More Supplies/Cortona & Deruta

  I feel so lucky to have an actual studio space on this visit to Panicale. It's a perfect spot, with gorgeous light and my favorite view of Lago Trasimeno. I can set it up the way I want, without cramping our living space and Janelle, too. When it's time to go, I will leave it as I have found it.

  The problem, although it's a fun one, is that I need to also make it work for me. It's an empty room, at this point, but I am turning it into a work space.

  With a couple more stops to art supply stores, I have most of what I need.

In Cortona, on the main street into town, I stop for lots of tubes of paint
 and also some medium here.

 The art store in Cortona is small and sweet. I have been here several times, and I am happy to pay a little bit more just to be waited on by the gentleman who runs the place.

I like it here.

Plenty of things to be tempted by.

He is one of my favorite reasons for shopping here.

  A couple of days after the trip to Cortona, we head down to Deruta, about thirty minutes south of where we are staying. I'd been told by a painter last year that this was a great source for just about anything I would need, and at good prices. 

 We both loved the first impression. What we wouldn't give to own this place, a great studio for me!

Ok, so the actual store is behind this "for sale" building, but it looks so great.
That's our little Peugeot there, too.

  Deruta is known for it's ceramics, and this shop has lots of supplies for that particular field of work. But it has plenty of everything for the studio, too. I was planning to jury-rig some kind of easel, but Janelle spotted some up high, and there was one that was the right size, and not too expensive.
  I also found more paint, some scraping tools, and little medium cups to attach to my easel.

Looking at colors available.

I bought the one with the green tag. I'm hoping I can find somewhere to stash it for next year.
Not worth the cost to try and get it home.

Supplies for making ceramics. They had a special on canvases, but I brought a huge roll with me.
I still need to stretch my own canvases.

Testing brushes.

  So before it's a done deal, we make certain we can fit the easel into the back of our tiny Peugeot. With the carton gone, and some local Italian help figuring out how to lay the back seats down, we get it all in.

Easel in the back...Done!

Time to check out and go. More tools of the trade.

  At the other end, no problem getting the easel out, and now we can load up the back with firewood...another chore that we need to cross off our list of "to do". I will probably just leave the back seats down, we seem to always be loading stuff in and out.

Can't wait to make it all work.