Tuscan Blue Sky Days

Now the weather has bucked up at last, and it is a good day for cloud studies.

 

The day started bright with fluffy clouds, but as it progressed they became more varied and interesting.

I worked on one large board divided up into four sections, each part underpainted with a difference colour, which reflects in the final effect of each study.

They have now been cut into four individual paintings that work really well together as a set.

Cloud studies I, II, III, IV

Each 20 x 14.5cms

Oil on Canvas Board

My paintings are always for sale.  If you are interested please email me.

Tuscan Tree Studies

Trees are something that painters love or hate.  All that green, all those shapes, in watercolour I have devised my own method of approach, but in oils ???  I am more accustomed to painting light clours first, then darks, but to work totally in reverse really gave me brain ache. (Or maybe it was the wine at lunch)
So today was a day of tree studies.  Sessile oaks, Pines of every description, Olive groves. So much to choose from. And it rained. Very hard.
My first choice was a huge Sessile Oak. It was hard enough to get a clear view from ar away enough to fit onto a small piece of paper.

After lunch the sun made a brief appearance and I chose a tree perched precariously on the top of a cliff that I could paint from the cover of a nearby shelter in case the rain came back with a vengeance.

Sessile Oak Study

Wooded Cliff

Oils on paper 20x20cms

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A dismal day in Tuscany

The weather wasn't at it's best to start with.  Our task for the day was to paint the same view in the morning light, then again in the afternoon light.  Sadly the light was pretty flat and remained constant for the entire day.  So - only the one painting this day.  I did try to do other late afternoon light versions late in the week but none of them were finished due to pressures of time.

What a revelation to find I can paint in oils on good quality watercolour paper.  It needs further treatment to ensure its archival properties, but any works sold will be suitably mounted and sealed.  Many thanks to Maddine Insalaco of Etruscan Places for the information and research.

Gloomy day across the valley. Armena
Oils on Paper  20x20 cms
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Time for an oil change

I spent a week in Tuscany lately, with Maddine Insalaco and Joe Vinson of Etruscan Places.  It was a pretty intensive week of Plein Air oil painting, which is not something I normally do, but I really enjoyed it.  Here are a selection of my paintings, (after I had reviewed them and make some small modifications - mainly adjusting the contrast and intensifying a few darks.  There are some more - but I will post those when I have had chance to finish them off.

This is the first - a view from the terrace of our accommodation (which I can really recommend - more of that later).  The umbrella pines and tall spiky Lombardy pines are so typical of the area.  These line the approach road to the farm and stand proudly silhoutted on the hillside.  The olive groves below provided problems of their own due to their regular patterns and softly stated colourings.
This is still a work in progress.  Seeing it on screen really shows up what I need to alter!! I will re-post when it is adjusted.


Umbrellas and Lombardys - Armena
Oils on paper 20x20cms
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Summer chalets Les Prioux

These chalets are at Les Prioux, another little summer hamlet on the road up towards Roc de la Peche, way above Pralognan. You can get to it by car when there is no snow so it is a popular spot, so much so that it has two restaurants, and is one of the few places where you can buy the local delicacy Serac cheese, similar to ricotta.

The tiny chalet in the centre belongs to the patriarch of the family we bought our chalet from so I shall give it to him as a gift.

I am quite pleased with the way the background trees came out. I find it more difficult painting vague suggestions of trees directly from the scene in front of me. A photograhic reference makes life simpler - although it leads to the temptation to put in more information than necessary!

Watercolour on Arches paper 23x31 cms approx.

Summer hamlets - Cholliere

There are a number of hamlets in the mountains that can only be used in the summer months. In the winter they are only accessible on foot, with skis or snow shoes. In the summer they come to life, often rented out to holidaymakers, but still with little or no vehicular access.
Cholliere is one of the closer ones. It is about 20 minutes above the village, a lovely walk up a path alongside the river.
In the winter the river bubbles under the snow and ice, but in the summer it rushes downhill, boosted by the glacial melt water to a pale turquoise, over ochre coloured rocks. That is a painting for another day.
Behind you can see Grande Casse and the Aiguille de Vanoise, and the distinctive mound of Le Moriond.
This time it wasn't too far to carry my painting things. I still need to reduce what I take, but watercolour needs less equipment, so has to be favourite for outings on foot.

Watercolour on Arches paper. Approx 31x23 cms.
My paintings are always for sale. If you are interested email me.

Barmettes mountain refuge

This is a painting of one of the mountain refuges, at Barmettes approx 2000 metres. It is at the top of one of the ski lifts so in winter it is easily accessible for skiers.
It has a stunning backdrop of the Aiguille de Vanoise, and the Grande Casse behind.
In the summer it is a serious uphill climb, but at the height of the season the lift opens for three days a week. I caught the very last opportunity to lift up as I would have had difficulty hiking up there with my painting kit.
I sat in the middle of the piste to paint, but happily there were no skiers rushing downhill at breakneck speed. Just a few curious hikers.
On the day I was painting there was a race going on - 68 kms with a total rise of 3800 metres. The runners started at 5 am, and the leading runner came past about 2 pm. Huffing and puffing, but still running!!

Watercolour on Arches paper. Approx 31x23 cms.
My paintings are always for sale. Please email me if you are interested.

Mountain watercolours

I have filled a painting pad with watercolours of the mountains. They aren't all worth posting, but one or two are fit to show.
This first one is of the Val de Chaviere from the top of the Bochor cablecar. The viewpoint is at 2000 metres, and is a enormous view over the entire valley, heading up towards the Roc de la Peche.
The refuge at Roc de la Peche is open all year round for intrepid travellers in the snow but access is often restricted because of avalanche threats, the approach valley is really steep. In the summer it is accessible by foot for normal souls. Having said that it is still a good uphill treck of around 5 kms.
This watercolour was done at the top of the cablecar, it was so hot I tried to shelter under a tree, but they were all conifers - and very prickly!

Watercolour on Arches paper. Approx 23 x 31 cms.
My paintings are always for sale. If you are interested please email me.

Summer again

After much flitting about we are back in Pralognan, the weather hasn't been as consistent as last year, so I have established a more permanent (than the dining room table) studio upstairs in the attic. The light is good and here is plenty of space, unfortunately the access (via ladder) is a little precarious, but hey ho...

The first of my summer offerings is here, started in the spring from sketches on site and photographs to follow up. The first painting finished in my new studio!
It is the view upstream of the Torrent de la Gliere, with the round dome of Le Moriond behind, from the Pont de Creuset at the hamlet of Fontanettes. I have got some great photos of the same view covered in snow so I'll save that for later.

Acrylic on canvas. 40x40cm

My paintings are always for sale. If you are interested please email me.

Notre Dame des Neiges

This tiny chapel of Our Lady of the Snows at Novaz sits dwarfed by the enormous mountains behind it. In the depths of winter it gets no more than a few minutes of sunshine each day, but as winter melds into spring the sun gets to rest on the roof, the skeletal trees stand out against the darkness of the mountain pines and light illuminates the snowy plain.

Notre Dame des Neiges at Novaz
Acrylics on canvas covered board. 26 x 20 cms

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Winter works

It has been a while since I have posted; time has been taken up by other (glassy) creative adventures and the irresistible charms of snow sports. However the lure of the scenery called and I have mangaged another couple of paintings, this time in acrylics. I love the vibrancy of the colours and the texture of the canvas.
Both are subjects I found in the summer, and look totally different cloaked in snow.
It has been too cold to work outdoors, so in both cases I took my sketchbook and tiny tin of watercolours together with my camera. When the sun shines there is enough warm time to do small watercolour sketches (croquis in French I think) take lots of photos and then work the sketches up into finished works in the warmth of the chalet.

Hameau de Cholliere.
Acrylic on canvas 30 x 30 cms

All my paintings are for sale. If you are interested please email me.