Italian Trattoria painting

Good Food Good Friends - painting Bee Skelton

I've enjoyed every part of Italy visited so far;  obvious tourist destinations like Pisa, Florence, Rome, Sienna, San Gimignano.  But one of my favourite places doesn't seem to receive as much attention as the rest.  Apart from business types heading for the exhibition centre, folk appear to use Bologna's airport mostly as a touchdown on the way to somewhere else.  In fact the first time, my friend and I did just that before moving on to Sienna. Fortunately we explored enough to know we wanted to return for longer.

Trattoria Bologna sketch

Bologna has the oldest existing university in the world so is full of exhilarating student-life.  Among its many other attractions there are some excellent restaurants.  Let's face it, if you can't find good food in Italy .... there's something wrong with you!  I made the above painting from a sketch inspired by a crowd of students celebrating graduation.  The place was buzzing with life and excitement.  I hope from the use of colour I've been able to convey a little of the tremendous atmosphere.

You can email me for information about anything you see.  A small collection of work can also sometimes be seen in my Etsy shop.