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 Begins In Umbria/September 2022

Janelle writing this one....

After a long couple of days flying and getting settled here in Umbria, Johnny had a few chances to get out and do some drawing and watercolors before we headed to Venice to see some exhibitions.

The weather here was great when we arrived, but as of late, it has been warm, and lots of major rain.

I'm just glad he was able to get out and get started. We go out to find a place for him to work, and I'll take a few pictures and then walk or sit and read. It works well for both of us.

The rental car/outdoor studio.

When the light is good and the weather is also, we'll head out...

A favorite spot to visit and draw or paint...

Sometimes the trunk is all he needs.

Catching the late afternoon light.

Drawing on a panel to paint later, this is in our garden.

Our landlord, Carlo, put this bench in for Johnny to paint from.

Another great spot with good views...

I'm so glad to see Johnny working here. He loves going out to the fields as much as working in the studio here. We feel so grateful.

Capturing a moment.

After making a few drawings, it's always nice to take a break and paint...with a glass of wine, if possible.

We took a day trip to Florence for art supplies, and got in some art viewing as well..

Break time for coffee is always a good idea.

Last week we headed back up to Venice to take in some exhibitions we missed in the spring.

We were super happy to come upon a show that just opened. Oscar Murillo, a favorite of Johnny's, was actually in town for this opening and Johnny got to meet him and shake his hand. We were able to be there for a lecture, as well. A real special treat, to be sure.

These are some shots from the show...

Murillo's take on Monet...sublime!

One of the shows we missed in the spring was by Daniel Richter. I'm just so glad we were able to see it before it closed! These exhibitions are just so important for Johnny to view. I really enjoyed this one, too...

Really vibrant color.

We always try to pop into any venue that is showing something interesting. I was more into the contemporary exhibition here, while Johnny checked out the classic art in this church in Venice.

Back home in Umbria, work has begun in the studio...Let's see what happens next.

Here's a short video to enjoy...
 

We saw another wonderful show in Venice that we missed in the spring. I wrote about it on my blog, "Live Pronto". You can read about it here.

Painting Near Lago Montepulciano

This is one of my last days painting plein-air here in Umbria. I'm winding things down as we prepare to return to California.

The weather has been good, and I'm happy I was able to get in several sessions of work out in the countryside.

We will be shipping back 14 rolled studio canvases later today, as well. There are a total of 20 larger works on these canvases. I'll have them stretched back home to show asap in the gallery. 

Painting canal side near Lago di Montepulciano this past weekend:

Perfect weather for painting outside.

Some of my finished panels drying.

This is a lovely place with beautiful vistas.

People come here to relax, take a walk or ride bikes along the paths.

We always enjoy our time in this area of natural beauty.

A nice little 8 x 8" oil on panel.
I may use this to do a larger studio work.

Another painting from this session.

I ended up with three paintings on this day.

 

We will be posting all the paintings, large and small, on the our website under the "Italian Inspiration"

page as soon as we are back at work in the gallery.

More Painting In The Field

I feel so lucky to enjoy this tradition of painting plein-air here in Umbria.

The weather has finally turned warm, no heavy winds to make it difficult, if not impossible.

I do these small paintings often as sketches for larger canvases I'll work on in the studio.

In the meantime, it's just nice to be outside doing what I love to do.

Getting all set up.

I have everything I need in the trunk of the car, just in case.

Janelle takes photos of me working, then walks or reads.

Trying to capture the colors of late spring.

Colors and shapes.

Me working, way down there.

I did a couple of paintings in this spot.

I really liked the farm house in the background, with blue shutters. It caught my eye as we drove by.

 

I hope I can get a few more small paintings done to bring back to the gallery soon. I'm finished with the large studio canvases and we'll ship those home this week.

Janelle will be posting all the new work on our website when we return. 

We don't want to leave, as always.