How to Continue a Hobby Thousands of Miles from Home 

There is no shortage of art in Florence. Filling museums, the streets, and stores, you’ll find paintings everywhere. One of my favorite activities during my semester abroad was to walk past the booths of different artists on the street and see what everyone was painting. Often there were landscapes of Florence, which depicted the recognizable features of bridges, buildings, and spaces. Each artist had their own style, with some opting for saturated color palettes, while others chose to stick to a monochromatic look. 

My drawing of one of the buildings near my apartment 

A local artist’s magnets of some sites in Florence 

Immediately after I arrived in Florence, I realized that I was surrounded by inspiration for my art, but I didn’t have any art supplies to create my projects. I searched online for the best art supply stores around Florence, and Rigacci came up. It’s located on a street that leads directly to the Duomo, and after I picked up watercolors and a new sketchbook, I wandered towards the beautiful landmark.  

Rigacci, an art supply store where I bought the watercolors and sketchbook I would use abroad 

The subject I was most interested in was the people. Tourists, locals, and study abroad students created a rich diversity of characters. One woman in particular, who was sitting in front of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, had two dogs and a large jacket on. After using a combination of watercolor and colored pencils to create the drawing, I added a pigeon. No matter where you are in Florence, there will always be a pigeon nearby, and I believe this was my nod to the city. 

My drawing of a woman and her dogs 

Another subject I’ve always loved is flowers and nature. When I was visiting London, I was interested in this rose bush I saw. It was delicate and being the beginning of spring, it only had a few blooms.  

My sketch of roses from my trip to London 

However, I’m not the only one who is interested in nature. Something I love about artist communities is that they will often paint a person or location together. One day as I was walking around Florence, I watched as some painters were capturing the trees around them. It was so amazing to watch them work in the space they were painting in. 

Artist booths in front of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore 

Someone’s painting of a fountain 

Florence is known for being the birthplace of the Renaissance, and from Michelangelo to Leonardo da Vinci, many artists’ work remains in the city. Michelangelo’s "David" is located in the Accademia Gallery and is one of the most impressive statues I’ve ever seen. Especially because I don’t work in sculpture, it’s incredible to see how Michelangelo was able to carve marble to look like flesh. 

Michelangelo’s "David" 

A local artist’s recreation of Leonardo de Vinci’s "Mona Lisa" in the streets of Florence 

"David" was just one of the amazing pieces of work I was able to see around Europe. Exploring museums, I was able to find some new favorites. The experience I am most grateful for, however, was being able to see my favorite painting in person. John Singer Sargent’s “Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose” and his other works have heavily influenced my personal style, and it was incredible to see his work in person.  

Standing in front of my favorite painting, John Singer Sargent’s "Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose"

Whether creating art myself or gaining new inspiration just from looking at work from the greats, it became easy to continue my hobby abroad.