Exploring While Johnny Paints...

I'm often asked "What do you do while Johnny is painting?". 

Fair question...I always have a book or a podcast ready. I like to take walks while he is working, but I also need to document his work, so I can't go too far.

Sometimes I take a little catnap in the car, to be honest. But I do love strolling around, if there's something interesting to see.

Last week, before we left for Venice, Johnny wanted to set up and paint in a nearby borgo. It was a beautiful day and no wind! He's painted here before, so he knew what he wanted to do.

While he was painting, I took a nice walk in and around this small group of old stone buildings...

I believe this was once a church, but has now been converted into a living space.
I just love the colors here. 

I like to look for interesting details. Maybe textural, or color...just something cool to see. 

I love the streetlight here.
The color of the old shutters is really good, too...

Love it.

There are several old, empty buildings here, which always makes me want to explore.

This building has been like this for as long as we have been coming to Umbria.
I really like the stair railing.

The patina on this window detail is everything.

Lovely.

I've walked around this area before, but it's been awhile. I've always wanted to know more about this little group of buildings. I know some are habitable, but others are just falling apart more every year. It's that "beautiful decay" thing...

Yeah, I went inside. Just a bunch of overgrown brambles. Great gate, though!

Old doors are always a nice subject to photograph, and there are a few good ones here, though none with fun color...just great texture. 

The detail around doors can be really good.

Super good detail around this one.

A nice view from up the road a little bit.

Another angle on that first building.

 

As for the painting, it went well!