Pastel of Carceri Footpath

Keep your love of nature,

for that is the true way

to understand art more and more.

~Vincent van Gogh

Carceri Footpath pastel on LaCarte 2011

This is the pastel I have been working on (that was driving me insane) and I finally have it just about where I want it. Phew. The thing is, is that it looks so different on here! The actual piece is darker and deeper in places and the greens are a little different. I tried to compensate by using iphoto but it's still not right. Alas, it's the best I can do!

This path is from a photo I took at the Franciscan Sanctuary up the road from the old part of Assisi called Eremo delle Carceri. There is a beautiful monastery there with lovely forested footpaths, as well as outdoor chapels and small caves in the mountainside where St. Francis and his closest followers spent weeks at a time praying. I did a post about it from my last trip.

It's another of my favorite places on the planet. Being there, you can see why Francis loved it so much. It is so lush and peaceful and feels, as I have said before, sacred.

But I always think that

the best way to know God

is to love many things.

~Vincent van Gogh