Italy

This summer I went to Italy with my family. We stayed in Florence with one side trip to Sienna.

It was so incredibly inspiring. There is so much art there and some of it is so old. It reminded me of the importance of using quality materials and making sure that when you paint that masterpiece, it is on a substantial support. There were enormous paintings, maybe 10 feet tall or more, painted on board from the 1500's. It was surreal to see the beauty still there after such a long time. The sculpture in the Accademia dell'arte was also amazing.

I carried my art box that I made from a casino humidor and four tubes of paint. In Sienna, I bought no odor turpentine and was able to plein aire paint two small paintings early in the week. These paintings would take at least four days to dry enough to get home and since I was only there for seven days, I had to paint early.

I chose to paint the "via" leading up to our apartment as it was so typical of the area. It was one of those pinch me moments. Am I really sitting here in Italy painting on the side of a road. Vespas flew up the hill as did several of the small cars. It was noisy but so vibrant. The next day around six in the evening, I took wine up to the porch overlooking Florence and painted the scene from there. It was such an amazing view, I am glad to have the painting as a reminder of how that moment felt. I hope to use this plein aire and paint it larger soon.

Since returning home, I have begun work on a large painting of Ponte Vecchio and so far I am happy that I feel like I caught the feeling that the view from almost down at the bridge down from Ponte Vecchio gives a new visiter to Florence. I will post this painting soon but here are the two quick studies I did on location. Hope you enjoy and I welcome your thoughts !

Back to blogging

Well, it is sadly obvious that I have had a lot going on since March. My youngest graduated last weekend from high school and now I hope to begin posting again on a more regular basis. I have continued painting during this time but don't feel that I was putting myself in to the work.

It is important to feel connected to the painting or the viewer may not get a sense of the artist. The paintings that I am the most passionate about are the ones that seem to vibrate on the canvas.

I have been painting still life,plein aire and models from life. It is helpful in all aspects of painting. The only thing that I think helps more is drawing all the time. Sometimes I sculpt figures. This helps with understanding what goes on under the skin and helps with drawing and painting.

Recently, I was invited to paint a figure outside. it was a great time. I love to paint outside with all the challenges. There is such a sense of accomplishment in being able to withstand the bugs, the light changes and on this occasion, the heat. Add a model to this and the bar is raised higher. What a great day and great fun with some really fun and talented artists.

Dr John

Here is a portrait that I painted last week. I saw this man shopping and thought he was so dapper that I wanted to paint him. When my sister asked if we could take his picture, he said that people were always asking him this. He made a great subject !

Thank you for your thoughts !

Frustration

Apparently, I have two blogs going on and I don't know how this can be so if I post the same thing twice, I apologize. I am frustrated because when I photograph my art, I am not able to have a finished image that is as nice as the actual painting. Maybe this happens to everyone but I have seen iphone images better than the way mine look on my Mac. If anyone has a suggestion other than the obvious, get an iphone, I would appreciate the help !

Thank you

Lost Blog

Somehow my blog became deleted.  It could be seen but I could not post on it.  Finally after several hours of frustration, I managed to reinstate it and so I am back !   Here is w hat I have done following the holidays.  My husband grew a beard and I decided to paint the character that he is.  Here are also the photos of the beard leaving by degrees.  Hope you enjoy !