A Villa in the Mist

A Villa in the Mist (7.5 x 18")

 One thing I learned about plein air painting in Tuscany is you don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to paint.  I'm used to brilliant morning sunshine in Colorado.  On my first day of painting in Italy I woke up to heavy fog.  I set up my pochade box anyway and started to paint a villa on a neighboring hilltop.  I kept completely losing my subject!  I  had taken a photo, but mostly I learned to just paint quickly, from memory.

Islands in the Sky (9 x 12") plein air oil

 This is an example of the creation of a studio painting.  I start with being there to photograph then paint my inspiration.  I can then use both of these 'props' to create what I had in mind with enough time to develop the scene the way I envisioned it.  I always tell my students how important it is to use your own photos for reference.  Having a plein air piece of the same place is extremely helpful with color and mood. Both of these original oils are currently available for purchase.

My reference photo from a Tuscan morning

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Tuscan Vines

Tuscan Vines

I just finished "Tuscan Vines", a 24" x 18" original oil painting.  While in Italy I plein air painted in the Fuglini vineyards just outside of Montalcino.  I used the reference photo from the night before (when we were 'scoping' out a place to paint in the morning) and the plein air oil I painted in the morning.  I loved the evening shadows of the grapevines better but still the plein air study was very helpful with color.  This plein air day was nothing short of perfect as we even were served Brunello wine with our lunch.  I painted both fairly Impressionistically but the studio painting has much more impasto.    Contact me for current availability.

Brunnello di Montalcino

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Plein Air Tuscany: traveling with oil paints overseas

 I had never flown overseas with oil paint so I had to do some research on how to go about the planning.  First of all you must know ahead of time what is allowed for airline travel.  Solvents and flammable materials are not allowed.   Look up the current regulations at a TSA website.  Experienced artists have found that including the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet-found online at various manufacturers websites) for each product and highlighting the flash point for each product can make travel easier for artists.  I put each color in a clear bag with it's MSDS sheet highlighted.

 I've always liked Gamblin paints but found that their MSDS sheets are the clearest for explaining their product's safety.  One thing I've been warned of is to not refer to your oil paints as "paint" but as "artists colors made with vegetable oil".    I used Gamblin's Quick Dry White which has a lower flash point than regular alkyds and would help my plein air paintings dry faster.

 Gamblin's Solvent Free Gel was the only 'medium' I found with flash point low enough to be allowed in cargo.  This product not only speeds drying time but can also be used as a brush cleaner.

 To save precious packing space I brought linen canvas sheets that I toned ahead of time.  I clipped that day's painting to foamcore.  I later mounted each of the plein air paintings to foamcore.

I packed my "M box" (11 x 14) in a makeshift bubble wrap sheet with bungee cords to keep the weight light and to protect my precious pochade box. I packed this in my carry on since I knew it would be impossible to replace once overseas.  I also packed my tripod, brushes, an apron, rags & a few paper towels in my checked baggage.

I brought a small portable clothesline  and used it inside to clip my wet oils to.  The day before we had to pack up, Mary Landis and I laid our almost dry oil paintings on a clothes drying rack in the sun to bake a bit more.   After I photographed each painting, I stacked the paintings in between wax paper with a foamcore  top and bottom clipped together.  Only one painting smudged slightly and was easy to fix.

We shipped our art supplies back to Colorado to make traveling a little easier.  If it had not been for a wonderful young woman we met at the post office in Murlo, this wouldn't have been possible.  Our Italian was pretty limited, but this woman helped fill out the forms required-in Italian.  The boxes we purchased at the Italian post office were quite flimsy but they managed to make it back with the outsides shredded-but everything inside intact.  What a relief to get my art supplies back!

You can see more of my artwork online:
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(a variety of my work: prints and cards available) 
 artforconservation.com  
(limited edition canvas giclees) 

marygiacomini.com

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Toscana: plein air

Toscana

 The next painting day I painted alla prima (one sitting) just down the road from the agriturisimo I was staying.  I had been drawn to a single tree on a hilltop and decided to paint it.  For some reason I felt inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe that day.  I simplified my oil painting into interesting shapes and came up with "Toscana", a 10" x 8" original oil.  I will paint this one larger but will keep the simplification of shapes.

"Toscana" on my M box on location

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Plein air Tuscany: Fuligni vineyards

Brunello De Montalcino

Plein air painting in the Fuligni vineyards

 We decided to venture into the countryside after painting several days at the Fattoria Armena.    We weren't sure how it would work to be able to paint in one of the neighboring vineyards since our Italian speaking skills were minimal.  We headed towards Montalcino.  We visited several beautiful vineyards but were welcomed with open arms at the Fuligni vineyards by the manager Mike Motiu.    We returned the next morning ready to plein air paint.  The grapes were just a few weeks away from picking and absolutely succulent.  I settled in to paint the vineyards and the 'tasting room' and cellar, which was once a monastery.   The difficult part was deciding what to paint as everything was beautiful.
We brought some snacks for lunch and were served their award winning Brunello wine.  When the light faded after lunch,
Mike took us on a complimentary wine tour of the Fuligni vineyards. We tasted and purchased several bottles of their wine.  This is the best wine I have ever had.

In the late afternoon plein air session I painted "Vista" of the patchwork
Tuscan views surrounding me.
I am currently working on a large version of "Brunello De Montalcino" oil painting.  When studio painting I combine photo references with my plein air studies to bring back the essence of my inspiration.
This was the best painting day I have ever experienced, along with the best wine and nicest local Italian we met on our trip.

Brunello plein air

Vista (sold)

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Plein Air Tuscany: Fattoria Armena

Fattoria Armena

on location in Tuscany

 On my 3rd day of plein air painting in Italy this past September I decided to paint the arches in the courtyard of Fattoria Armena.  There were plenty of pots with flowers and I decided to include the large geraniums in the foreground. .  The spot where I painted was just steps from the apartment where I was staying.

The arches, bricks and flowers were reminiscent of the 70' mural of the Lincoln Gallery that I painted with three of my friends in 2001. I felt like I was painting in our mural-very dreamlike. 

To conserve on space I oil painted on sheets of 9 x 12" linen which I clipped to foam core. I had toned the linen before the trip so I would not have to work on stark white surfaces.   After the paintings were dry I could layer them between wax paper to bring them home.  I later mounted them onto archival foam core to put into frames.
This original oil painting is for sale, please contact me for availability.
You can see more of my artwork online:
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(a variety of my work: prints and cards available) 
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The mural for the Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, Colorado.

Plein Air Tuscany: Fontana

Fontana 9" x 12" oil

My third painting and second day of plein air in Tuscany was of an old fountain not far from the front door of the Fattoria Armena apartment in which we were staying.  I loved the patterns, the flowers and the shadows created by all of the trees.  I painted all of my September 2014 Tuscany paintings alla prima en plein air.  As an avid outdoor painter I had dreamed of painting in Italy one day.  This was plein air painting at it's finest: peaceful settings, comfortable temperatures with inspiring historical buildings and landscapes to capture. This original oil painting is for sale, please contact me for availability.
You can see more of my artwork online:
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Plein Air Tuscany: Vigneto

Vigneto 9" x 12" oil

Vigneto on my M Box

Inspiration

 The second  oil painting I completed in my Tuscan plein air adventure is "Vigneto" (vineyard in Italian).  The morning fog was still working on lifting when I started this scene of vineyards and olive groves.  This is on the property at the Agriturisimo  I was staying at in September of 2014.  I was situated on top of one of the many Tuscan rolling hills and had a wonderful distant view once the morning fog lifted.  This original oil was painted alla prima, on site.  I used 9 x 12" linen sheets that I later mounted onto acid free foamcore.  This significantly cut down on the amount of space the finished painting would take in my luggage.  There is something about painting under grape vines where you can occasionally taste a sweet grape that remains a  lovely vivid memory. 

This original oil painting is sold.
You can see more of my artwork online:
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(a variety of my work: prints and cards available) 
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Tuscany: plein air 2014

Hide and Seek

I had the trip of a lifetime this past September.  I had the chance to plein air paint in Tuscany, Italy with another artist friend.  We've talked about it for years and decided to make it happen in 2014. It had been a dream of mine to paint the vineyards and rolling hills in Tuscany.
On our first morning of painting we walked out the front door of the agriturisimo we were staying south of Sienna. There was a thick fog but occasionally the hilltops with villas  emerged from the mist. I set up my pochade box, photographed my scene and started oil painting.  Not long after I started "Hide and Seek" the fog completely covered my scene.  I tried working from the image in my digital camera between glimpses of the villa in the fog.  My goal was to capture a moment and instill a memory which was successful.  This original oil painting is for sale, please contact me for availability.
You can see more of my artwork online:
Facebook page (open to the public)

fineartamerica.com    

(a variety of my work: prints and cards available) 
 artforconservation.com  
(limited edition canvas giclees) 

marygiacomini.com

MGiacominiart.blogspot.com