In plain air: The spectacle of looking

They tease me, the Italian men walking in twos along the corso. And the young couples coming in and out of the café pause for a while to have a look. Their children are the boldest and also the most shy, coming close enough for me to hear their quickening breath, yet they say nothing. I know that my behavior invites the attention; I knew this when I woke up with the thought of painting this particular view of the street, but I'm doing it anyway.

In the Umbrian region of Italy, the Medieval city structure of Orvieto sits at the top of a hill. Most mornings it's surrounded by a moat of thick fog that covers over Ovieto Scalo (the surrounding area of the town below), and creates the effect of a city suspended in cloud. Just after 8 a.m. and already very bright, the rows of buildings and the strings of triangular flags form jagged, angular shadow shapes against the street.