Paintings, Oil On Board....

  I have had some struggles this trip...the weather, mainly. When the sun has come out, it's been so windy and cold that I just don't feel like working out in the elements. I hate to say it..but...

been there done that. I am just betting that it will be warming up...eventualy, before we have to leave this beautiful country.

  I have managed to get some work done, between rainstorms and wind gusts. The finished paintings below are all 8X8 inch, oil on board, done while standing or sitting out in the country side. 

  

  We will drive around most days, looking for a good place to stop and work. I like to find somewhere that has a safe place to set up, is out of the way of traffic, and will offer more than one option for painting. It's sometimes difficult. There are very few places along the roads to pull over. We usually end up down a gravel road, where I only need to worry about tractors or locals coming home for lunch.

  I am still waiting on the nice weather coming this week to really get into more gouache pieces. I have done a few, but I see that the next several days are supposed to warm up, and that will be good.

  So for now, these are a good sample of what I've been working on. The weather, the light, the subtle nuances of the life here... all part of what makes this such a rich and rewarding experience.

This an image of two small farm buildings, out in the fields. I love these useful buildings. They have molto character! The color is the main thing, happy and fresh,  What I am trying to convey in a small painting like thi is the sheer joy of painting, and the painting process itself. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be me. And it just has to be this moment. BASTA!/DONE! 

This is the first oil of this year's trip. It's been more worked...trying to put in a lot of visual information. I like the all over design.
From top to bottom, side to side, there are a lot of interesting things going on. Hopefully, I expressed  the loving eye embracing all of it.

Fauve Color! I Love It.

Here is a good example where you can see that the light in the sky has been dim, and subtle.

A brief moment of Umbrian Sun on the Landscape. 

Painted, fresh casually and relaxed.

More subtle color and light. Trees can have such a beautiful rhythm.

Lago Trasimeno in the distance, fields of color and a lonely road to travel into the scene.
This is Janelle's favorite so far.

My old friend Michael Kainer, dubbed me "Captain Color".  I guess this is why?

I probably will re-work this painting, near the top?

This is kind of a Grand Umbrian scene.

  This last one below is the latest of the larger canvases from the studio here. 

   I'm really happy with the way it is going on this. You can see the smaller "inspiration" painting I am working from, on the left...

  Not finished yet, but getting close.

This painting will be re-stretched and ready to be exhibited in the gallery, soon.

  We look forward to showing the paintings in the gallery soon.