Poetry in lines and colors

merry Christmas and a happy new year to you all! do you prefer the black and white version? here it is:

Snow… a most proper topic today! This morning when I opened the window I found my town all covered in soft and white snow. And it was still falling, fairy and obstinate like in a Pieter Bruegel painting. Adults  didn't  appreciate very much the surprise: too much trouble to reach working places, gates blocked, soaking shoes. But for the children at the school bus stop it was pure bliss. My illustration “snow” is from The Sketchbook Project 2012  and I like to pair it with the song “Snowflake” from Kate Bush album “Fifty words for snow”, a delicate, surrealist piece of music. The text is a dialogue between a woman and a personified falling snowflake. “the world is so loud, keep falling, I’ll find you”. Kate Bush - Snowflake

and birds finally yielded to the temptation of choosing square city trees as their home, and they loudly began to sing their cryptic songs... from the sketchbook project 2012 - mixed media: drawing pen and hand painted collaged paper

It was my firm intention to post something this week after such a long time! And I chose one of the illustrations created for the Sketchbook Project 2012, this is the drawing that takes its title from the theme of my Sketchbook: a path through the trees. Like some other illustations of the projects this is freely inspired by the novel "Il Barone Rampante" by Italian writer Italo Calvino, the story of a young Baron who one day climbs up a tree with the intention of spending the rest of his life among leaves and branches. Here you can view the entire project, comments and opinions are always welcome! the sketchbook project 2012

this is one of my illustrations winner of the third prize in an Italian Children books Illustration Competition called " La Casa della Fantasia 2011". The topic of the competition was the 150th Anniversary of Italian unification. The title of this illustration is “24 th June 1859” , the date of  the battle in San Martino which took place during the second Italian Independence War. The technique is a mixed media, acrylic and collage on paper. Hope you like it!