Working At Lago di Chiusi

 

  Nice peaceful day on the lake.
  Janelle and I were relaxing, and I took the opportunity to work with gouache on paper.

 It's the first time I painted with gouache this year here in Italy. So, I'm starting out slowly and gently, in a relaxed pace.
  I've completed about fifteen oil paintings and now want to shift gears.

  I love this old wooden paint box I found in a 'Mercato Usato'..basically a thrift store. I found this box last year, and now I'm putting it to work.

Starts out loose and beautiful. I should have stopped here.

  This first one, to me, is a little too tight. That's how it usually begins.
  It takes work to loosen up and be more sensitive to the process of making art.
  The mind wants to control things. I'm always of the mind to let the painting paint itself. Even these small gouaches.

  I guess the first one was a warm up.

  This second one, below, is much better. More of what I am shooting for.

  I guess I'm searching for that right combination of color, design, and that unknowable force that comes through

Painting Continues

  Another day painting in Italy.
  Taking advantage of good Spring weather.

Disorganized paint collection now lives in a new box, courtesy of Aldo.

Starting again. It never stops.

Welcome to my studio in Umbria.

  Simple and direct small oil paintings will lead to larger and more complex designs in the California studio.

  These small paintings are not 'sketches', they are realized works.
  There is the poetry of the moment. Capturing a glimpse of that moment, that day...of that year. That is the moment.
  It's just that moment of life. Fleeting moments. A day in the life of an artist.

First Oil Painting Umbria, 2017

  Out in the field again. It's been ten months since I've painted 'plein air'.
  It's beautiful here this year. The light is different, it's warmer-more clear. It's even richer views.
  It's exciting to me.

 
Still need to figure out my painting gear. It takes time to organize.

The blank canvas beckons. The first of the season.

  

   Must fill the canvas with color. A spontaneous approach, feeling the color as I go, full tilt; No questions.
  Just paint. From my gut.
  Spontaneity comes from forty-five years of experience. Nothing comes from a void.

Standing alone in the field.

Pure painting. Pure joy.

Work done.

   Now for refreshment.