An Artist’s Blog

This open air painting depicts the setting where the old man came out and sat by me and started a conversation. I wish I would have studied some more phrases from my Italian book, I would have liked to ask him if he was a farmer in the town. His face was leathery brown just like another elderly gentlemen whom I saw open a set of green, heavy wooden doors through which he then drove his old red tractor (much like the one my father had), and bounced his way out to a field on the edge of town. Both … [Read more...] about Italy’s beautiful buildings – Open air painting

This plein air watercolor is of the church in the center of little Terrugia. The saying 'castle on a hill' makes me think of Italy... only it was a church on a hill that was the stand out point of any city on the horizon. As you drove along the hills and valleys of the countryside anytime you saw a cluster of buildings in the distance it was always set off by the steeple of the local church. Most of the churches that we saw were relatively ornate... especially the ones in the bigger cities. … [Read more...] about Church on a Hill in Italy – Plein Air Watercolor

The plein air watercolor of the house with the brown shutters I've titled "Rose Garden". I sat on a bench in a little triangle of grass with a border of flowers all around just across the road from the house. In fact there were many houses with flower gardens...all of them fenced in. I asked Claudia (the woman from the company where Glen was taking classes who gave us advice about things to see while we were there) about it, she said she thinks it's because most people don't own very much land … [Read more...] about Rose Garden, Italy

Every morning in Italy Glen and I sat down to a breakfast that was Buonissimo, a veritable feast of everything breakfasty (though after day three I reverted to my bowl of raisin bran [they had that too] and ? cream [that was the one thing I missed about the U.S. -milk- I am after all from the dairy state] for fear I would no longer fit into any of my clothes). Afterward I'd wave goodbye to all the guys as they left to attend their classes for the day. Returning to my room I'd gather my paint … [Read more...] about Morning in Italy

This is the beautiful Ariotto Hotel Ristorante in Monferrato, Terrugia Italy. The watercolor of the Ariotto is a plein air painting, which means it was done on site in the open air. Having the opportunity to sit on the street corners in Italy and paint the beautiful surroundings was a once in a lifetime experience. … [Read more...] about Plein Air painting in Italy