Drawing in Rome - pre-Civita sketches

A few weeks ago I went to Italy to attend a workshop held by the amazing Stephanie Bower in Civita di Bagnoregio.

For those who do not know her yet, she is an architectural illustrator from Seattle, an urban sketcher and a great teacher.

Before I arrived in Civita, however, I spent one day in Rome. Last time I was there in the winter and I had just taken up sketching again, but this time, as my skills have improved since, I had even more fun.

I'm not the type of tourist who wants to see everything at all cost. For one thing, I'm on holiday and don't want to get stressed out, and for another I really like to take my time discovering a place, getting lost and finding little treasures.

As I had already seen most sights on my previous trip anyway, I could be even more relaxed about it this time, and since I only had one afternoon, I basically stuck to the broad neighbourhood of my hotel.

That is how I ended up at Porta Pia, where I tried my hand at sketching the whole place. I definitely think that my skills have improved lately, if I say so myself, and I know that on my last trip to Rome I would not even had tried to sketch this, so I was pretty pleased with this little sketch.

That is so Rome: no need for a plan, you will always find something interesting to see or sketch

I cannot express how lovely it was to be able to walk and sketch in the sun. The weather in Luxembourg has been pretty erratic, so the stable heat and sunshine of Italy was a very welcome change.

In the early evening, I somehow arrived at Piazza della Repubblica, where I fell in love with the arcades and sat down for a coffee and another sketch, wondering all along if this exercise would get any easier after my stay in Civita.

I loved these huge round lamps

I didn't get to sketch these particular arcades again on my trip so I could compare, though. Maybe next time.