A Little Chicken Love

A special post for my brother, Eric Deibler, who is considering having a flock of chickens. He is thinking about Buff Orpingtons, a heritage breed. "What's a heritage breed" you ask! Sometimes called "rare breeds" or even "antique breeds," these are agricultural animals that are so low in numbers they are considered endangered. They're genetically important, so raise some! A great resource for learning is the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy out of Pittsboro, North Carolina. Visit their website!

This beautiful rooster posed pretty well! Painted on site at Kelmscott Farm in Lincolnville, Maine, a haven for rare agricultural breeds.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Sometimes it's the simple things, like a USB port multipllier, that make life worth living. Another image created on the iPad using Sketchbook Pro.

Happy Holidays!

My Italian Cigar Menorah: I leave Florence, Italy, for the United States on Monday. Here is my last tribute to the Italian experience- at least from Italian soil. Happy Holidays, everyone! It's been great, and these little Italian cigars have been great as well...

To Market, To Market

As my time in Florence winds down I realize I've been taking for granted (a little bit) the ability to shop "in season" at the Central Market. I'll miss this fanfare of the freshest, most delectable vegetables, cheeses, meats, pastas and baked goods (to mention just a few of the products available here). I'll miss the merchandise, for sure, but also the visual cacophony of so much being so available. Here's to Florence!

The BEST Kebab in Florence

Though I've sampled quite a few kebabs, now, I think my favorite is from La Boheme, via dei Benci 15/R (though I confess to not yet patronizing Amon, which gets great reviews at TripAdvisor). Still, this is an excellent kebab, and, if you like the fixin's, get it with everything. Everything. The hot sauce is hot, so beware! Good stuff!

Boboli Gardens, Sketch Crawl

On Saturday I took my University of Connecticut art students on a "sketch crawl" at the Boboli Gardens in Florence, Italy. For the uninitiated, a sketch crawl is a group of artists getting together and drawing on location. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. We even enjoyed lunch afterward, courtesy of Palazzo Rucellai (where the students are currently enrolled). What's better than a morning of drawing? A morning of drawing followed by as much pizza and salad as you can eat.

Pre-Holiday Dinner

Just a little visual record of the recent pre-holiday dinner celebrated with friends (and artists) Patti Argoff and Deborah Dancy. Good food, good times, good friends. This is what the holidays are all about!