I’ve just returned from a weeks family holiday to Lake Como. We stayed at a beautiful villa looking over the central section of the lake. Apart from a day of rain the weather was perfect and we visited many beautiful places around the lake. We even went to Milan for the day to see Di Vichi’s ‘Last Supper’ and the stunning cathedral.
From a sketching point of view I didn’t find much time to paint but the view from the villa’s terrace had to be drawn….
View from Villa Cesare (well about half of the view)
The other half of the lake view was sketched as a quick postcard, on tricky paper.
We visited a stunning villa on the lakeside called Villa del Balbianello, used as locations for Star Wars and James Bond. While the others went round the house I sat on a terrace and sketched the loggia
The last of my sketches were on the final day, looking at lakeside towns we had visited earlier that day, from the villa terrace. These are pencil and wash and I’m pleased with the way they both look on the page.
I took a lot of photos and plan to make paintings from them, which I will show in this blog when done.
Hugh's Sketchbook 
Dear Hugh, I love your work. I mostly do photography, but occasionally try to convert my photos into paint…sometimes by hand, but now I’m thinking of trying some digital versions. Anyway, I was also enchanted by the Villa del Balbienello, and wondered if you had done any sketches of the lovely arches framing the lake, and the swirling greenery up on the columns…would love to hear from you, when you have time…
Nicole (in Vermont, USA)
Dear Nicole, many thanks for your kind comments. We had a lovely holiday at Lake Como and I enjoyed sketching the lake and islands. I only had time for the one sketch at the Villa but found the whole place enchanting. Italy is such a beautiful country with so many views to inspire, I’ve been often and never tire of the scenery. I’m using oils and watercolors and like to use the best medium for the task in hand. Painting outdoors is very difficult and I’m slowly learning how to do it but my photography skills are none existent which makes things tricky when I try to finish the painting at home using a photo. Good luck with your photography and painting.
Hugh (London)