Skip to main content

Mountains of Italy

"Monte Prena and Monte Camicia"
"Wildflowers"
"Alpine Geraniums"
waiting it out  in the car

 wild flowers


I love this dramatic picture my husband took
The most incredible bowl of beans on earth!


Gran Sasso National Park is situated in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is off the beaten path as far as mass tourism is concerned but a beautiful place worth visiting. It is one of the largest protected areas in Europe, the majestic mountain massif dominates the landscape and is the highest mountain in continental Italy south of the Alps. (information taken from Wikipedia)

We stayed there last week and savored the wonders Mother Nature offers.
I painted a few paintings in my sketchbook, but I mostly enjoyed the overall beauty of this incredible place. In any case, a trip anywhere in Italy is always a wonderful gastronomic experience. This region is particularly well endowed. It has superlative wines, meat and dairy products. 

It is hard to capture the humbling nature of this park through pictures but I share some of the photos I took with you nonetheless.  




Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing this special journey with us, sounds like you had a lovely time and enjoyed seeing your sketches

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Polly! I had too much fun, I'm happy you like my sketches!

      Delete
  2. Your sketches and photos are wonderful Celia. Thank you for sharing this journey in a beautiful part of Italy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Martine! I hope your foot is better!

      Delete
  3. Great photos! Glad you are off relaxing somewhere scenic!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a great place to relax, Joan, thanks for the comment!

      Delete
  4. Bonjour chère amie,

    Merci pour ce très joli billet qui nous fait partager de très heureux moments... des moments artistiques. J'aime vos aquarelles remplie de couleurs aux tonalités sauvages de ce lieu magnifique.
    La capture photographique de votre Ă©poux est sublime. je suis entièrement d'accord, comment ne pas Ăªtre complètement heureux en un tel endroit oĂ¹ la gastronomie du terroir est rĂ©unie.

    Je vous souhaite un bel été.
    Gros bisous ♡

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your sweet comment Martine, I am happy you like my sketches and appreciate your visit! Hope you have a nice summer too!

      Delete
  5. Sounds like your weeks holiday had all the fantastic elements required, beautiful scenery, beautiful food and some time to create

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lovely journaling sketches for your book! And I love the hearing about your travel experiences through beautiful Italy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your supportive comment, Carmella! A warm hug to you!

      Delete
  7. What a wonderful time! Lovely loose sketches, they are just the best souveniers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is so true, I appreciate your visit and hope to see some new art from you soon!

      Delete
  8. Thank you for sharing your wonderful sketches and photos. Italy looks like such a gorgeous place! The bean soup looks so yummy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm happy to be able to share the areas of Italy people aren't as familiar with. Thanks for the visit and comment, Debi!

      Delete
  9. Your pictures are great, Celia! Seems you had a lovely time. I love the mountains with their colorful and cheery shapes . I'm also a great fan of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo wine. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are a connoisseur, Helen! Thank you so much, a big hug to you!

      Delete
  10. Dear Celia - gorgeous sketches and beautiful pictures. What a glorious place to stay for a week. Now could you please share those beans with me - look scrumptious. Have a beautiful day friend and thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Debbie, I would love to!!

      Delete
    2. I would love to, Debbie, thank you for stopping by!

      Delete
  11. That looks like so much fun! All of it! Even sitting in the car painting! I love the artwork that came out of this trip, and I can only imagine what beautiful memories you've gathered, which will all come through in your future paintings too! My favorite is the geranium piece!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have fun looking back at my sketches, wish I could have done more but did enjoy myself! Thanks for the encouragement Katherine!

      Delete
  12. Great sketches, Celia, you had a wonderful trip! I love the colourful mountains! And the food and wine look delicious.... hungry now.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ciao Celia, complimenti per i deliziosi acquerelli (non ho mai dipinto in auto, è un'esperienza da fare, magari in certi bei posti in inverno). Ho visitato un paio di volte il Gran Sasso e Campo Imperatore, davvero spettacolare la nature di quelle zone. Bello il tuo reportage, buona continuazione!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

African Violets

 African violets sketchbook page I painted this sketch slowly, over a few day's time.  I use my sketchbook to experiment towards improving my skills although I seem to always find myself in a hurry to finish the sketches. It took my African Violets over two years to bloom, I felt compelled to capture this achievement! The flu is making the rounds around my household once more, I hope everyone else is well!

Flying Colors

"Flying Colors" 28.5 x 20cm / 11" x  8"in.  I love the color of this blue jay's feathers and its stance, so graceful ... the various blues were hard to imitate. I am working on leaving more white areas in my painting and loosening up a bit. Thank you to Mim White for allowing me to use her photo! When I saw her photograph, I immediately imagined it as a watercolor painting.

Pansies

 Pansies with Lemon  watercolor on cold pressed Daler Rowney paper  10" x 10" / 25 x 25 cm.  Available I wished to paint the happy faces of the pansies I planted earlier in the fall. They are hardy plants, lasting through the winter on my balcony. Soon I will have to pull them out and replace them with petunias or begonias, but not for another month. I love the different shades of purple and had fun mixing my own. I hope everyone is having a nice week!