"Buying Chestnuts on Christmas Eve - Rome" (18"x14", Oil on Canvas, $550)
I used this as one of my Christmas images this year and I think it was appropriate. This was early evening. You can see the very last of the day in the distance, combined with the first headlights of the night. There was a very light drizzle, which was enough to bring out the umbrella vendor in the background. You can see the overhead light mentioned in the previous post, and the same chestnut 'vine' used to decorate it. The roasting pan shows the little door on the side where the coals are put in. The finished chestnuts (the ones that have fully split) are looked over by the older vendor while his son(?) fills a cone for the lady on the left. She's just said that she's a little short on euros, so the older man has told his protege to "Just give her a few less". Never turn away a sale.
I have great memories of that Christmas Eve in Rome. Dinner across from of the Pantheon, followed by singing Christmas carols right inside the Pantheon. The light drizzle had picked up a little by then and was falling through the oculus in the dome onto the richly mosaic'ed floor, which only added to the magic of the moment. I was standing right up against the velvet rope for the common people while the wealthy Romans had to scoot their chairs to avoid getting wet beyond the rope. Bingo! Front row! I was well-dressed for the evening, so I didn't feel too out of place, singing carols in Italian (well, faking it, actually).
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