Green Door Painting

This painting is of a simple green door in Spain as the warm afternoon sun shines on it. There is a vine with yellow flowers on one side. More than twenty years ago I had an opportunity to live in Southern Spain. Life was uncomplicated, the people kind and the weather just marvelous!

This is a small 5" x 5" original oil painting on gessoed board and is available for purchase on Ebay.

Click here to bid on the painting.

SOLD

The Road Home, Painting of Chinese Schoolhouse

Last month I finished this little painting of the schoolhouse I'd seen in the movie, The Road Home.

It is a 5" x 5" original oil on gessoed board painted with the palette knife.

This painting is now available on Ebay.

A Painting of a Blue Door

Oil Painting of a Blue Door in a stone wall. 5" x 5" on gessoed masonite board.

SOLD

Blue Path Painting

I finished this very monotone oil painting of a Bike Path in Dallas using a photo a friend sent me as a reference. This painting is inspired by the solemn, cool colors captured with his infra-red camera.

This is a small 5" x 5" palette knife oil painting on gessoed masonite board.

Sunflower Painting "Sunburst"

Finished a little painting of a sunflower which I've titled "Sunburst" yesterday morning and posted it on Ebay for sale.
It measures 5" x 5" and is painted on gessoed masonite.
I like painting flowers up-close because I can capture the petals in a loose, textured impasto style.

Click here to purchase.

Sunburst, Poinsettias and Ebay

Santo Stefano di Sessanio

This village is visible from the distance by its lone castle tower. I had always been curious about this town. I'm glad I had the opportunity to visit it. The village is indeed beautiful! A labrynth of cobbled walkways and arches.

Sometimes the timing is just right and ours was. Santo Stefano di Sessanio is famous for the lentils that are grown in fields surrounding this little village. It happened to be THE Sunday of the celebration of the Lentil harvest and it was lunch time.

Booths were set up in the streets selling lentil soup, arrosticini (skewered lamb) and porchetta sandwiches.

We sat under makeshift tents and ate lentil soup with skewered roasted lamb alongside locals.

Buon Giorno dall' Italia

Five days in Italy. Rain greeted us in the Dolomites. After the initial day of rains, we were able to see the wonderful mountains as they appeared from under the low clouds. Here is a photo of Sasso Lungo.

The sun was kind to us, however, in Tuscany. Our first stop was Monteriggioni just north of Siena.

The walled town sits high on a hill with it's towers standing guard. What a delightful place to stop for a cup of espresso.

Full of arches, cobbled walks, wells, piazzas, my camera can not ever do justice on its charm.

Arrivederci, until next time, ciao!

Travel Thoughts

I’m going to be travelling so I won’t be able to update this blog for a couple of weeks. Travels are great for collecting ideas and photos for my oil paintings. I know I’ll see too much in too short of time but some of the places on my itinerary will be the Dolomites area of Northern Italy. There is a strong Germanic influence in that region. I will be staying in Ortisei, the Italian name for Saint Ullrich for a few days. From there we drive south to Tuscany. I’m looking forward to strolling through Cortona, made famous by the book “Under the Tuscan Sun”, revisit Pienza the Renaissance town which has been the backdrop of several movies, such as “Romeo and Juliet” and “Gladiator” and of course, who can ignore Sienna and the famous circular piazza. But the biggest treat is just driving through Tuscany with it’s rolling hills and beautiful farm houses. After a few days there we head further south and end up in Pescara, my husband’s home town.Known for its long beaches, sun worshipers and bathers come to Pescara to spend their summer days to bronze their bodies and splash along the water’s edge. The city sits in the middle of the boot that is Italy, on the Adriatic Sea. Although Pescara’s history is very old the city is rather new and contemporary compared to other Italian cities. Turn of the century high-rises, balustrade balconies on beach house villas, Art-Deco homes nestles among more modern apartment buildings and hotels. The city is eclectic. I’ll walk along Corso Umberto Boulevard, starting at the train station to walk the few city blocks to the Lungo Mare, the beach. The best time to go is in the early evening when the stores have re-opened. The early evening window shoppers come out in pairs and do their due passi stroll up and down the Corso. While I love stopping to look in designer boutiques, cafes, art galleries, my attention is usually held by impromptu soccer matches that start up in the piazza among local children, groups of old men standing about discussing things old men do in any country, co-eds who giggle and strut and general people-watching.

Oil Painting of Siamese Cat

Bella's Shadow
Oil on Gessoed massonite board, 5 " x 5"
Siamese cats make beautiful subjects for painting. Bella is a fellow artist friend's cat who keeps us company whenever we get together to paint at her house.