artisan, artist, Italy, italy travel, italy travel photographer, painter, susan monk, Travel, travel destination highlights, travel tours, tuscan artisan, tuscan painter

When I was in Italy last, I had happened upon a painter in a small piazza (square) in San Gimignano, Tuscany.

Her name was Susan Monk and she was a Kiwi from NZ who studied in Chicago and ended up in Tuscany – how magical is that?

The pieces I bought were very small – the top photo is about a foot high…the bottom one, each little painting not even 3 inches each.

I tucked them in my very small suitcase and prayed they would get home unscathed.

They survived and when I moved back to Manila, several years later, I got them framed – I knew framing would be next to nothing and also knew that we were moving there shortly so waited to frame them.

Every time my eye catches them, I stop for a moment and remember…remember that conversation with Susan, remember that piazza, remember San Gimignano, remember my beloved Italy.