Wet Paint - Barn at Tizzano

Barn at Tizzano, oil/canvas, 18"x24"

This is an outbuilding on the property where we last stayed in Tuscany. The last light of the day with it's warm glow caught the building, trees and grass.

I liked the intermingling of the warm and cool notes on the facade of the barn as well as the soft edges of the vine growing across the space.

The depth in the trees is created by the use of various values of green -- from the deep that recede to the lighter touches that sit on the surface and jump out at the viewer.

Giving depth and interest to a simple area like a lawn is no easy matter. It needs to be designed. In this case, I created transparent areas by scraping down opaque passages and then painting on top with other values, colors and textures to create depth. Instead of glazing, I chose to use all opaque pigments to create close values and textures so they would lie together on a flat plane.

Wet Paint - Tuscan Barn

Tuscan Barn, oil/canvas, 24"x48"

This is the kind of light that I've come to really enjoy -- light that falls over my shoulder -- creating large shapes of color and texture. This Tuscan barn was a wonderful discovery. It's similar to subjects that I enjoy painting near my home in Pennsylvania. The large sweeping fields that lead you back into distant spaces.

What I enjoy about the Italian landscape are the expansive views. The color is mediterranean; siennas, ochres, warm whites, all the earth tones come into play. What captivated me in this painting was that little spot of red ochre on the roof of the barn. That little shape set the whole composition.

There is a study for this painting on Landscape a Day, Italian Study 03-04-09.

I've included some close ups to show you some of the details in the painting. I hope you enjoy.

Here you can see the variety of the brush strokes and how simple they really are (click image for a larger view).

Working with opaque color, in a weaving like process, over transparent glazes creates a tremendous sense of depth in space (click image for a larger view).

The distant hill with it's mingling of warm and cool tones, kept in the same value, create an effective atmospheric hillside (click image for a larger view).