Lucca Painting and Drawing Course with John DelMonte
Drawing by John Del Monte
Lucca Art Studies
Uncle John started his drawing and painting course in Lucca, Italy over 40 years ago. He taught drawing and painting to thousands of students who came from around the world to study his methods. He teaches how to prepare paper for oils and colour mixing just like the fine masters did many centuries ago. His techniques are reminiscent to Leonardo DaVinci and other Master artists. Lucca highly supports the arts. Lucca was also the home of Puccini. When John started the course in 1969, the town mayor was very involved in helping the students. They provided apartments and bicycles for every student and the course was most of the summer. While they don't provide this anymore, they embrace his students each year.
Professor John's print of his painting at the Hotel La Luna in Lucca.
My cousin Nina and I took the art course in the summer of 2009 in this building, an old school. We easily walked from our hotel each day to attend our lessons.
Our classroom
Drawing Demonstrations
Painting Demonstrations
Many of the Masters couldn't afford canvas that were also expensive to frame. Using quality paper is less expensive overall than canvas. Prepping the paper is necessary to achieve a smooth painting surface and preserves the paint for a lifetime. Papers are used quite often and preferred by many art patrons who purchase works of art. We used only our prepped papers for painting during the class.
Art of colour mixing
"Rub out" paintings--removing the paint with a small cloth to create the light and dark areas of the image.
Painting on dark paper
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Our workspace
Very well known in Lucca after 40 years, John gets asked for sketches regularly while dining in the evening.
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Please see my other posts on Tuscany
Love this, Cuz!
ReplyDeleteHello John DelMonte, we are related! I am claiming you because, I am an artist and I have always wondered where my love of art originated! You look a lot like my mother’s side of the family- DiCocco, and Cinchetti! My husband and I were in Lucca five years ago, beautiful city! We live in Crystal Beach Florida and we are both retired teachers! I just wanted to say hello and that I my thankful that I have a little bit of your artistic DNA!
ReplyDeleteLoretta
Ciao Giovanni..enjoyed looking at your Memories of Lucca, lovely Tuscany town, which we visited sometime ago. We also had dinner at Leo's who treated us quite nicely. Many years later our daughter had a wonderful time there while on her honeymoon. A great story but lengthy. ..for another time. Bono Fortuno!
ReplyDeleteMarguerite & Richard.
Ciao! I recall my 9 weeks in Lucca with great fondness, as well as Maestro Giovanni (Prof. DelMonte), to whom, with Prof. Michael Monaghan I owe much to this day in the style of my own work and teaching at Greensboro College (26 years!!). I also remember the early weekend morning I was called down (no cell or landline) from below in La Torre Guinigi (I was sleeping near the top floor!). It was the Polizia, who asked me to come to the Banco, where the Maestro met us, and explained the reason there were two quite different-looking signatures on my traveler's checque was because I was an artist. You see, I was in the midst of changing my own life so much, I would sign as a lefty one day, using a round, loopy capital J and lower-case G, and even round connections between my lower-case A and M; the next day, it was all spiky, triangular marks, which I use to this day, leaning like a righty (which I am!). I owe my very freedom to the Maestro!
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