Pastel cityscape painting of the corner of an old building in Umbria, Italy.

Pastel painting 19  inches x 9 inches

The subject matter of this pastel painting of Italy might have been found in any town in Europe. You can see beautiful, quality craftsmanship in these structures and also the years of careful maintenance and restoration. It seems to me that Europeans value their historical buildings more than we Americans do. Maybe we could take some cues from them and restore our older buildings instead of ripping them down just to replace them with steel and glass behemoths.

Ooops, sorry to get off on a rant…. I am really thankful for sooooo many things in my life! Hope everyone has a MAHVELOUS Thanksgiving!!

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Illustration board with Terra Cotta Art Spectrum Primer
Medium: Rembrandt Pastels and Sennelier Pastels

Plein air watercolor painting of the door of a small chapel in Umbria, Italy.

Plein air watercolor painting   4.75  inches x 6.75 inches   SOLD

Little, tiny watercolor painting, but close to my heart. I sat on the stairs in front of an old chapel in the heart of a Umbrian hill town to create this painting of Italy. It was cold and damp but the intimate scene drew me in…

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Pastel painting of part of the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona, Rome.

Pastel painting 11  inches x 17 inches         

I was in Rome for just a few days last fall, but in that short time, I found a lot of awe-inspiring scenes to paint! The Piazza Navona has always been one of my favorite city squares in the world. It is filled with monumental fountains and sculptures and is a focal point of the city. This pastel painting is based on a close-up view of the Fountain of the Four Rivers by Bernini. Its not often that I am able to combine my love of the human figure and architecture in one painting! I transformed the greyish tones of the sculpture and church into vibrant color to give more life to these famous Renaissance monuments.

My sister, Beth, just taught me how to use the FaceBook share capability on my blog. If you are so inclined, feel free to share my art by clicking the blue share button at the top right of any post. Your support is always appreciated!

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Terra Cotta Art Spectrum Pastel Paper
Medium: Rembrandt Pastels and Sennelier Pastels

Pastel landscape painting of the river that runs through the city Prato in Italy.

Pastel painting 11  inches x 17 inches    SOLD

A couple of years a go I visited Amsterdam and Prato, Italy with my friend Susan. We stayed in Prato’s ancient central Piazza. On days when we weren’t exploring Florence or the Tuscan countryside, we would wander the old streets and riverbanks of the city. This scene really captured my imagination. I painted an Italian watercolor painting of it on site and enlarged it into a pastel painting later in my studio. This view probably looks exactly the same as it looked hundreds of years ago. That’s part of what I find fascinating about Italy. So much of the city and countryside has been untouched by our modern architecture. I am sure that is both a blessing and a curse to current Italians, but it is a joy to the traveler!

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This artwork was created with:
Paper: Terra Cotta Art Spectrum Pastel Paper
Medium: Rembrandt Pastels and Sennelier Pastels

Pastel cityscape painting of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy

Pastel painting 9  inches x 12 inches  SOLD

I usually try to stay away from the famous tourist sites in Italy. They have been painted and photographed so many times, that it is hard to say something new about them. But on a couple of my trips to Florence, I stayed in a small hotel located on the Arno River right at the end of the Ponte Vecchio. I spent many happy hours painting plein air watercolors of Italy from this viewpoint. So it has special significance to me, in ways that other well-known sites don’t.

I thought that, plus a new exploration of color warranted a pastel painting of the famous bridge.

Pastel cityscape painting of a sunlit lane in Tuscany, Italy

Pastel painting    24  inches x 36 inches   SOLD

This pastel painting is one of the two larger works that will be in my “Faraway Places” exhibit which opens this Saturday. At 24 x 36 inches, they are the largest pastels I have ever done. I really enjoyed working large, but it was a challenge to keep loose and not get tooooo detailed. This is a favorite scene of mine in Montepulciano, Tuscany and I have reproduced it as a watercolor painting of Italy also. I wanted to capture the compositional angles and the vibrant color, but in the end, like always, for me it is all about light and shadow…

“Faraway Places: history, objects, spirit & spaces”
Nov. 5th – Dec. 18, 2011
Reception: Nov. 5th 5-8pm
River Gallery, 120 S. Main St., Chelsea MI
www.chelsearivergallery.com

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Art Spectrum Colorfix MultiMedia Painting Board
Medium: Rembrandt Pastels and Sennelier Pastels

Plein air watercolor sketch of the Victor Emmanuel Monument in Rome, Italy

Plein air watercolor sketch of the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

Plein air watercolor sketches   4.5  inches x 6 inches

I spent a few days in Rome after my workshop at La Romita School of Art. I was busy revisiting a lot of the sites I had seen in the past and didn’t have time to do finished watercolor paintings. But I did shoot a lot of photos and did little (very rough!) watercolor sketches to capture light and color for later works in my studio. I had a killer cold (as I do again today!) but still wanted to get as much reference as I could for future paintings of Italy

I’m just about done framing over 40 pastel and watercolor paintings for my upcoming exhibit. If you are in the area, I hope you can stop by!

“Faraway Places: history, objects, spirit & spaces”
Nov. 5th – Dec. 18, 2011
Reception: Nov. 5th 5-8pm
River Gallery, 120 S. Main St., Chelsea MI
www.chelsearivergallery.com

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Plein air watercolor landscape painting of the Italian hill town of San Gemini

Plein air watercolor painting   6.5  inches x 10.5 inches   $150

Many of the hill towns of Italy are perched precariously on the edges of mini-mountains in the rolling Umbrian landscape. When they were built centuries ago, these castle-like cities were the first line of defense against the town’s enemies. You can see for miles and miles from almost any point on the ancient walls. It is totally breathtaking. For this watercolor painting, I sat on an adjacent hill and painted San Gemini’s outer structure, with the small farms and villas in the distance. This painting of Italy will always remind me of the unbelievable beauty of the country of my heritage…

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Plein air watercolor landscape of a fountain in the main square of a small Italian hill town.

Plein air watercolor painting   6.5  inches x 10.5 inches   $150

Every little town in Italy has a main square with a fountain where the locals gather to relax, play with their children and chat with their neighbors. In the evening, everyone strolls with their family and friends, usually ending up in this central spot. It is such a wonderful, uniting experience which seems to have been lost in our frantic American lives. One day when the rest of our group was enjoying lunch in a nearby trattoria, I sat in the piazza and did a watercolor painting of a fairly simple (by Italian standards) fountain. What’s missing from this painting of Italy is the hundreds of school children I saw, running though the square, excited to get home and relish their big plate of pasta!

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Plein air watercolor cityscape of the Cathedral in French Quarter of New Orleans.

Plein air watercolor painting   9 inches x 7 inches     $100

The only watercolor cityscape painting I kept from our trip to Louisiana. Despite my highest hopes, I just wasn’t able to settle down and work outdoors in the French Quarter. It is so picturesque with brightly colorful buildings and interesting signs, but “all that jazz” was also a bit disruptive to me. It almost felt like TOO much information. I’m hoping I will be able to capture some of the magic of the place painting the many reference photos I shot.

This little watercolor sketch of the Saint Louis Cathedral was done while quickly sitting in Jackson Square.

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Plein air watercolor painting of a gargoyle in a New Orleans fountain.

Plein air watercolor painting   9.5 inches x 7 inches     $100

I did this watercolor painting in the same New Orleans courtyard where the stone goddess lives. There were gargoyles all around the fountain wall, and I thought it’d be a hoot to paint one of them. The water flowing from his mouth was a real challenge to get down on paper…

This artwork was created with:
Paper: Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper
Medium: DaVinci Watercolors

Plein air watercolor cityscape painting of a store in Harbor Springs, Michigan

Plein air watercolor painting    8.5 inches x 11.5 inches

I painted this watercolor architecture painting a couple of years ago when I was in Harbor Springs. I’ve always loved the little American Spoon store on Main Street and I couldn’t pass up the shadows on this sunny spring day. Plus, the crab apple trees were in bloom and added a scrumptious touch of color to the cityscape painting. Yum. It was a LITTLE awkward sitting right on the sidewalk while shoppers filed by, but I got over my nervousness soon enough. People are always so kind and interested in the work of artists.