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Nancy Crowley, Artist
I am a professional and international artist, and for many years now, I have had the privilege of traveling and painting throughout Europe. I love to travel to Italy and paint the landscapes and cityscapes and paint the light that falls upon the beautiful countryside. I am constantly learning and developing my skills, as an artist, and enjoy the challenge and excitement of sharing my passion for art, with my viewers, thru my painting. Most recently, I was invited to participate in the Caterina de’ Medici International Art Competition, in Florence, Italy. This competition is held periodically, and artists from all over the world are invited to Florence, to paint an original work of art, on sight, in Florence, to be judged a week after the competition begins. I accepted the invitation and with great excitement and expectations, I packed up my brushes, paints and artists' easel, and my husband and I hopped a flight and flew to Florence, Italy. We met our good friend Jan Gardiner there and I began my quest to paint in this competition. None of us knew what to expect in this adventure!
century hotel, located in the historic center of town. I decided to paint the great 13th century cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore. This world renowned architectural monument, with its massive dome, created by the genius of Brunelleschi, and the bell tower that was created by Giotto, represented the power and glory of Florence, to me. I immediately started sketching out my masterpiece and expected it would take about 30 hours to complete, and it did! The Italians love art and artists and my painting created quite a stir at the hotel, when the employees found out that I was
one of the artists competing in this years' competition.) Of course, while I painted and toiled with the master piece, (fortunately they did not ask the artists to paint any of the churches ceilings), John and Jan Gardiner toured the city, ate lunch at many memorable local restaurants, drank excellent Italian wine and enjoyed experiencing Florence with the Florentines. Every night, we would all go out to dinner, enjoy another new restaurant with great food and wine and celebrate the successful progress of my masterpiece.
