Casciano, Tuscany June 19, 2008


This piece was from a vantage point overlooking the Tuscan landscape, just 50 km south of Pisa, on a very hot day. Thunder storms in the nearby mountains added a bit of drama with some good winds to move things around (including my easel) but mainly the grasses and grains in the foreground. It was like bathing without the water, but a clean feel nonetheless.

Lucca, Italy, June 20 & 21, 2008

What a way to celebrate the beginning of summer, working first from the top of the wall surrounding Lucca, towards one of the 'Torres', then another painting from below and outside the wall surrounding this beautiful Tuscan city.

This distinctive wall seperates Lucca from all other walled cities I have painted in 3 trips to Italy. Reconstructed at least 3 times (the last I believe in the eighteenth century when it was rebuilt using bricks!) this venerable landmark has very large dimensions on a human scale. It's at least 40 feet wide at the top, where one can stroll or ride bikes for 3 ½ kilometers, completely circling the city. Large old oak and chestnut trees have been planted there and provide welcome shade as well as an invitation to walk what was once the fortification for Lucca.

Salerno, Italy June 4

After a week at Monopli on Italy's southeast coast, we set-up camp at a waterfront hotel in Salerno on the Mediterranean side (west), just south of the fabled Amalfi coast. Two boat trips to both Positano and Amalfi netted two paintings via plein air and hundreds of reference photos and sketches for future work.





The piece here is a nearly finished painting done at Positano, looking straight-up from the beach in front of the duomo. Summer arrived in full swing at 38 degree centigrade – which was darned hot, but added some warm tones to the painting as well.

Pulignano a Mare, Italy, May 26

This medieval coastal town near Bari on Italy's southwest coast had a small cathedral with my own name in Italian, Cathedral St. Stefano. I couldn't resist the urge to paint there, plus the afternoon light reflecting off the Adriatic Sea was turning-up the volume on the colors on and around the companile of this small cathedral.