welcome sign and not just a “tourists beware” notice!

This is what I have learned in the first lecture in this course. It is a lot of new information for me. I love Rome and its architecture.

Join me as I uncover the beauty of Roman architecture, and let’s explore this amazing world together!

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:)

Address: Piazzale dei Cinquecento, Rome

The magic of the holidays is in the making! ✨ Join me on this artistic adventure as I explore the captivating world of #TravelVibes #ArtAdventure

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Yale University Roman Architecture online course https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture/home/welcome

art online school https://mogut-vse.ru/

Tools used for my painting are next:

Watercolour Windsor Newton Gamboge , Alison, indigo , Derwent, Albert Durer and Faber Castell Watercolour pencils. Paper Fluid 100, cold press Watercolour albums, 22×30 cm (9 ×12 in.)

4-5. Art and Travel. Bath Complexes at Pompeii.

Artist, Roman Architecture, Uncategorized

Watercolor journey with the course Roman Architecture by Yale University.

I continue the painting with my course Roman Architecture + the city of Rome with Yale’s course Roman Architecture https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture.

C. 4-5

The Bathing culture was a very important aspect of Roman society. Social relations were also developed in those baths with many activities –sport, massage rooms and libraries, but sometimes the Bath complex also had direct access to … taverns:) In ancient Pompeii there were five large thermal baths and each bath could house about 1000 guests at the same time. The thermal baths were not only used to rest the body but the mind as well.

For my watercolor painting I chose one of the best preserved Bath with beautiful and ostentatious decoration, the Stabian thermal bath, painted red, blue and white colors. It was completed in the 4BC with a room that had the “eye” to the sky. It was one of the predecessors to the Pantheon’s roof.  Streams of water fell in the pool directly from the niche in the upper part of the wall. The thermal baths were to help ancient people see and appreciate art! There were beautiful decorations, statues of Giants holding spa wall – everything for the people to enjoy seeing the amazing frescoes on the walls and decorate ceiling.  It’s like “Louvre” of saunas..

https://pixels.com/featured/pompeii-amphitheater-roman-architecture-tamara-vitsenkova.html

The Stabian Bath was one of several thermal bath complexes in Pompeii, and part of the Roman Architecture development of the early bathing culture. I imagine myself in the beautiful relaxing rooms: In the Frigidarium room, the cold one with dozens of painted Atlantis figures supporting the walls, the Caldarium-hot room, the Tepidarium which was the lukewarm room and the apodyterium which served as the change room. The walls were stuccoed over, with flowering acanthus plants and creatures and animals, humans, Goddesses and Gods flying above:)

It was a wonderful place where people would enjoy their time in the company of friends and family.

All roads lead to Rome – Alain de Lille

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:)

https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture/home/welcome

Bath Complexes at Pompeii 

Painting – Bath Complexes at Pompeii, Roman Architecture

Year of construction 4BC

Address: Stabian thermal bath, Pompeii

Tools used for my painting Watercolour Van Gogh madler red and Charvin Bleu de France, Albert Durer and Faber Castell watercolour pencils. Paper Acquarello Fabriano cold pressed watercolour album, 22×30 cm (9 ×12 in.)

The magic of the holidays is in the making! ✨ Join me on this artistic adventure as I explore the captivating world of #TravelVibes #ArtAdventure

You are welcome to visit my personal website pages. There, you can find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings. You can buy canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Name
Email
Your message

Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_5" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

4-2.Art and Travel. The Early Settlement and the Forum at Pompeii .

Artist, Roman Architecture

Watercolor journey with the course Roman Architecture by the Yale University.

I continue my series of art with the course Roman Architecture + the city of Rome with Yale’s course Roman Architecture https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture.

C. 4-2

One of the main pieces of Ancient Roman public architecture in Pompeii was the Forum on the main square. Here citizens gathered to run business, gossips, and it was the urban centre of life.

On my painting is the main part of the financial district, the antique downtown of a well-preserved ancient city… The view of the colonnade with Doric columns built around the Forum with bases that supported statues. The Forum was uncovered and opened to the sky. The columns made out of limestone are similar to the Roman’s Theatre of Marcellus with the Greek orders, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.

https://pixels.com/featured/forum-at-pompeii-roman-architecture-tamara-vitsenkova.html

The Temple of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva was the central temple in Pompeii, sometimes called the Temple of the Capitoline Triad with spaces for statues of the Capitoline Triad – Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. The whole temple was surrounded by a colonnade with Ionic columns; this left the strongest impression on me during my travels to Italy.

Why are parts of the columns cut off? After the earthquake of 63BC and the Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 BC while the ash and lava covered the Forum, columns and buildings came down and the materials washed away or were taken away – now it is an unknown mystery. Who knows the actual reasons? ;)

It is here that you can feel the atmosphere of those years and understand that life is eternal…

All roads lead to Rome – Alain de Lille

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:)

https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture/home/welcome

Painting – Forum at Pompeii, Roman Architecture

Year of construction 2 century BC

Address: Forum, Pompeii

Tools used for my painting Watercolour Alizarium and raw siena Cotman, Derwent, Albert Durer and Faber Castell watercolour pencils. Paper watercolour Acquarello watercolour album. Fabriano, grana grossa rouch album, 22×30 cm (9 ×12 in.)

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Name
Email
Your message

Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_6" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

The magic of the holidays is in the making! ✨ Join me on this artistic adventure as I explore the captivating world of #TravelVibes #ArtAdventure

You are welcome to visit my personal website pages. There, you can find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings. You can buy canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

5-1.Art and Travel. Introduction and the Ideal Domus Italica.

Roman Architecture, Uncategorized

Watercolor journey with the course Roman Architecture by the Yale University.

I continue the painting series with the course Roman Architecture + the city of Rome with Yale’s course Roman Architecture https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture.

C. 5-1

The next lecture was about residential architecture in Rome and the Roman world. It tells us about domestic architecture in between the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. There is no place where the houses are better preserved than at Pompeii, the great live reference for architects and archaeologists.

The watercolour painting is about a two-story house in Pompeii located on via dell’Abandanza, the so-called street of abundance. The house had open panoramic windows. The ancient architect designed the second floor in such a way that you could enjoy a nice view through the columns of the street and watch people outside while sitting in your dining room. I added a gentle glow of dawn on the horizon to imagine what a spring morning in that house would feel like.  

https://pixels.com/featured/domus-italica-residential-house-in-pompeii-tamara-vitsenkova.html

There is a difference between our current understanding of how we use our homes and the ancient concept of home space. Although we enjoy having friends, family visits in our places, still, the house is our place to get away from work, transportation and schools,  escaping outside life –  as opposed to ancient Romans. For them, home was a place not just to live with their families, but also to do business in the house’s atrium.

This house is an example of the early domestic buildings, the part of Roman architecture. It had Domus Italica, an ideal Roman house plan according to the books of Vitruvius, the ancient architecture theoretician. The owners, family, friends and business partners could all benefit from being here. Joie de vivre in French or dolce vita in Italian:)

All roads lead to Rome – Alain de Lille

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:)

https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture/home/welcome

Painting – Residential two storied house via dell’Abandanza, Roman Architecture

Year of construction 62 AD-79 AD

Address: via dell’Abandanza, Pompeii

Tools used for my painting Watercolour Van Gogh cadmium orange and permanent rose, Albert Durer and Faber Castell watercolour pencils. Paper Acquarello Fabriano, grana grossa rough watercolour album, 22×30 cm (9 ×12 in.)

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

The magic of the holidays is in the making! ✨ Join me on this artistic adventure as I explore the captivating world of #TravelVibes #ArtAdventure

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

Wildflowers. Thistle in sepia and the city of Rome. Part 5.

Artist, ArtTravel, Uncategorized, Urban sketching

Still life and urban sketching—because thistles are basically nature’s way of saying ‘don’t get too close.’

Rome is basically an open-air museum that refuses to close. Ever. The streets are littered with buildings from every architectural era imaginable, as if someone dumped 2,000 years of interior design catalogs all in one place. It’s chaos. Beautiful, Instagram-worthy chaos.

Rome: where every corner looks like a movie set. No filter needed.

Thistle in watercolor with ink—featuring a delightful palette of pumpkin, turmeric, pineapple, and brick-colored stems because apparently I was hungry while painting. It supposedly represents Rome’s Pantheon: monumental, elegant, and totally not something you’d want to hug. The whole thing is basically an antique temple dedicated to gods who would probably be confused by modern WiFi.

Thistle #1: Painted while hungry. Named after an ancient temple. Sounds about right.

Here’s the truth about Rome: it doesn’t need color. Seriously. Just slap some sepia on it and a few ‘tender shades,’ and suddenly marble fountains and statues become artistically moody. It’s like Rome hired the world’s best Instagram filter and never turned it off.

Emperor Augustus once said: ‘I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.’ Translation: ‘I showed up and flexed so hard that everything got an upgrade.’

Thistle number two: wildflower with avocado and cherry-colored petals because apparently I was on a mood board binge. The chaotic petals remind me of the Roman Forum’s ancient ruins—you know, ruins that used to be someone’s important government building but now just vibes there mysteriously. Every time you visit, you find something new. Mostly it’s tourists like you, but sometimes it’s actually history!

Thistle #2: Avocado meets cherry. The Roman Forum approves from its mysteriously crumbled remains.

Thistle number three, now in violaceous hues (fancy word alert!). It reminds me of Borromini’s architecture in Rome—all concave curves and convex swagger with sharp angles that would make a modern architect weep. Remember Gaudí’s Barcelona houses? Same energy. But here’s the thing: Borromini’s stuff is actually calm and airy despite looking like it wants to fight you. It’s strong, persistent, and stubborn—just like a thistle that refuses to die in a sidewalk crack. Basically, I’m convinced all great architects were just looking at plants and going ‘yeah, I’ll do that but in marble.’

Thistle #3: Violaceous vibes only. Borromini would definitely swipe right.

Thistle number four: cappuccino and watermelon colored petals (yes, that color combo is as weird as it sounds). Apparently it’s channeling Trevi Fountain vibes—you know, Rome’s most famous ‘throw money in the water and make wishes’ destination. It’s made from natural materials and definitely old, which means it’s had about 500 years to collect loose change and tourist dreams. Stand too close and you feel like you’re floating. Which is either the fountain’s magic or the overwhelming crowd of selfie sticks.

Thistle #4: Cappuccino + watermelon = chaos. Throw a coin in it anyway.

Thistle number five: fiery red, chocolate, and dark grapes (the color palette of a moody wine bar). It’s giving off major Castel Sant’Angelo energy—you know, that ancient Roman pedestrian bridge covered in Bernini’s Baroque sculptures. It’s stunning, it’s old, and like every tourist photo location in Rome, it’s probably swarming with people trying to get the perfect angle.

Thistle #5: Wine bar color palette. Bernini would’ve painted it too, but he was busy.

This is my final thistle post—the grand finale of my flower personality study. Here’s what I’ve learned: thistles are basically flowers with attitude problems. They represent strength, inflexibility, firmness, and they survive literally anywhere because they refuse to quit. Kind of like tourists in Rome during July. So I painted a whole series of these impossible little rebels to celebrate their survival skills and, oh yeah, they totally remind me of beautiful European architecture. Nature’s architecture is just better, fight me.

Rome: still standing after 2,000 years. Unlike my feet after day one.

All paintings belong to the author and are definitely not meant to be copied, traced, or vaguely ‘inspired by’—because yes, we’re watching you.

Bon voyage! Until the next travel adventure (and probably the next thistle obsession)! 🌍

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

4-3.Art and Travel. The Capitolium and Basilica of Pompeii.

An Artist's Perspective on Roman Architecture, Roman Architecture, Uncategorized

Watercolor journey in the course Roman Architecture by the Yale University.

I continue the painting in the course Roman Architecture + the city of Rome with Yale’s course Roman Architecture https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture.

C. 4-3

The financial public building had a very important part in the public life of ancient Romans. The ancient building has been stuccoed with white marble under Samonite’s rule and then the city became a part of the Romans colony. The Basilica was used as a site for court hearings, as well as to gather large groups to discuss some business and legal subjects and to hold public meetings. This was the place of Tribunals where the judge would reveal the law cases.

In my painting is the oldest public building in Pompeii – the Basilica. The Basilica was roofed in antiquity, but the roof has not been preserved until our days. It had Ionic capitals on the first floor and Corinthian capitals on the second floor.  It consisted of two meter high podiums on top of which were six Corinthian columns. The tribunal is, amazingly, well preserved…

Imagine that you are walking inside the Basilica, enjoying the richly decorated walls with stucco like large blocks of marble, statues as you respectfully approaching the Judge who is waiting for another law-court …

https://pixels.com/featured/1-the-capitolium-and-basilica-of-pompeii–roman-architecture-tamara-vitsenkova.html

All roads lead to Rome- Alain de Lille

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:)

https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture/home/welcome

Painting – Basilica of Pompeii, Roman Architecture

Year of construction- 120 BC

Address: Basilica, Pompeii

Tools used for my painting Watercolour PWC shell, Charvin revin red and sap green, Albert Durer and Faber Castell watercolour pencils. Paper Acquarello Fabriano, grana grossa rouch watercolour album, 22×30 cm (9 ×12 in.)

The magic of the holidays is in the making! ✨ Join me on this artistic adventure as I explore the captivating world of #TravelVibes #ArtAdventure

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Name
Email
Your message

Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_9" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

Athens Uncovered: Coffee, Culture, and Creativity

ArtTravel

Athens, the city I adore—and occasionally side‑eye.

Cafes and restaurants: Taf Coffee

In Athens, coffee isn’t just a drink, it’s a way of life, a national sport, and possibly a local religion – it’s literally on every corner. If you’re anything like me, the chance to sit down with a cup and shamelessly people‑watch is one of the main joys of traveling. And since coffee shops in Athens are basically as common as traffic lights, I managed to stay both happily caffeinated and thoroughly entertained.

Taf is one of the city’s main coffee roasters and the pride of many a barista. Their coffee map spans a wide range of regions and beans with all sorts of processing methods – it’s like a world tour, but for your taste buds. You’ll find Taf beans in some of the most cutting‑edge bars in Athens, like Millybird House, which, conveniently, is only a five‑minute walk from the Goulandris Museum. Culture for the mind, specialty coffee for the soul.

Sights of Athens – this is where civilization decided to make its grand debut. Here you’ll discover what everyday life was like in the distant past and realize just how much ancient Greek culture still shapes our world. You’ll listen to captivating myths, admire jaw‑dropping architectural monuments, and probably catch yourself wondering how a city can be this old and yet this charming – and why it’s so easy to fall a little bit in love with it.

Watercolor painting of deep coffee

One minute you’re walking past a crumbling neoclassical balcony with laundry flapping like national flags of Chaos, the next you stumble into a rooftop bar where half the crowd looks like they’re on break from an art residency and the other half from a philosophy podcast. Graffiti here isn’t decoration; it’s an extreme sport, clinging to every available surface, including spots where you’re honestly not sure how a human even got up there. And just when you think you’ve had enough, the light hits the city in that smug golden way at sunset, someone’s uncle starts singing at a taverna, and you remember exactly why you’ll always forgive Athens for everything.

Nobody saw this coming. Anyone used to “civilized” Europe is in no way ready for the fact that Athens is way more than sirtaki and souvlaki, postcard grandpas with coffee and rosary beads, and an Acropolis forever posing in the sun. Modern Athens is like a gifted but moody teenager: bursting with energy, constantly up to something, and yet somehow always “forgetting” to clean their room. In the last few years, a flood of cool new spots has opened in Athens, and the “cultural program” is now so packed you might need a vacation from your vacation. The city wakes up late, downs a freddo espresso like it’s an Olympic sport, then spends the rest of the day honking, laughing, and double‑parking in places physics never intended. Streets change direction without warning, Google Maps just shrugs, and somehow everyone still arrives exactly on time—which in Athens means anywhere within a 45‑minute window.

Once I figured that out, though, their tiny size and feather-light weight totally won me over. I even did a quick sketch of my favorite travel palettes, complete with arrows pointing to all the little parts and what they’re for, like a nerdy art-science diagram.

Before my trip, I bought two new palettes, because obviously what an artist really needs before traveling is more fragile, colorful rectangles. I’ll admit it: I actually needed instructions on how to open them at first :)

Naturally, I decided to paint these “extras” into my sketches too, to show the size of my travel art supplies compared to my smartphone—plus a little piece of chocolate and a travel bottle of hand sanitizer, both sweet souvenirs brought from Rome by our daughter.

The whole setup made my sketchbook page look like a field guide to a very specific species of traveling artist, whose natural habitat is airport gates and café corners. I kept imagining a museum placard under the drawing: “Artistus itinerans, observed in the wild, carrying three times more paint than socks.” The Roman hand sanitizer felt very sophisticated—like, yes, my germs are now blessed by history and archaeology. Meanwhile, the chocolate didn’t last long enough to be a reliable size reference, so I had to redraw it from memory, which is maybe the most honest kind of food illustration there is. By the time I finished, I’d basically created a love letter to all the ridiculous little things I insist on bringing along ‘just in case inspiration strikes’…which, let’s be honest, it usually does right when there’s no sink, no table, and definitely no extra chocolate.


What about you—have you ever been to Athens, and what stayed with you most from your time there?

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

My Greek Travel and Art. Philopappou Hill, dreams and art about Muses, architecture and cuisine on the Hill of the Nymphs, Athens

Artist, ArtTravel, Greece, Uncategorized, Urban sketching

“I love the way the Greeks have squeezed so much out of everything they have: oil from olive, wine from the grape, ouzo from ouzo is made from-I don’t know and I don’t care; I’ll drink it-feta cheese from sheep’s milk and salt, mosaic from pebbles, temples from stone.”

Mary Norris “Greek to me”

Exploring the Hill of Muses, ancient ruins

Let’s start a new story about Athens, its fair tale place in the ancient city. Philopappou Hill or Hill of the Muses is the forested hilltop with full view of the Parthenon.

Here artists and poets are drawing the inspiration and creativity while watching the Acropolis. Its marble seems soft pink in the setting sun. I called it the romantic and nature Atelier in the ancient city.

Would you like a cup of coffee while reading my story?:) As Greek saying about coffee: it is a way of Life.

Athens’ morning – Coffee in Greece: A Way Of Life

The Hill is close to the famous Monastiraki neighbourhood and Acropolis, has convenient location in the city and easy to walk for enjoyable atmosphere.

Like Greeks, I was ready to absorb everything the Hill of Muses is providing: the view of the Acropolis, the sunset behind the ancient city, the smell of olive trees that are growing all over the hill, the red poppies and the stones of ancient monuments and many narrow paths leading up to top’s hill of Muses where is located the monument of Prince Philopappo.

The Hill has even Prison of Socrates and ancient ruins on of the classical 5th century BC Themistoclean Wall.

Why the Hill’s second name Hill of Muses or Nymphs?

Apparently, the hill is also known as Hill of the Muses because it is believed to have been a place where the ancient Greeks worshipped the nine Muses, the goddesses of the arts and sciences. Voila!

Before a trip to Greece, I have read Theoi Project, the website exploring Greek mythology and the gods in classical literature and art. I definitely recommend this website to anyone who is interested in legends, its link is included in the post.

The Hill in spring is full of poppies, beautiful, bright and tender. Hmm… interesting thought. How can the hill of Muses whose mother was Mnemosyne, the titan goddess of Memory and Remembrance, be strewn with poppies, flowers of oblivion? :)

View of Parthenon with poppies

The nine muses from Greek mythology are patrons of the creativity. They are inspiring all sorts of discoveries and creations, from science to drama. Inspiration is something mystical, intangible, encompassing an actor, a writer, an inventor, and a scientist.

The muses give us the chosen ones new impulses and aspirations, the pangs of creativity and love, recognition and celebrity, sometimes purely and disinterestedly, and sometimes at the cost of sacrifice and complete giving up of important things. I immersed in the captivating world of metamorphosis as Zeus and Mnemosyne with their daughters from Athens’ sky and clouds.

Sky metamorphose. Zeus and Mnemosyne with daughters Muses

The Muses were the goddesses of music, song and dance, and the source of inspiration to poets. They were also goddesses of knowledge, who remembered all things that had come to pass. Later the Muses were assigned specific artistic spheres: Kalliope (Calliope), epic poetry; Kleio (Clio), history; Ourania (Urania), astronomy; Thaleia (Thalia), comedy; Melpomene, tragedy; Polymnia (Polyhymnia), religious hymns; Erato, erotic poetry; Euterpe, lyric poetry; and Terpsikhore (Terpsichore), choral song and dance.

I have only one question Why there is no Muse for the artists?:)

I created this series of Muses in Athens, thanks to the city’s inspiration and particularly Hill of Muses:)

Mnemosyne and Zeus’ nine daughters, I sketched it from Mosaic depicting the nine muses from Augusta Treverorum, colossal mosaic, a breathtaking epitome of artistic excellence, epitomizes the enchanting power of the nine muses.

There is the grace and allure of each muse.

Greek Culinary Delights

My family was visiting the Hill of Muses several times during our trip. We were feeling relaxed after busy days, it gave us inspiration and delight to our eyes, smell, even tactility:) I touched olives, poppies, the first spring green leaves of olive trees, listened to the sounds of birds and enjoyed white wine and the desserts in the restaurant Dionysos Zonar’s, its link will be provided is this post.

Do you know if you can eat olives directly from the trees? I even picked one olive from the tree, it was very hard with bitter taste:) Apparently, to obtain a delicious snack, olives and olives are soaked for a long time and then salted or pickled. It should be done in September not in spring time but it was a funny experiment:)

Talking about traditional Greek culinary, I love poppy seeds for their distinctive flavor and simply irresistible crunch.

From my childhood I remember enjoying the baked goods with poppy seeds in the mix my mom used to cook. My favourite one was the old world poppy seed rolls…

My advice to anyone visiting or living in Athens, just let you to be reach the beauty and artistry of the Hill of Muses, imagine yourself in the company with these mystical creations. Maybe the muses will guide your own creativity and unlimited inspiration.

What are your experiences or thoughts about the Hill of Muses?:)

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

Links

https://artsandculture.google.com/story/mosaic-of-the-muses/nwUhQmZJFCViIg

Theoi Project, a site exploring Greek mythology and the gods in classical literature and art link is below:

https://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/Mousai.html

Dionysos Zonar’s restaurant link:

https://dionysoszonars.gr/

Tools used for my painting. Watercolour brands Van Gogh and Cotman. Paper Canson Mix Media album 28×35 cm (11×14 in.) and Canson Watercolour album 25×35 cm (11 x15 in.)

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Name
Email
Your message

Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_11" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

My Greek travel and art. Benaki museum

Artist, ArtTravel, Greece, Uncategorized, Urban sketching

“Greek to me” by Mary Norris

“The Benaki is Museum in Athens, one of the best museums in Greece, the Alexandrian Greek Antonis Benakis, who donated his building and his family’s house to the state…Anyone who loves language loves the alphabet… Instead of apples and bananas and cats, the book’s illustrations are pieces from the collection of the Benaki; alpha is for airplane (αεροπλάνο ), beta is for book (βιβλίο), gamma is for gorgon (γοργόνα).”

I am going to share my first impression from the ancient city Athens with you in this post. It has been in the back drawer for more than a year, but now is the time! Even if you are not going to Greece, read it over coffee – it gives you the feeling that you are walking along the pavements of an ancient city.

The Benaki museum is one of interesting places in Athens Kerameikos neighbourhood, I suggest going for their cafe on the terrace to enjoy the view while sipping the Greek coffee: and enjoy the classical falafel with peppermint as species.

It was so unusual and unexpected that our first thing to do in Athens was the Benaki museum vs. Acropolis or others #1 from the recommended lists for travellers. I have read about Benaki museum in the book “Greek to me” by Mary Norris. And Benaki Museum appears one of my favourite museum of Greek culture.

From the rich collection of Prehistoric, Ancient Green and Roman, one of the museum’s statue that impressed me was Eros and Psyche, and the myth telling about about truly love. The bone plaque with a relief representation that repeats the Hellenistic combination of Eros and Psyche was one of my highlight for that day. The myths of ancient Greece have inspired countless artists over the centuries. From Renaissance artists to modern filmmakers, Psyche and Eros (or “Cupid”) have served as sources of inspiration and have been represented in many great and sometimes lesser works of art in many variations. My art is about metamorphosis of sky and clouds on that sunny day that transformed to Psyche and Eros:)

The Legend of Psyche and Eros is a touching love story gifted to the world by the rich Greek mythology.

Athens has everything I enjoy in my life – top level museums, homemade great food with aroma species, ancient statues and architecture, rich music concerts, some luxury, shopping, a young street life and lovely musical language of Ellada.

Spring in Athens is so beautiful! Especially if you equip yourself with the right guide and know where to watch the sunset, where to drink wine and what museums not to miss and where to go in the area.

” With it rank upon rank of icons and its collections of sculpture, pottery, jewelry, silver – from the archaic to the modern -the Benaki is a world-class museum

“Greek to me” by Mary Norris

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

Links

Benaki museum https://www.benaki.org/index.php?lang=en

cafe in Benaki museum https://www.dipnosofistirion.gr/en/benaki-museum-restaurant-cafe/

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

A Journey Through Greece: Senses and Sketches

Art workshops, ArtTravel, Greece, Urban sketching, Voyage

“I love to fly, especially this moment, The plane is getting ready, charging runway, the engine is screaming, the pressure is rising, you’re back in the seat and you are in air – Everything is behind you.”

Kevin Kline and Meg Ryan, chat in the Take off scene in the movie French kiss

Why do people love travelling, airports, and obsessively planning their next vacation months in advance? Because deep down, everyone wants an educational cultural journey packed with art, architecture, fresh air, and a whole collection of brand-new emotions—plus the minor detail of escaping their everyday problems and pretending life admin doesn’t exist for a while.

The moment you arrive at the airport, you’re no longer fully in your home country, but you’re not in the next one yet either—you’re floating in that magical limbo called “duty-free territory,” where time, money, and calories don’t really count. The air buzzes with a wild cocktail of cultures, customs, and nationalities, all politely trying to figure out how boarding groups work.

On the road or at any airport—especially during international flights—the unspoken rule is that you’re allowed to talk to your temporary neighbours as if you’ve known them for years, then never see them again. One minute you’re discussing life goals with a stranger; the next, you’re both pretending not to know each other at baggage claim.

Airport services make this whole experience dangerously convenient. You can order your favourite food right to your gate while you chat with people from all over the world, or you can go full introspective artist and enjoy some quiet time painting—a view of the gate, for instance, or the runway outside the window—carefully sketching it all in your travel book like a wandering creative genius between flights.

This time, I set my sights on Greece—because if you’re going to get lost, it might as well be among ruins and beaches. I made a very ambitious list of places to visit and, naturally, we ended up saving most of them for “next time” and, let’s be honest, probably for the rest of our lives :)

Five senses – touch, smell, sight, hearing and taste lead us to knowledge of the country, its customs, people, cuisine and us. This is why I love travel and art.

Touch flowers and their velvet petals

Smell coffee and paint it in any location, urban and museums’ cafes using my customized coffee palette

Sight. Enjoy Athens and other places’ architecture, blue sea and sky as combination of Ellada’s beauty. Only in Greece, when I am looking at the sky and clouds, I imagine ancient Greek myths and their gods’ adventures…and you?:)

Hearing. Listen to music of Yanni instrumental music, the pianist, composer and one of the kindest musician in the world, enjoying the voice of Maria Callas’ in Tosca, the unique and intriguing Butterfly and of course the Traviata epic, one of the great modern sopranos Helena Paparizou and … Athens’ cats, loved and adored by locals and tourists, saying (or singing) majuu when you are passing by:)

Taste. Enjoy traditional bread and Greek food with aroma of Mediterranean spices.

Usually I am doing artistic warm up exercise at home, foretasting new feelings of smell, taste, hearing, sight and touch while preparing my palette and tools that will be my partners in the journey. For my Greek trip I prepared customized Ellada palette, with specific blue colours for sky and sea, ochre and sienna for tender colours of columns, for spring flowers I added some reds, pink and violets and…special palette for coffee:) Yep coffee in Greece is the mysterious action.

Looking forward to new exciting days of Art and Travel club in Greece!

#creating goodmood paintings

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:)

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

Links

https://www.yanni.com/

https://www.maria-callas.com/en/

Tools used for my painting. Watercolour brands Van Gogh and Cotman. Paper Canson Mix Media album 28×35 cm (11×14 in.) and Canson Watercolour album 25×35 cm (11 x 15 in.)

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Name
Email
Your message

Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_13" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

The last Inktober Day 31 – Risk and some conclusions:)

Artist, ink, Uncategorized

Travel and Art based on Inktober 31 days=31 drawings fun challenge. The last Inktober 2021 prompt is Risk.

For this prompt I did the ink drawing of the First Spasewalk by Alexei Leonov in 1965 in spacecraft Vostok-2. It was not only First space walk but an act of bravery of a human. The first of the earthlings to go out into outer space may well have failed to return to their home planet… In addition, Leonov was the artist and did his space’s paintings right on a space ship looking outside to the Earth!:) There couple links about Alexei Leonov, the artist and the astronaut are below.

https://thestatussymbol.com/en/the-first-painter-in-the-universe/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/2014/newsspec_9035/index.html

My favorite expression is “Risk is a noble cause:) All astronauts are Heroes and romantics at the same time:) There is a movie Spacewalk (2017) with English sibtitles.Highly recommend it.

This was the last of Inktober 2021 prompts’ ink drawing. It was the 1st year of participating in the challenge and I finished all 31 prompts for Inktober 2021. Well, did I learnt something from this Challenge? It was easy? Did I enjoy the process? Will I do it again in future, the same way or differently? First of all, I’ve learnt some new English words:) Secondly, an ink drawings was my quite rare tool before. Usually I am painting with watercolour and oil. My progress is better that I even expected, and next, I am glad that I didn’t check it out other artists’ drawings for a prompt before I painted. It was a good decision do not mix it with my own ideas about a subject, and it was interesting to see other ideas afterwords. As an example, prompt Connect I did completely different from my collegues:))) And mainly, during Inktober I was “travelling” through my memory, dreams, our vacation photos in France, Spain, Italy, USA, Canada, Belarus, Germany, Greece and travelling with Time Machine and Space (imaginary!:). And all my Inktober ink drawings are telling their own stories and dreaming about some future advantages, and in future I will do my daily sketches with my new favourite tool Ink!:). The main conclusion, I love this challenge, a little bit proud that I didn’t stop in the middle of the month (it was not easy for me and distiplinary challenge:), and I will do Inktober and other Challenges in the following years.

Here is the official site with 2021 prompts and rules https://inktober.com/

Bon voyage! Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

My favourite art store in Toronto Deserres, Spadina Ave

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

4-4.Art and Travel. Pompeii’s Entertainment District: The Amphitheater, Theater, and Music Hall.

Artist, Roman Architecture, Uncategorized

Watercolor journey in the course Roman Architecture by the Yale University.

I continue the paintings with the course Roman Architecture + the city of Rome with Yale’s course Roman Architecture https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture.

C. 4-4

When Romans made Pompeii the city for their retired veterans, they needed to entertain people.
The Pompeii entertainment district had several buildings such as a Theatre, Music hall and Pompeii’s Amphitheatre. I chose to paint the Amphitheatre that was completed in 80 BC; it is the oldest well-preserved stone amphitheater.

For my watercolor reference’s painting of the Pompeii’s Amphitheatre, I used the Google Earth app to view the building from a bird’s eye view. Imagine 20000 Roman veterans sitting in this arena and watching the shows in their Entertainment District. Ancient Pompeii’s citizens gathered here to watch gladiators fight one another or wild animals.

https://pixels.com/featured/pompeii-amphitheater-roman-architecture-tamara-vitsenkova.html


This is another example of a masterful use of concrete. The amphitheater with a staircase so unique, its design had not been repeated anywhere ever again. Although the fanning on top of the stairs that protected it against the rain has not survived until our days, what remains is a painting with the amphitheater with its staircase and the fanning hanging on top of it.

The Amphitheatre is one of the predecessors of Rome’s Coliseum and all other amphitheatres in the world. How did the Roman architects design this amazing building? A unique amphitheater creation of Roman architects. As opposed to the ancient Greeks, the Romans did not seek out a particularly fitting hill for an amphitheater that would suit the angled tribune seats. Instead, they would dig out a giant hole in the ground and use the ground level for the arena. All the dug up soil would be flattened and spread out around the diameter of the amphitheater hole and reinforced with concrete. These amphitheaters would hold up to 20,000 viewers!

All roads lead to Rome – Alain de Lille

Bon voyage! Until the next travel :)

https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture/home/welcome

Painting – Pompeii’s Amphitheater, Roman Architecture

Year of construction – 80 BC

Address: Amphitheatre, Pompeii

Tools used for my painting Watercolour Van Gogh cobalt blue, lemon yellow and cadmium orange, Albert Durer and Faber Castell watercolour pencils. Paper Acquarello Fabriano, grana grossa rough watercolour album, 22×30 cm (9 ×12 in.)

The magic of the holidays is in the making! ✨ Join me on this artistic adventure as I explore the captivating world of #TravelVibes #ArtAdventure

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Name
Email
Your message

Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_15" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

4-1.Art and Travel. Introduction to Pompeii and the City’s History.

Artist, Roman Architecture, Uncategorized, Urban sketching, Voyage

Watercolor journey with the course Roman Architecture by the Yale University.

I continue the painting series with the course Roman Architecture + the city of Rome with Yale’s course Roman Architecture https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture.

C. 4-1

Visiting ancient Pompeii is like traveling back in time. It is a ghost town near city of Naples the Mediterranean sea. You are immediately transported to 79 AD as you walk along the streets of the ancient city, enter houses, feeling the era and the tragedy of that time.

I was painting Pompeii’s Temple of Jupiter with the background of the long-dormant volcano of Vesuvius. It was a small resort town in the 1st century BC. In 62 AD, the earthquake struck, and the city of Pompeii was shaken to the foundation, followed by 17 years of hard work to bring it back to life, only to be followed by the Mount Vesuvius eruption, which covered the nearly-restored city with a blanket of ash and lava in 79 AD.

https://pixels.com/featured/pompeii-background-mount-vesuvius-roman-architecture-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Interestingly enough, the history of Pompeii is much longer than the Roman Pompeii. It was founded in 8 century BC during the Iron Age. It was overseen by an italic tribe called Oscans, then Samnite. For the next 1.5 century, the construction of most buildings in Pompeii had also begun and the city had well established villas. During this period, there was a very high civilization which included trade with Greek cities, among them Neapolis (Naples). The city fell to Rome in 89 BC and became a Roman colony in 80 BC.  Samnite’s property was confiscated by the Roman veterans that settled here. And a new page of history began… My family visited Pompeii several years ago with the Trafalgar tour and loved the well preserved city- museum under the sky.

All roads lead to Rome – Alain de Lille

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:)

https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture/home/welcome

Painting – Pompeii, background Mount Vesuvius, Roman Architecture

Year of construction- 8 century

Address: Pompeii

Tools used for my painting Watercolour Cotman madler red, Charvin bleu royal, Albert Durer and Faber Castell watercolour pencils. Paper National Gallery watercolour album, 22×30 cm (9 ×12 in.)

The magic of the holidays is in the making! ✨ Join me on this artistic adventure as I explore the captivating world of #TravelVibes #ArtAdventure

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Name
Email
Your message

Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_16" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

3-3.Art and Travel. Sanctuaries and the expressive potential of Roman concrete construction.

Artist, Roman Architecture, Uncategorized, Urban sketching, Voyage

Watercolor journey with the course Roman Architecture by the Yale University.

I continue the paintings after the course Roman Architecture + the city of Rome with Yale’s course Roman Architecture https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture.

Sanctuaries and the expressive potential of Roman concrete construction. 3-3

This lecture was about two Sanctuaries, they were meant to attract large numbers of people to visit the Temples, shopping areas, souvenir shops, theatre. The Sanctuary of Hercules at Tivoli had columns placed engaged or attached, the prototype for the Coliseum in Rome, with the actual street Via Tiburtina that was leaving from Rome to Tivoli so people can’t miss it. Not just to walk through it but to see something that really amazes the eye.

My painting is about a Roman place of the Sanctuary of the Temple of Jupiter, Anxur of Terratine and its internal corridor of the Sanctuary of Jupiter, where the podium is well preserved. I was attracted by the reference in the professor’s photo, where the doors smoothly merged into one another. This reminded me of sci-fi movies where you see some doors receding to another planet or century or place…

https://pixels.com/featured/rome-theatre-of-marcellus-roman-architecture-tamara-vitsenkova.html

This revolutionary design was used in many other architectural monuments.  It’s not just about the view of the doors that look as if they are diminishing in size, although they aren’t in reality but also the idea of creating exciting visual experiences as you walk through something. There are rounded entrances, as if it’s a corridor of time, coming to us from the future to the past or vice versa. It’s a magical phenomenon that fascinates through the creation of vista and panorama with mirroring doors that lead you to where you wish to travel: whether to the past or the future with something new to learn and return with new knowledge.

All roads lead to Rome – Alain de Lille

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:)

Painting- Temple of Jupiter, Anxur of Terratine, Roman Architecture

https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture/home/welcome

Year of construction –  mid-second century BC 

Address: Piazzale Loffredo, 04019 Terracina LT, Italy

Tools used for my painting Watercolour Cotman terra de siena and viridian Corman, Charvin bleu royal, Derwent, Albert Durer and Faber Castell watercolour pencils. Paper Van Gogh, National gallery   watercolour album, 22×30 cm (9 ×12 in.)

The magic of the holidays is in the making! ✨ Join me on this artistic adventure as I explore the captivating world of #TravelVibes #ArtAdventure

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Name
Email
Your message

Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_17" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

2-3.Art and Travel. Defensive Stone walls and regular town -planning, Roman Architecture.

Artist, Roman Architecture, Uncategorized, Urban sketching, Voyage

Watercolor journey with the course Roman Architecture by the Yale University.

I continue the paintings with the course Roman Architecture + the city of Rome with Yale’s course Roman Architecture https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture.

Defensive Stone walls and regular town planning, Roman Architecture. 2-3.

The wall around Rome itself and Rome was encircled by Servian Walls in Rome dates to 373 BC. Romans were colonizing towns in Italy, and they were putting walls around them. Gate of Falerii Novi is one of the small town’s ancient walls near Rome that was built in 241 B.C. The quite spectacular arch was completed in extraordinary creative and innovative way in Roman architecture. It all begins here in the arch of the gate and the wall of Falerii Novi according to the Roman Architecture course. Romans started to think making of urban spaces and places during this particular period. They were very careful about their selection of materials, reddish brown tufa and grey peperino stones, in order to emphasize this distinction in texture and in color. They started to use the alternating square and rectangular blocks as well as the scheme of headers and stretchers for this wall.

The painting is about Gate of Falerii Novi, one of the earliest and masterfully done arch in Roman architecture. The architect has achieved is to take a series of wedge shaped blocks, it was here that stone cutting began. What is unique, because it is neatly laid out in order (long to short) and it is so elegantly done that everything is still perfectly preserved. The Romans were concerned that the barbarians could attack and destroy their cities, not only Rome, but also their small other cities, and through gaining experience, continued to make revolutionary discoveries in architecture.

https://pixels.com/featured/gate-of-falerii-novi-roman-architecture-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Beauty and tenderness and strength that preserve the inviolability of the Roman era, which attracts me from high school, I see echoes of those first Roman gates in any world building including Toronto. It is a perfect one-day trip from Rome.

How can I ever miss such a trip before? I hope to paint En plein air this monument soon and to gaze up at and enjoy the Gate of Falerii Novi that was built more than twenty two centuries ago.

All roads lead to Rome — Alain de Lille

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:)

https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture/home/welcome

Painting — Gate of Falerii Novi, Roman Architecture

Year of construction — 241 BC 

Address — Falerii, Lazio, Italy

Tools used for my painting Watercolour Charvin ochre rouge + violet-Cotman dioxazine purple, Derwent, Albert Durer and Faber Castell watercolour pencils. Paper Fluid 100, cold press watercolour album, 22×30 cm (9 ×12 in.))

The magic of the holidays is in the making! ✨ Join me on this artistic adventure as I explore the captivating world of #TravelVibes #ArtAdventure

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Name
Email
Your message

Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_18" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

3-2.Art and Travel. The first experiments in Roman concrete construction.

Artist, Roman Architecture, Uncategorized, Urban sketching, Voyage

Watercolor journey with the course Roman Architecture by the Yale University.

I continue the course Roman Architecture + the city of Rome with Yale’s course Roman Architecture https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture.

The first experiments in Roman concrete construction. 3-2

There was an ancient large warehouse on the banks of the Tiber River in Rome. This site was found due to archaeological research in Rome. Scientists used the great Roman historian Livy’s notes,  who was writing about Porticus Aemilia in the age of Augustus. In addition, the marble Map of Rome, partly readable, was helping this discovery. In the lecture there was a restored view of the Basilica Aemilia and how it looked like. It was made of concrete and it had barrel vaults that opened the walls up, created piers, and arches above those piers, so both axial movements through the building were available but also with lateral movement, revolutionary architecture.

For my painting I found a video on YouTube with Roman archeological professor at the heart of the ancient Porticus Aemilia.  I added some murky greenish waters of the Tiber, as the Google earth app always shows the river with green vs. blue color.  The Porticus Aemilia had four tiers rising up ever so slightly along the slope, with barrel vault, arched doorways, as well as the arched windows. The ancient four-story storage’s building had excellent architectural additions.

https://pixels.com/featured/rome-porticus-aemilia-roman-architecture-tamara-vitsenkova.html

It was a beautiful building near the river with the light penetrating everywhere, unlike the boring gloomy modern warehouses. Roman architects were using their revolutionary solutions of using concrete. This design would be difficult to make out of stone, but concrete did its thing. Voila:)

All roads lead to Rome – Alain de Lille

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:)

Painting- Rome, Porticus Aemilia, Roman Architecture

https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture/home/welcome

Year of construction- 193 B.C.

Address: Via Rubattino, 38, 00153 Roma RM, Italy

The magic of the holidays is in the making! ✨ Join me on this artistic adventure as I explore the captivating world of #TravelVibes #ArtAdventure

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

Tools used for my painting Watercolour Cotman terra de siena and viridian Corman, Charvin bleu royal, Derwent, Albert Durer and Faber Castell watercolour pencils. Paper Van Gogh, National gallery   watercolour album, 22×30 cm (9 ×12 in.)

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Name
Email
Your message

Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_19" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

2-5.Art and Travel. The advent of the Corinthian Order, Roman Architecture.

Artist, Roman Architecture, Uncategorized, Urban sketching, Voyage

Watercolor journey with the course Roman Architecture by the Yale University.

I continue my artistic series with the course Roman Architecture + the city of Rome with Yale’s course Roman Architecture https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture.

The advent of the Corinthian Order Roman Architecture. 2-5.

In Tivoli, not far from Rome, there is a gentle, feminine temple of Vesta that is beautifully situated over a particularly verdant area of Tivoli. It is very well preserved and still has details of ancient walls and columns. The temple was built in the 1st century BC on the hill of the ancient acropolis of the city of Tibur, formerly called Tivoli. The city was under the Etruscan king’s rule and also had Greek artistic traditions. In combination it had a strong influence on local art and architecture.

https://pixels.com/featured/temple-of-vesta-tivoli-roman-architecture-tamara-vitsenkova.html

My painting is about this feminine Temple, I did it with very delicate, very soft paints; my favourite colors smoothly flow and complement each other. The Temple of Vesta with its base of the structure that grows out of the rock, harmoniously continues it, and rushes to the graceful round rotunda on the ten columns of the Corinth. The frieze is decorated with reliefs depicting bull skulls, a tribute to the Roman tradition of sacrifice, and heavy garlands hanging from them. A cella is inscribed in the circumference of the rotunda, the core of all the buildings, the place where the ceremonies were carried out. The dome of the rotunda had a hole for the smoke of the sacred fire that burned here in honour of Vesta with delicate, lace and aerial structure.

The columns were invented by the Greeks and Romans and used all three types – Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. The Corinthian column is equally beautiful from all sides due to its harmony and it was more popular in Roman Architecture. The Temple is located on a hill that fits perfectly into the landscape, like a young girl, with curls; reminiscent of a popular widespread Italian flower. The column looks the same and beautiful from all angles with harmony that, objectively, makes it the best

All roads lead to Rome – Alain de Lille

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:)

https://www.coursera.org/learn/roman-architecture/home/welcome

Painting – Temple of Vesta, Tivoli, Roman Architecture

Year of construction 1st century BC

Address: Piazza Tempio di Vesta, 6, 00019 Tivoli RM, Italy

Tools used for my painting Watercolour Cotman terra de siena and viridian Corman, Charvin bleu royal, Derwent, Albert Durer and Faber Castell watercolour pencils. Paper Van Gogh, National gallery   watercolour album, 22×30 cm (9 ×12 in.)

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Name
Email
Your message

Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_20" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

The magic of the holidays is in the making! ✨ Join me on this artistic adventure as I explore the captivating world of #TravelVibes #ArtAdventure

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

Exploring the Seven Hills of Rome Through Watercolor

ArtTravel

My favourite vacation part is walking in Rome and its seven hills. In my posts today I choose my favourite watercolor paintings that I did in different years and different seasons, but always with LOVE for Rome!

The Seven Hills of Rome—it is like seven sisters or brothers , they are together from ancient time . Palatine, Aventine, Capitoline,Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline and Caelian .Palatine is the posh trendsetter where emperors liked their views,

Aventine is the chill, slightly rebellious hill of outsiders and secret clubs, Capitoline is the dramatic overachiever packed with temples and power politics, Quirinal is the respectable neighbor who went from quiet hill to high-end address, Viminal is the cozy introvert and smallest of the bunch, Esquiline is the artsy hill that mixed gardens, grand houses, and the occasional creepy cemetery, and Caelian is the leafy, underrated friend with old elites and ancient mansions.

Together they formed the historic core of Rome, starting as separate hilltop hangouts that eventually merged and were wrapped inside the ancient Servian Walls.

Watercolor sketch of Rome featuring tall umbrella pine trees in the foreground and Castel Sant'Angelo in the background, painted in warm ochre and green tones
Pine trees in the foreground and Castel Sant’Angelo
Watercolor painting of Rome's timeless streets, where warm ochre and terracotta buildings rise behind a canopy of lush green trees, with delicate red berry branches framing the foreground — a dreamy, sun-drenched glimpse of the Eternal City
Rome, hills

Capitolini Hill is my favorite—probably because it makes me feel fancy just saying the name. Honestly, it sounds like the kind of place where you’re required to stroll instead of walk, dramatically gaze into the distance for no reason, and pretend you’re on your way to an important art auction even if you’re just hunting for gelato.

Rome, a large tree trunk

Each hill has its own mood: early mornings on the Aventine feel quiet and secret, while evenings on the Pincian glow with golden light and long, soft shadows. In spring the city smells of blossoms and fresh rain on stone; in summer the colors grow bright and sharp; in autumn the facades turn deeper and warmer; even in winter there is a gentle, silver light that makes every dome and rooftop look poetic.

Lush urban park with tall cypress and pine trees
Roman cityscape
Terrace at Pincio Hill in the Borghese Gardens, Rome
Sant'Angelo Bridge in Rome at dusk, with warm golden lights reflecting on the Tiber River and the Castel Sant'Angelo visible in the background
romantic evening Sant’Angelo Bridge in Rome

As I walk, I stop often to sketch, letting the rhythm of my steps guide my brushstrokes later, when I turn quick impressions into full watercolor scenes. I layer transparent washes to catch the light on ancient walls, add small, careful details to the windows and cobblestones, and try to keep the feeling of movement and wandering in every painting, so each one carries a little piece of my heart and my endless passion for Rome. What about you—where does your own passion lead you, and which cities do you love to return to again and again?

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.