Spanish Steps, Roma

*All of my Travel Sketches may be re-painted by commission.  If you see one you like that is sold or you'd prefer in different colors, contact me!*

The steps are less for traversing and more for inhabiting, watching, socializing, and of course, sketching. I was fascinated with how the view up the steps and its opulent architecture toward the Church of Trinita dei Monti changed as one ascended. I drew six views from ascending positions on the steps and, in this drawing constructed later, combined them with a sketch of the Spanish Steps from the piazza below and located the sketching positions.

I made the ink drawings of the views as an architectural history graduate student on fellowship from University of Virginia in 2012. I later combined them with a sketch I made of the Spanish Steps fifteen years earlier as an undergrad studying abroad with Virginia Tech. I used watercolor to interpret and enliven the drawing during pandemic quarantine, Spring 2020.

Watercolor Paper 140gsm

16” x 20”

Frame not included.

I'm excited to bring nearly 100 of my architectural Travel Sketches, created in mostly Italy, but also Switzerland, France, Spain, Greece, Hungary and Czech Republic from 1998 - 2012, into a Collection: lines drawn on site now illuminated by watercolor. Together, they reveal my personal evolution in architectural travel sketching and offer a piece of travel art that can remind you of your own memories in place, invite you into these spaces with your own experiential vision.

Thanks for helping to DO GOOD and GIVE BACK: 25% of the sale of each piece will be donated to Lifting Hands International* (LHI), a 501(c)(3) public charity that specializes in international and domestic relief and aid for refugees of war-torn countries of origin.

I'll also donate 5% of the sale of this piece to the University of Virginia School of Architecture for student assistance/scholarship for travel study abroad.