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 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

Pastel landscape painting of a Italian farm in the rolling hills of Tuscany.

Pastel painting    24  inches x 36 inches  SOLD (Giclees are available)

This is one of my favorite pastel paintings and is the signature piece for my upcoming show. It is very large, by my standards, but it is also very personal piece for me.

Mary Beth Koeze was a good friend of mine and a wonderful art mentor to me. She encouraged me to get back to my art and to always push harder. One of her many words of wisdom to me was “Paint bigger.” Along with our friend Cecily, we painted in Tuscany for 3 weeks, traipsing the countryside, soaking up the scenery. When she passed away recently, I was given some of her really large pastel boards. When I got the nerve up to create this piece on one of those boards, I realized that, for many reasons, it had to be titled “Mary Beth’s Tuscany.”

“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

Oh. My. God.

I thought I would NEVER finish framing paintings of Italy.

But at 2:27pm today, I did.

25 large pastels and 16 watercolors. Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!

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

http://www.chelsearivergallery.com

Plein air watercolor painting of a Madonna statue in front of a building in Italy.

Watercolor painting   5.5 x 15 inches

Please contact me if you are interested in this or similar artwork.

This Madonna statue was right outside my window in front of the rectory in Barberino. She was so stately and elegant, I had to do a watercolor painting of her. The town was so small, we soon met THE doctor, THE priest, THE nun, THE cafe owner and many others. All of the Italian people were so kind and welcoming to us American bumpkins…

Plein air watercolor cityscape painting of a small shop in Tuscany, Italy.

Watercolor painting   5.5 x 15 inches

Please contact me if you are interested in this or similar artwork.

This little wine, cheese and meat shop was right next door to our apartment in Barberino. The woman who owned it was an angel and helped us through so many problems. She spoke no English and my Italian was spotty at best. When we couldn’t make the key work in our door, she opened it for us. When we left the lights on and drained our car battery, she told us where to have it fixed. When I had a “teeny, weeny accident” in the car, she calmed me down. I wanted to thank her personally so I gave her a small watercolor painting of her store (below) and later painted this larger version.

I painted quite a few of my Italian watercolors on this beautiful, odd shaped paper I purchased in Siena. It really opened my mind to new compositions.

Watercolor cityscape painting of sunlit buildings in Siena, Italy.

Watercolor painting   14 x 21 inches

Please contact me if you are interested in this or similar artwork.

When we visited Italy, 6 or 7 years ago, we only had a half a day to spend in Siena. But I  absolutely loved it. I hope to be able to visit there again and more thoroughly explore it. I shot some reference photos of the bright, warm sunlight and deep shadows on the ancient buildings. I love to paint watercolors of architecture so this made a perfect subject for me.

The spring after I returned from Italy, I had a well-received, one-person show of my Italian watercolors at the University of Michigan Health System. I am working on mounting another one when I return from this trip with the River Gallery in Chelsea, Michigan

Watercolor painting of a villa gate in Tuscany, Italy.

Watercolor painting   9 x 13 inches

Please contact me if you are interested in this or similar artwork.

In my Italian watercolors, I tried to capture some of the intimate little spaces that I found so intriguing. I am always amazed how the Europeans keep and reuse their ancient buildings instead of razing them and building glass and cement monstrosities in their place. Almost all of the old country villas and large city homes had entrances like this one that led to a small courtyard. The bright flowers and interior light at this gate made an interesting subject for my watercolor painting.

Watercolor painting of the old well in the center of Pienza, Italy

Watercolor painting   9 x 13 inches

Please contact me if you are interested in this or similar artwork.

Pienza is one of my very favorite towns in Tuscany. Like many of the ancient hilltowns in Italy, there is an old, old well in the center piazza where the townspeople drew water in years gone by. I’m not sure if they are still in working order, but they still serve as a meeting place for the local teenagers, mothers with children and old men.  When I got back home, I wanted to do watercolor paintings of these ancient monuments. I thought Pienza’s well was especially beautiful and I loved the way the sun highlighted it in the afternoon. The intense light in Tuscany made it easy to leave the white of the paper showing in most of my Italian watercolors.

Watercolor painting of a street in a Tuscan hilltown.

Watercolor painting   9 x 13 inches

Please contact me if you are interested in this or similar artwork.

After we spent a week or so exploring Barberino, we ventured out to the other nearby Tuscan towns to paint. They were all beautiful in their own unique and fascinating ways. Montepulciano is well known for its wonderful red wine but is also a lovely spot for watercolor paintings. We wandered around and checked out each street in the small town. The reference photos helped me live the beauty of that area when I painted Italian watercolors back in my studio.