There's a 'panoramic vista' near the ex-church of San Francesco, where my daughter and I always go for a look at the countryside; you really get a sense of the changing of seasons from there. This time the gentle hills & contours had turned shades of violet and mauve (I recall them as even more so than the images above show them to be). [Quartet #1] Pleased that even the hills were playing along this month, from there began an earnest search for more shades of violet...and the town did not disappoint!
Maledetti Toscani (which purports to be Montepulciano's oldest shop) is known for its unusual and creative displays. At the end of summer I remember they had painted several pairs of shoes bright yellowy-orange; serendipitously, lilac paint (& newspaper) seems to be their latest whacky whim. [Quartet #2]
Piazza Grande, the town's main square, inspired a few more shots when I noticed that some of the stones & bricks were tinged with purple. I must admit that they don't appear as pronouncedly purple as I remember, but I was quite struck by them at the time. [Quartet #3]
Following the Corso (Montepulciano's main road, which winds its way up through the town) led to a few more glimpses of violet: a poster featuring part of a fresco in rosy/purple-y tones (Lorenzetti's Allegory of Good Government), a purple plastic jack-o'-lantern 'bucket' (I was very surprised to see one in a color other than orange), and a shop window devoted to purple items. A woman with a winter coat and umbrella in stunning, rich shades of purple ducked into a shop before I could capture her look, but I did manage to surreptitiously photograph a man wearing violet pants. [Quartet #4]
It was fun, once again, to see where the ROY G BIV search took me. I think that Jennifer & Julie may be concluding with a bonus challenge of black & white next month; check their websites if you'd like to play along. And thank you for following my color explorations here over the last several months...
Oh! Viva Maledetti! A sense of whimsy AND good shoes.I'm looking for elves on the cobbeler's bench. :-)
ReplyDeleteTee hee - I very much like the vision of the elves!
Delete- Lisa
Lisa- These are just wonderful! I really get a sense of the town of Montepulciano. The photos of the countryside are particularly exquisite. And I love the playfulness of the lilac sneakers. Thanks so much for playing along all these months. Jennifer and I are planning another month and will let all know for sure what it will be. I hope we can either continue this or start something new in the new year. It's been great fun to see the creativity of all the participants. I continue to be impressed by your beautiful photos and art works. I'm looking forward to having a little break and sitting down with your wonderful book...thanks again!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed them... And I should be thanking you and Jennifer for the challenge - without it I wouldn't have many blog posts in the last several months. It's made me realize how much I love gathering/grouping images, and has given me a good excuse to spend some time doing so (sad how many photos are languishing with little attention since being uploaded).
DeleteIt would be fun to do something more in the New Year too...
- Lisa
Oh I love that display! And how special that the hills and the town were so in synch for violet! A lovely wander for all of us...
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by for a look, Fiona. I really was quite amazed how well the town seemed to be cooperating!
DeleteBTW, I enjoyed your jacarandas...and am still contemplating your latest lovely Thursday Thoughts. Unfortunately, I don't comment as often as I would like because I tend to turn over things in my head for so long that you're already on to a new one - but I do very much enjoy them (and love how you've found images relevant to ROY G BIV to accompany them each month).
Absolutely gorgeous photos - especially of that beautiful landscape.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Helen! And yes, the landscape is what really inspired me to continue my search for violet that weekend - I don't ever remember the hills seeming so purple-y in autumns past, but somehow the land was perfectly dressed for what my camera was hoping to discover.
Delete- Lisa
Your shots of the countryside are exquisite, yet it's the purple brooms and shoes that had me in fits of glee. You captured violets wonderfully! It's been such a delight each month to see what examples of Roy G Biv others found. Thank you for joining us.
ReplyDeleteI think the next question is whether we tackle black & white or if it's black, then white or vice versa. What do you think? Should each color be given a month of its own? Enjoy!
Thanks, Jennifer...and I agree that those brooms/shoes were quite hysterical. Though I've witnessed Maledetti Toscani's sense of whimsy before, the fact that they happened to use lilac paint this time surprised even me!
DeleteI must admit that the idea of black & white together intrigues me (I didn't think it would, but I have an idea that may be worth pursuing). Then again, white on its own seems to beautifully symbolize the beginning of a fresh year. But ending the year with black, while maybe symbolically suitable for those of us in the northern hemisphere, as we enter the darkest/shortest days of year, seems perhaps a little sad. Followed by white, though...maybe? If anything, it will likely inspire some creative interpretations... I'd love to hear everyone else's thoughts.
- Lisa
Fabulous shots, all of them. I love the variety in style and your compositions too. The Montepulciano countryside is gorgeous, I wish I could dive right through your photographs to the actual place!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ersi! I found 'violet' to be so much simpler than 'indigo', and was amazed at how the tinges of violet/purple just sort of appeared during my outings that weekend in Montepulciano. Originally I had thought that this month's images would somehow relate to La Fiorentina, Florence's soccer team - their colors are purple & white. Only when I was out for a walk yesterday did I remember this idea...as always, it's great fun to see how things work out/end up, and I really enjoyed the variety of each person's violets - your purple-y skies were just stunning.
Delete- Lisa