On Your Mark, Get Set….

  Heading to Italy soon, planning to paint a lot of paintings…that's my job.

 This year I have hopes of completing 100 small oil on panel paintings. No gouache on paper this year. 

  I just want to focus on the small oil on panel paintings. I enjoy working with the oils. Whether I finish 100…we'll see. But I am inspired by the Umbrian landscape very much, and I've look forward to painting there all year.

  I have started getting my travel kit together, as you can see below….

I am only painting 6"x6" and 8"x8"
Here you see the panels with gesso, drying

Lots of panels..

  I'm very fortunate to have friends back in Umbria that allowed me to store my paints, an easel, my 8"x8"plein air set-up, and more. Thanks to them, it will be so much easier packing things this time around.

  I am bringing some things with me.

Here, a 6"x6" plein air cigar box, ready to go.
I still need to gesso all these panels.

Just some of the smaller panels, waiting to be gessoed.

  

  I crafted a storage box, below, for the small panels. I already have one for the larger panels.

  I use these light weight boxes to take out into the field, for storing the wet paintings I've worked on each day. Later, I take them out to dry flat, and refill for the next work day. 

  I'll quit painting the last week or so of the trip, so most pieces will be dry to pack home. The last of the wet panels will go into these boxes for safe travel home.

  We are getting really excited to go, and there's so much we still need to get done. It will be well worth it, once we settle in, and especially when I can get back to painting again.
  Look for the new paintings to go up in the gallery soon after we get back home. We'll post something here, and on the Gallery Apodaca website.
  I'm certain Janelle will be doing her usual videos and photos of me working in Umbria, so plan to visit this blog again soon.
  Also, check out Janelle's blog, Live Pronto. She loves to write about our trips, the food, places we visit. It's fun.
  As always, a giant Thank You to James & Anna, our lovely house/studio sitters, and Mary Liz….Gallery Apodaca hostess while we are away. We couldn't live this wonderful dream with out you guys!!