Robert P Hedden Art: Painting Italy's Amalfi Coast, Villa Rufolo in Ravello

At Villa Rofolo, Ravello Italy

I en plein air painted at the Villa Rufolo in the town of Ravello on Italy's Amalfi Coast. It was a misty day when I started the painting but cleared by the time I finished. At that point I recognized the Town of Maiori below, where we had rented an apartment for our 12 day stay. The Umbrella Pine tree and twin towers were my main interest and a variety of views of this scene can be found on postcards and in travel media. A large group of teen students entered the Villa at the same time as I did (as well as many other tourists). A group of six or so boys, ages 13 to 14 decided to sit on a shaded concrete bench six feet from my easel and were very talkative. They left after 20 minutes but came back a half hour later, still talkative. One who spoke English was very inquisitive and like the kids surrounding me when I painted the Salerno Duomo, wanted to know where I was from, how much the painting would cost, and so on. Below is the finished painting. The 13th century Villa and it's 11th century cathedral is one of two villas that the town is famous for. It hosted guests that included popes and emperors.

My finished painting 11x14 inches oil on canvas

The umbrella pine tree also known as a stone pine, is native to the Mediterranean region. It produces an edible pine nut and evidence indicates they have been cultivated for their nuts for 6000 years. The trees are typically 12-20 meters (39-66 feet) but can reach 25 meters or 82 feet. This was an older tree as the reddish bark had turned dark.
The bus ride from Maiori to Amalfi takes about twenty minutes and just before Amalfi we got off to wait for a bus to take up the hill to Ravello. My wife and daughter are pictured at the stop. I was checking the posted bus schedule and said out loud " I wonder when the next bus will come"? A gentleman nearby said about an hour. He was fibbing, as I later noticed him standing next to his taxi.
For years I have been a subscriber to International Artist Magazine and receive a brochure on their artist/instructor led travel/paint trips. I always wanted to take one, so I modeled our trip after one they offered, including the time of year. However we spent all 12 days on the Amalfi Coast, rather than going to Sicily for the last 6 days. The magazine sponsored trip included some tours that would reduce my painting time and I did not want to paint totally in watercolor. The point in mentioning this is that after I was painting the above scene for an hour or so, I looked down at the observation level below me and the organized group had appeared. See picture below. When I had packed up they were finishing what was quite a short visit. One of the participating gentlemen saw me and introduced himself a one of as group of Australians taking a painting trip. At that point the instructor passed by and I got an introduction as someone who had read about him. I added up the total cost for the three of us for our trip and it was about $500 more than I alone would have spent for the guided trip.