Drawing to a Close

Rider, his mom  and Mimi

Time to begin to wrap up the adventure...Thursday, July 21 was exam day for art history and Italian, farewell dinner and the art show at Capitignano. Each of the students displayed the efforts of the six weeks of plein air painting. Every artist had their favorites and, predictably, those who perused the showing usually chose other paintings as their favorites. Interesting to see what appeals to each person and to see the changes in style, palette and such of so many of the painters.

 The show was attended by the students, of course, as well as Lynn and Michael Aeschliman, owners of the estate; Diane and Tony Aeschliman
 ( Michael and Mark's brother and his wife - who is a professional portrait painter); the summer instructors, Mark A and Sergei; other guests at the villa from Germany and Scotland, a few local friends plus Rider and me. There were some paintings sold though that was not the object of the showing. Lynn bought one of Betsy's paintings with the idea of hanging it in the apartment where we had stayed. It's so nice to know that a piece of her work will stay in a place we enjoyed so much.

After hors o'deuvres and wine, as sunset approached, most of us adjourned to the pool area for an al fresco farewell dinner. Regional Tuscan fare with roasted vegetables and grilled meats dominated the menu with plenty of local red wine.

 Totally a delightful evening in a spectacular setting.

Some of Betsy's paintings on display.