Plein-Air Painting, May, 2023

Last week, we drove out to a favorite spot for Johnny to set up to paint. We are having to keep a close watch on the weather, as it's been so off and on. At least it hasn't been really windy, which makes it almost impossible to paint plein-air. What's been a pain... is the rain. So unusual for this time of year to have day after day of rain. 

Anyway, when it is a nice day or there are a few good hours of sun, we head out to the fields...

This is a spot with a view of Lago di Chiusi (Lake Chiusi).

Laying in some lines...

Note the oncoming clouds...

As always, I took a walk along the dirt road while Johnny did some painting.

This is an absolutely beautiful area, with amazing views and lots of interesting scenes. We like to come to this area to watch the sunset, too. It's all so green right now. A silver lining to all the rain, I guess.

Almost finished. 

In another area, on another day, We went to another favorite spot. There is a much loved row of "Umbrella Pines" just off of a side road. We call them "The Walking Trees". We've seen a few go down over the years, and it's sad to imagine more falling down, but it happens.

I'm so glad Johnny finally decided to paint this magical scene.

Sketching in the lines.

The orange farm house is such a nice contrast.

We've walked and driven up the road where the trees actually are. It's a great place to wander around. Years ago, I did a blog post about poking around an old empty house near the trees. Now, it would be impossible to do that sort of wandering around! There are signs to keep people like me out, which probably is a good thing.

Really out there in the weeds!

Another beauty.

On yet another day...a really nice sunny and warm day...we were lucky to join pals on their boat and go out to one of the islands on the big lake, Lago Trasimeno. There is a sweet little church there that Johnny stopped and painted.

I love this one.

 

More to come. Stay tuned!

For information on these small pieces:

email: johnnyapodaca@me.com

Instagram:

#galleryapodaca

#johnnymackapodaca

2023...Time For The Next Chapter

As many of you know, we have closed our "brick and mortar" gallery in Carmel. We had planned for some time to retire the gallery. It was a wonderful chapter in our lives, and we're so happy to have experienced it. We can't thank you all for your friendship and support over the years! I (Janelle here) will really miss being in the gallery and spending time with so many of you on a regular basis...it was a true pleasure that I will treasure.

Johnny will continue to paint, of course. He is planning to do more plein-air paintings while we are in Italy, and we will be promoting and selling these pieces through this blog and our normal website. He will continue to show his work at Carmel Art Association, as well.

He will be painting his larger abstracts that will now be represented by Westbrook Modern in Carmel. Johnny is proud to be showing his work in this wonderful gallery.

We wanted to start the year with a look back at the time we've spent traveling to Umbria, Italy, and all the work that has come home from there...over a decade of painting and being inspired by this magical place has been a joy, a dream and a love and will continue to be a major part of our lives. Johnny has said it over and over...he will never get tired of painting this beautiful landscape.

It's tough work. He hauls so much equiptment with him when he's out painting, but that is the painter's happy chore.

He may not work everyday, but he's always looking, looking, looking...

 

Painting in a pal's garden....

Or even in the snow!

Johnny always carries a few sketch pads of various sizes. Some are just for sketching a moment, others are for drawing to add color to later ...

We often drive out into the farmlands and countryside to find a spot to pull the car over for a work session.

Taking our daily walks is always inspiring.

There are so many memories in these paintings, and the paintings have found their way all over the world. It's quite moving to think about, you know?

The Italian studio will also be a busy place. We plan to ship back many larger works on canvas, as we've been doing now for years. Johnny loves his studio in Umbria!

So, let's stay in touch. Plan to check out the blog from time to time, and keep an eye out for emails that will be featuring the pieces that will soon be available. We're heading back to Umbria soon, so stay tuned!

Gallery Apodaca 

Westbrook Modern Gallery

Carmel Art Association

Work Continues: Umbria, 2021

Janelle & I have been busy with olive picking and general house keeping, but the work is still happening.

Weather has been an issue, as well. We had terrible cold winds for about 10 days, making plein-air painting near impossible, but I was able to get out and do some work in the fields...

I love my new pochade box!

 

I'm happy with the studio work I've done so far. 

We went to Florence to see a couple of exhibitions, and to buy more studio supplies. It's good to have what I need.

Working larger scale is always a good challenge.

Last week I tried painting on the studio floor.

Don't mind the studio slippers, please.
Keeps the rest of the house floors clean.

Painting in this way... It creates it's own opportunities, but it's own struggles.

I did enjoy it. The painting is still in progress.

"Europa", still a work in progress.

Challenges And Opportunities

  As an artist, I've always enjoyed showing the process of my painting experience.

  In this blog post, we take it down to the bare bones.

  The reason why... in this studio, away from my home studio in California, I've had to improvise.

  This has brought a welcoming experience of just tacking the canvas to the wall, and painting it that way. Painting it as it is.

  I guess I think of this as my 'rustic studio', here in Italy. 

  Every experience brings challenges and opportunities, so I'm very excited to show and describe the process here, on this blog. 

The doorway to the studio.

A cramped studio. You work with what you have available.
No complaints.

A group of finished canvases to be shipped back to the gallery.

Trying to keep the plaster walls and tile floors as clean as I can.

My studio floor.

  These paintings will all be exhibited in our gallery in Carmel, California later this year.
  I'm looking forward to the show.