If I could hand-pick the most ideal painting site in Italy, together with a birthday present to myself, this is the spot in the heart of Tuscany.
We were very fortuate to be able to rent an apartment for 8 days at the beautiful Tuscan villa owned by Riccardo and Susanna Bordoni, between San Gimingnano and Siena, Italy. They also own and manage this large farm property, “Il Paganello” a large 15th Century Italian building complex near Val D'Elsa, overlooking the Tuscan countryside, where I painted this piece.
Riccardo and Susanna are restoring the old building to its original condition (lots of stone work and preserving frescoes) and have located their wine and olive oil production to this site. It's very impressive, both from an historical perspective, as well as the hundreds of acres of grapes and olive trees, all yielding beautiful Chiantis, Tuscan reds and the premium olive oils that they produce.
Curvilinear countours defined by divisions of wild and cultivated land that follow every sensuous twist and turn of this unique landscape, excite me a great deal. The warm light and splashes of color from fall foilage still lingering under the incredibly torquoise blue Tuscan skies pulled me in like a vortex.
