"An Evening In Tuscany"

My 'Art Studio', our dining room.  Consists of adding the two extra leaves to the table and getting all of my painting supplies out

After drawing the outline of a brick window, my husband, Don, held the canvases while I sprayed them with fixative

Four blank 3'X4' canvases to be painted with Tuscan countryside scenes with a brick window, to be used for our annual church school auction, the theme being "An Evening In Tuscany".  They will be used as decorations, placed on a wall to look like windows.  It is going to be so nice, the tables will have ivory cloths with plum colored runners.  Candles, wine bottles, corks!  The paintings will be auctioned.

This was the beginning of the first Tuscany painting.  I painted the sky and background hills on all four canvases at the same time, since they are supposed to be on the same day.  Here I have the background farm area and house based in and a few trees

My hutch makes a perfect easel.  I covered the ledge with Saran wrap and placed two rubber covered clamps with shims, evenly spaced to hold the canvas.  Just the right height for painting.  Here I'm working on the brick window that surrounds the first finished Tuscany countryside scene.

The first Tuscan countryside painting is done except for the flyspecking I want to do to make the brick more textured and the final spray finish.  I plan to wait until all the paintings are done before flyspecking since it is a messy job requiring all of the painting be covered with newspaper, except or the brick window.  You lay the painting down on a large tarp and spatter very tiny specks of paint onto the bricks by running a piece of wood or plastic over the ends of a large bristle brush barely loaded with paint, causing the paint to fly onto the canvas in tiny 'flyspecks'.....and onto your face and clothing, shoes and anywhere else you don't have the tarp to cover

Tuscany painting #2 with the base groundwork finished and the buildings based.  So happy to be getting started on this one

Grass and tints done on the hills, some Cypress trees planted and the beginnings of some bushes and landscaping around the houses

Placing the background colors for the trees and bushes and putting in some roads, I used some left-over paint to indicate where I want some bushes in the foreground

Kind of an orange colored field to the left and the base for the grass on the right.  Also began working on the background at the left that is fairly muted and uninteresting since it will be mostly hidden by Cypress trees when done

Now it's getting interesting.  Another bush added at the right and some poppies growing in the field.  Acrylic paints are rather dull before they are varnished.  I always enjoy finishing the mid section of a painting, you begin to see the end in sight and since I have three more paintings to complete as well as columns, with vines and leaves,  which I'll be painting on construction paper that will be taped to the walls surrounding the doors in the Community Center, the quicker I get these paintings done, the happier I'll be

At this point, I have highlighted and re-highlighted, tinted and fiddled around with all of the bushes and trees until I feel satisfied with them.  I'm very happy with the outcome and have moved on to lay in the foreground area; freshly plowed Tuscan soil, ready for the furrrows and plants

A close-up of the house area.  I think I'll print this on photo paper and matt and frame it

Now I'm really happy, I can see this painting being finished tomorrow.  Two more Cypress are in as well as some shading and texture to the grass behind them.  The furrows are in, stippled with a stiff bristle brush, ready to be shaded, highlighted, tinted and textured.  Then the plants will be nestled int heir beds and the full grown Cypress trees and bushes will be brought in by the nursery and the painting will be done.

One of my very favorite things to do is to add all of the details to trees, the appearance of textured boughs, the highlights and shaded areas and especially tints reflecting the sunrise or sunset.  I love trees and the Cypress is so stately and beautiful!

More to come later......