Olives and Lavender

Ah, the colors of Italy. To paint an olive tree. I've seen olive trees in movies but to see them first hand is another thing entirely. They look more like large bushes with bluish green foliage. And to mix the color of the olive tree is truly a challenge. I like to take it more to the blue side of the color wheel as you see here. This is a scene of a house surrounded by olive trees and umbrella pines in the background.

"Olives and Lavender"
5x7 oil on panel $250 framed
Tiny Treasure #87
Available at Gallery 4 South, Wenatchee

Fall Light in Lucca

"Fall Light in Lucca" is a typical scene of Lucca. I was thrilled to finally be in Lucca since it is the setting of my novel I've been writing for over 5 years. In my imagination, the town was small and quaint, but in reality Lucca is a large city with its own unique personality. Because we were only there for one day of which 3 hours were spent painting, I didn't have much time to immerse myself in the lifestyle and 'feel' of my surroundings. It was all hustle bustle and business as usual for the town inhabitants. See below for a detail of the painting. This painting is a gift so is not for sale. "Fall Light in Lucca" is Tiny Treasure #86.

Fall Morning in San Casciano

"Fall Morning in San Casciano" was a kick to paint. I loved pushing the paint around and leaving it on thick as butter. The color of many of the buildings is the color of real butter. I loved the contrast I got between these two buildings, one in sunlight, the other in shadow.

While I was in Italy two friends did double duty at work to cover for me, so this and "Fall Light in Lucca" will be gifts for them!

Be sure to click on the photo to see it larger. And you will see a detail of it below.

This is Tiny Treasure #85
Oil on panel.

Fall Vineyard

This is Tiny Treasure #84 and is another from Italy. This vineyard is part of the estate where we stayed just outside of Florence. The vines were just beginning to turn when we arrived and continued to get more colorful each day. This piece was also done as a commission.

Palms and Lavender

This is Tiny Treasure #83 and is a view from Michelangelo Square overlooking Florence. Our group of painters spent the day here painting the Duomo and the bridges and of course I chose to paint other views as well. Palm trees are one of my favorite subjects to paint.

This painting was done as a commission.