Painting small on a big hill

Here is a view of a great valley that is always a pleasure to walk to.  I was drawn by the large Oak tree that dominates this part of the hill.  It was a warm and windless day - a perfect morning for painting.

This is a simple subject, should be easy...I just have to remember everything.  Small doesn't mean easy, I had a struggle with the value of the far hill, and I had to remind myself not use too much cad yellow in the foreground grass.

Getting the masonite covered

I made some changes on the front porch the next day,  I enjoy re-touching outdoors with indirect sunlight.  Also easier to breath. If I could just keep the neighborhood cats from walking on my palette - hey! don't lick the Burnt Sienna.

Tre Querce, Toscana  oil/panel  8x10in -  available at the Stage Door Gallery

Upcoming show

I want to tell you that I have a show coming up in January, it is a three person show entitled WINTER WALLS along with artists Tim Gorman and Dorothy Hudgins at the Stage Door Gallery in Cape Charles Virginia, USA.  The Show opens on Jan 11 and there is a reception that starts at 6 pm.   I will be far away in Italy at that time, but please stop by the gallery if you can.  Here is a link to the the Stage Door gallery  www.stagedoorgallery.com

It is difficult to post without a new image so here is a photo of the neighborhood in the Maremma region of Tuscany.  I will be posting a couple of new paintings soon.

Painting a house in Tuscany

This house is quite close to our place and I was able to visit it frequently.  It took a while to find the angle and also the time of day to paint.  I was drawn to this position because of the shadows on the stairs and on the little greenhouse. The driveway served as a nice entrance.

The house in morning light

Since I could visit this house often, I took some time to do a pencil sketch and take some notes.  I think that the sketch helped a lot when it was time to touch the canvas with a wet brush - I had some experience with the lines and the vanishing point.

Underway

After the the final drawing was on the canvas I could relax (sort of) and paint,  I had to try to fit the values together like a puzzle - when they fit the light "appears" on the canvas.  The shadows changed position in about 10 minutes.  So I came back the next day and was ready for the moment that the light made the diagonal shadow across the greenhouse roof.  I had to note the position of all the shadows on the canvas at that point in time.  Once the light changes it can be difficult to remember which potted plants were in light etc. at the chosen painting "moment".

 I did some retouching at home - calming the yellow grass for one thing, and below is the finished painting.

Podere Monte Merazzano  o/c  30x40cm  SOLD

Scouting the neighborhood

Sometimes it is a good idea to leave the paint at home and explore by foot or car a new area. My wife Monica and I took an afternoon to drive around the neighborhood.  With a simple digital camera one can record the sites that might be worth painting.  So the following are some pictures from that afternoon.

A new friend in the neighborhood

The wife

Is Tuscany great or what?  There are subjects everywhere.  I ended up going back the next day to a spot with a few trees and a beautiful dry field.  I heard some guys working nearby, so I had to approach the country boys with my limited Italian to ask permission.  They thought I was crazy to even ask, and were happy to let me set up nearby.  They were splitting fire wood, and the smell of the saw dust and split wood was pleasant on that hot afternoon.  Things were fine until they cranked up the chain saw.  Oh well, I was well into the sketch by then.

Getting started - kind of late, but there is always tomorrow

I really liked the simplicity of this site, with the long shadows, the spacing of the trees, the broad flat foreground.  I had seen the side view of this spot many times driving down the hill, but never got out of the car to check out the possibilities. 

 I had to try to get the shadows down quickly, because things were changing fast, there are always a few shadows I forget to record and then much later  I try to remember their angle and it's too late.  Just a thin blue or brown without any white will do to position the shadows on the canvas.  

Day two - why was I so late getting out yesterday?

You can see the red-orange underpainting of the tree foliage

Fine Estate, Toscana  o/c  30x40cm

Morning Light

There is a big gap between when I paint and when I post -  this painting was done in July and it is already November.  I blame it on the fact that I like to photograph the painting after I get a couple of coats of retouch varnish on it, and for that the painting has to be quite dry.  Well that is my excuse anyway.  So, lets try to remember.... July - hot, buggy, the sun always too high in the sky.

Morning light

I had to use the umbrella to keep the sun off me and the canvas, and then a large rock in the easel to keep the whole thing from blowing over.  Usually I am facing the sun, but not today.

The reverse angle of my set-up

Getting started

This was a great place to paint as there were varied flat and vertical planes, and many levels of distant hills, each getting lighter and more cool.  It appeared to me that the dry grass fields became more and more pink with the distance.

Getting there, the watch is to remind me not to be late for lunch

Rotoballe al Mattino  o/c  40x50cm  -    Available at the Stage Door Gallery

More Hay Bales

This time the sun was really in my face.  I was happy with the way the light produced the glow around the edge of the hay bales.  Planning from the beginning I tried not to use white in the foreground shadow, to keep it thin.  I used various browns thinned way down with Liquin.  OK,  I eventually I added a bit of white when mixing some cool lavenders and grays.  This was a bright afternoon for painting -  too much light everywhere.  The far hills were high in value.  I had to keep the sky light as hell to get some contrast.

The challenge

I had to use my deluxe light blocker to keep the light off my palette

My world for a few intense hours

Rotoballe Controluce  o/c  30x40cm

Summer Hay Bales

There are cut fields in Tuscany with round hay bales everywhere this summer.  The fields have a different color depending on the moisture and type of hay.  We are lucky to be living near several fields with beautiful hills in the background.  I managed to get a few photos of this first painting in different stages.  To arrive at this beginning point it did take quite a bit of walking around in morning and afternoon light trying to find the right angle.  Below is the view I chose. 

Starting point

The drawing

Blue hills

I usually put down some white on the horizon as a sort of value check, I know that I will have to keep that area extremely light.  This works for me because I usually don't have time to labor over the sky when I am in the field, at least on the first day.  Later when I do my tweaking at home I mix some patchy light color spots into that white zone.

almost there

Below is the finished painting.  Other than the biting gnats, the afternoon was peaceful.

Rotoballe Sulla Collina  o/c  40 x 50cm   available at the Stage Door Gallery