PAINTING IN TUSCANY: Landscape

Showing posts with label Landscape. Show all posts

PAINTING EN PLEIN AIR

VILLA IL VENTAGLIO FIRENZE

This year has started with many pleasant news regarding arts.

First of all my work was selected to Fabriano in Italy,

but I will tell you more about that in another post, maybe with some photos...

Then my friend Natus had the brilliant idea

to create a group of

watercolour painters in Florence.

We meet regularly to paint together in different places of the city

- urban locations - we've met in Fiesole, P.zza Santo Spirito or -

as in this case - in a garden, Villa il Ventaglio.

Such a lovely day!

It's a great occasion of sharing your passion with lovely people.

There are already many of us, and more join every time!

And -

another nice part is when at the end we usually have lunch together!

Loose Landscape Painting

A corner of Tuscany - Fattoria Poggiopiano 2016

28x38cm

The last years I have concentrated on loosing up my paintings.

It has been a lot of work: experimenting, making mistakes...

A lot of fun,

but also frustrating when you don't achieve satisfying results...

Obviously I started with my favourite subject, florals.

I also aimed to capture the movement of cyclists, in an abstract way (more here).

To get a different approach to landscape painting I attended a one day workshop with

Italian Watercolor Artist Luciano Boscaini.

detail

It is always interesting to see other artists work and I got practical advice and examples that I also love to share to my students.

For example about soft and hard edges , and letting color bleed - like you see on the roof (detail above).

This is something I love to use, AND VERY IMPORTANT when you wish to LOOSEN UP your paintings!

But until you see it from real, you don't really get it!

(I'll prepare a tutorial on this, soon)

He's definitely not for beginners, and also the level of the other participating artists was high!

I had a great time, and actually painted 3 paintings,

- I just can't stop painting, so in order not to overwork, I usually start a new one while the first is drying! -

so I'll prepare more photos soon!

Chianti Poesia

I'm sharing this link with a short presentation of me in italian

here, on Chianti Poesia ,

the blog of Leonardo Manetti, a local poet and blogwriter.

A chi interessa, può leggere una mia breve presentazione

qui, su Chianti Poesia,

il blog di Leonardo Manetti, il poeta del Chianti!

Abstract landscapes 2 - Paesaggi astratti 2

Simplifying even more - just the horizon and colour washes...

Semplificando ancora - solo colore e orizzonte...

Sunset and backlight...

Tramonto e controluce...

And what about this - can you see a landscape here?!

E questo cosa sarà - ci vedi un paesaggio?!

link to more abstract landscapes- paesaggi astratti here

Abstract landscapes - Paesaggi astratti

Just some small abstract landscape studies from this winter.

My purpose was to simplify the shapes and play with the colours.

Alcuni piccoli paesaggi astratti dipinti quest'inverno.

Lo scopo era di semplificare le forme, giocando con i colori.

As you might see, I was inspired by... olive grooves at sunset.

Forse si può vedere che sono stata ispirata dagli uliveti al tramonto...

I think it's also clear in which order I painted these?!

Credo si possa capire anche la successione dei dipinti?!

Starting again! Ricomincio!

I haven't been posting for a LOOONG time.

I have been feeling that I am on a turning point, not happy with what I'm painting.

I've been experimenting, doing abstract, trying other mediums as well.

I didn't find any answers -

but I'm absolutely enjoying the process of doing arts

- and teaching.

So I decided to start sharing my work again and

Hope you enjoy some of it!

E da tanto tempo che non condivido i miei lavori - ma adesso lo farò e scriverò anche in italiano!

Non sono stata - e non lo sono ancora - contenta dei miei lavori,

ma ho dipinto e sperimentato varie tecniche.

Adesso posso dire che la procedura del creare arte per me è fondamentale e piacevolissimo

- così come l'insegnare,

è ricomincerò a condividere i miei lavori

sperando che qualcuno vi piaccia!

Painting Endless Summer Nights...

Late evening: Summerhouse in the Archipelago

I'm reposting this painting I made from a photo a while ago.

I kind of feel nostalgic about

Midsummer in the Finnish Archipelago and the long days and sunny nights...

Watercolor landscape workshop!

I had a lovely weekend recently, painting in good company and experimenting new technics, participating at a workshop by the Swedish artist Björn Bernström. It was very inspiring and liberating with new approaches, and especially fun to look for special effects - like 'cauliflowers' - that traditionally are considered errors!

Here, as in the first picture, we were using burnt umber creating staining effects...

A more traditional painting, or actually two in one!!

Exploring wet-in-wet and new colors, more than aiming for finished paintings.

They look better separated!

Here the transparent and delicate colors show a little better...

Small landscape paintings

The other day I had a walk in the afternoon,

and Oh, all of a sudden there was such a beautiful light! The hills of Chianti were lit by the late sun and turned out red - the contrast with the olive groves was just wonderful! Unfortunately I couldn't capture the beauty of the moment, but I really wanted to paint it, so later I did it from my memory!

I also framed some of my small landscapes with a passepartout because it really makes a difference, The works look much nicer when more finished up, don't you agree!?

Atmospheres from Chianti - and Sketchbook Tuesday!

These are some pictures from Sunday, that I already shared on Instagram.

Just a few details.

Such a lovely atmosphere in such a beautiful place...

To the end, since it's my Sketchbook Tuesday, a sketch in watercolor and colored pen from a view in Tuscany. It was a rainy and foggy day, you couldn't see far away, and again I just wanted to capture the atmosphere...

Tuscan view with a small sanctuary

Watercolor on paper.

San Gusmé, Tuscany

Some photos from my day in San Gusmé and surroundings, in Tuscany, some time ago.

There is endless inspiration for paintings. Since I wasn't able to paint on that occasion, I took many photos and hopefully can show you something further on...

Autumn is coming to Tuscany, too...

...and I want to anticipate some of the beautiful colours of the wines in the autumn. This painting is from quite a few years ago. I painted it from a photo by a wellknown Tuscan photo artist - but I'm not 100% sure about his name and cannot find the original source. I wold be happy to link to him if someone knows his name!