Studio Work Umbria, Spring 2023

Work begins again in my small Italian studio. 

I try to have/get everything I need for this small space. Organization is key.

This painting began last fall, 2022. I wasn't sure about it, so I didn't ship it home with the rest.

It had too much of a melancholic covid energy for me. 

Repainting this in March 2023.

Waiting for inspiration or an idea on this one.

Onto the dot painting...something of joy. 

I did a series of dot paintings during the covid lockdown when we weren't able to travel,

and I just wanted to revisit the theme.

Work in progress.

Detail.

Is it finished? I like it.

 

I wanted to do three vertical abstracts, similar in size. I bought a roll of canvas in Florence earlier in March, along with other studio supplies.

Work begins with laying in color and some mark making.

As usual, I let the painting guide me. The simple idea is to allow the painting to paint itself.

It has taken me many years to understand this idea.

The painting will tell you what it needs. 

And so it goes.

"Spirit Of The Pink Moon"

Below, I'm working on a second large vertical. These are all oil on canvas.

Laying in the darks.

This one has an Italian "landscape" feel to it, for me.

It reflects the region where we live here, spring and fall.

I've titled this one "C'era una volte",
(There was a Time)

It has a nostalgic feeling to me, of this area.
I can feel things changing as time goes by here.
We've been coming to this area now for thirteen years.

A third vertical abstract, perhaps the final. 

A new color palette.

Different stages. 

The light changes so much here

The painting begins to emerge.

The finalization of this painting was a surprise to me.

"La Casa", below..

As I say, the paintings paint themselves, with just a little help from me.

"La Casa"

We will ship the canvases home to be stretched and shown through Westbrook Modern Gallery in Carmel, CA.

I'll keep working in the studio.

Painting In The Canals, Venice 2023

Getting lost in Venice is one of our favorite things to do....unless there is a pending reservation at a good trattoria.

Seeing buildings and little piazzas that we've never seen is always fun, and we try to find areas we've never seen before. We were lucky to have nice weather for walking and painting this past week while we were in Venice. It allowed all day walking and getting lost...and then finding ourselves again.

We did find some great spots for Johnny to set up and paint. Some were well known, others not so much. Case in point, this odd little spot with some stairs to sit on and a bit of sun for warmth.

A perfect spot to work.

No wind, lovely reflections, colors and vertical space. 

Note Johnny's home made box to hold wet panels.

There really were no people walking this area, so it was great to relax and get the job done without distractions.

 

Working fast and loose.

I walked down the way to get a shot of Johnny working along this sweet canal. We didn't know it was a canal used by the local gondoliers. 

I had to make a point of getting a shot of the shoes and socks...

A fine representation of a spring day in March... in Venice.

For information on purchasing paintings, please email:

johnnyapodaca@me.com

Painting On The Accademia Bridge: Venice 2023

 

In Johnny's words:

"It's a real privilege to be here. An artist's dream come true. To be in Venice yet again is beyond anything I could have imagined in my younger working 9-5 life.

"Just one more dream coming true. Every time we manage to get here again, it's a gift."

We are often asked why we keep visiting Venice. Honestly, it's become a place that is deep within our hearts. I think you either fall heavy for Venice, or not. 

We fell heavy on our first visit back in 2007. Venice is a place we'd love to spend 2 or 3 months in. We started by going every 2 years for the Biennale, but now we just can't come to Italy without spending some time in Venice.

Johnny really wanted to paint during this visit, so he brought his kit and set up a few times. He's been doing some small watercolors, as well as painting plein-air, which is what he's doing here...in one of the most lovely spots in Venice. He set up early in the day on the Accademia Bridge. It was a very beautiful morning...

Getting set up to paint.

It's a pretty spectacular scene...

There were people coming and going, but it wasn't really crowded, thankfully.

Painting with oils on panels we bought in Rome.

A view of the Grand Canal with all the water buses and taxis.

Sketching it in loosely.

There is a lot to haul around if you want to paint here.

This gives you an idea of the activity while Johnny was painting. Mostly, people ignored him. Some took photos, and one sweet young couple stayed and watched, asking questions and just enjoying the moment.

I hope it will be a nice memory for them to look back on.

Almost finished.

Signed and done.

We were lucky to have some really nice days, weather wise. A couple of grey days, but mostly sunny and just the right temperature for lots of walking and painting.

Thanks for another fabulous visit, Venice! See you in Autumn.

For information on purchasing paintings, please contact us by email:

johnnyapodaca@me.com