Plein air watercolor painting of the hills around Terni, Italy
Plein air watercolor painting 7 inches x 10.5 inches SOLD
I painted this plein air watercolor painting, sitting at the monastery at La Romita looking down on the valley near Terni, Italy. Depending on the time of day, the distant mountains would turn completely different colors. Sometimes they were a pinkish-purple color at late afternoon, but in the morning, when I did this particular painting of Italy , they were a beautiful, cool blue…
Pastel landscape painting of a distant village in the Umbrian hills of Italy.
Pastel painting 27.5 inches x 13.5 inches SOLD
Another pastel painting of Italy where I am exploring the long distance views from the Umbrian hill towns. I’m not sure if this is really a village or a small villa that grew and grew over the years. Some of the family plots became compounds over the years, with each successive generation adding another addition or building to the original villa. Regardless, they create beautiful focal points in the undulating countryside.
Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a small lake tucked into the hills of Umbria, Italy
Plein air watercolor painting 10.5 inches x 6.5 inches SOLD
This is one of my favorite plein air watercolor paintings of Italy. Our trusty bus dropped is off at a teeny, tiny little hill town. Our group walked and walked up to the very top of the town to visit a wonderful ancient church. I looked off to the side and saw this beautiful treasure in the distance. It seemed so pure and sparkling in the Umbrian landscape, I just had to paint it!!
Plein air watercolor landscape painting of an old wall in an olive orchard in Italy.
Plein air watercolor painting 10 inches x 7 inches $150
I’ve done quite a few pastel and watercolor paintings of this view in the olive orchard near La Romita. The light and the scene itself seemed to change completely depending on the time of day. I believe this one was done in the late morning. Below is another version of the same place, from a little farther back, that I did in pastel. This painting was done from a late afternoon photo reference and will be in my upcoming exhibit. I’ve noticed that all of my paintings of Italy seem to be in the same color palette, no matter what the medium…
Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a winding road in the Umbrian hills of Italy.
Plein air watercolor painting 9.5 inches x 13.5 inches $300
Perched on our little hillside near Terni, we could view the Italian landscape rolling out into the distance. This painting of Italy shows the winding road that leads up the 16th century monastery that was our home base. The buildings and surrounding olive orchards were purchased by an artist who has revamped La Romita into a wonderful place to take art workshops and experience the many hill towns in the area. Its been almost a year since my trip there and I am pining to return!
Plein air watercolor landscape painting of an Italian palm and roof line.
Plein air watercolor painting 10.5 inches x 7 inches $150
We’ve chosen all of the watercolor paintings for my upcoming show so I thought I would post a few of the extra ones that are now available in my studio. This scene is of the high-pitched monastery roofline at La Romita School of Art where I took a two week class last fall. The sunsets were beautiful up there in the hills near Terni. We visited all the nearby hill towns, but I also painted many Italian landscapes right there on the grounds of the school.
Plein air watercolor landscape of an approaching storm over Montana mountains.
Plein air watercolor painting 9.5 inches x 7 inches $100
My very last watercolor landscape sketch from Montana this June. Some of the weather was unusually fierce that week and it was fun to try and capture the tumultuous clouds that rolled over the mountains. You have to work quickly in these conditions and watercolor painting is probably as good as any medium for speed. But you have to be willing relinquish a little control and work with the surprises that appear on your paper…
We’ll be going to New Orleans for a visit soon. I am looking forward to doing some watercolor building paintings when I am down there. I’ve always loved NOLA and it’s very, very unique architecture and atmosphere.
Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a road in the hills of Montana.
Plein air watercolor painting 7 inches x 9.5 inches $100
Another watercolor landscape from our trip to Bonanza Creek Country Ranch in Montana. We had a great cabin, perched on a hill, that looked down on the little road leading to the stable. The view was fantastic. The walk up, after a hard day in the saddle…not so much. It was cloudy much of our time there and quite a few flood watches, which is unusual for them. One day after an all-day ride, I sat on our front porch and did this watercolor painting of the road and the mountains in the distance.
Plein air watercolor landscape painting of ranchland in Montana
Plein air watercolor painting 6. 5 inches x 10 inches
Montana in June was marvelous! They have had a lot more rain this year than usual (maybe TOO much!) and the land was lush, green and covered with wildflowers. We spent most of our time at Bonanza Creek riding the 35,000 acre ranch, soaking up the unbelievably beautiful scenery. A couple of days were spent on culling out “pairs” (a mother and baby cow) from the herd, team penning (separating specific cows into specific pens) and moving one of the herds to new grazing grounds. Of course, all of these tasks could have been done with one experienced rancher and a dog, but our group of 7 plucky cowgirls did an admirable job.
I didn’t have much time for plein air watercolor painting but I did manage to do a few quick sketches in the afternoons. Whenever I travel to a new location, it takes me a while to “get the lay of the land.” And believe me, the land out there is amazing! How do you suggest endless fields and valleys that lead, miles away, to huge jagged mountain ranges? Especially when it is not the landscape that you are familiar with? This is my first attempt at a watercolor landscape of the daunting but very beautiful western countryside…
Plein air watercolor landscape painting of a road leading to a Montana ranch
Plein air Watercolor painting 15 inches x 5.5 inches
Sometimes an extreme horizontal format is the best way to capture the feeling of a location, especially if you want to create a panorama effect. This Montana watercolor landscape was painted in July when the fields had already turned to gold, but before everything has greyed down and lost its vibrancy.
Pastel landscape painting of an old homestead in Montana
Pastel painting 14 inches x 18 inches
I never brought my pastels with me when we traveled out west. At the time, I was new to the medium and I just couldn’t get my mind around carting all the dusty supplies and actually making pastel paintings on site. Plus, protecting the resulting art seemed difficult.
I’ve come a long way since then. But I still shoot hundreds of research photos wherever I travel for inspiration during the winter months when I paint in my studio. This pastel landscape shows another very special little homestead that we often visited on our horseback riding adventures. We would rest our horses and peer into the open windows of the cabins, imagining what it must have been like to live there in the late 1800s. This piece was all about composition and color for me. The spring grass in Montana after a snowy winter is an unbelievable shade of green!
