Sketchbook - Gardens at Spannocchia

Carmen's Gardens - 4 by 5 in.- Watercolor Sketchbook

I cannot say enough about the vegetable gardens at Spannocchia. Carmen is the gardener and you just know she loves what she does. She knows the terraced beds like they were her own children. She can tell you what has been planted there in the past and what will go in next. She really has a roll going because the vegetables are used in cooking the meals at Spannocchia and they utilize as much as they can from the gardens.

When you take a cooking class at Spannocchia they start with a garden tour conducted by Carmen and you can tell she is so knowledgeable just by the way she talks about the plants. I find myself gravitating to the garden at least once a day while I am there. This view is from the bottom of the hill looking up the terraced gardens. The two little dark doorways lead to Carmen's office. I painted this as a demo for my students on how to simplify because there is a lot to see from this view. By they way, if you want to know if it is going to rain, just ask Carmen.

More Sketchbook - Spannocchia

Spannocchia Doorway - 4 by 5 in. - Watercolor Sketchbook.

This doorway is always the same when I pull up to Spannocchia. I love the way the grape vines shade the doorway and the geraniums sit on the window sill over the sink. I did this sketch before my workshop students arrived to warm up.

Road from Casseta al Leccia - 2 by 5 in.- Watercolor Sketchbook.

I am a sucker for greens. I liked the way this little road was surrounded by different shades of green. It is really almost nearly abstract. Sometimes I just like to take an ordinary view and paint it with a little inspiration. I think it was John Singer Sargent who claimed you should be able to walk out the door and paint whatever you see. However, I must say it is hard to find a view in Tuscany that is not already stunning. One day, while walking back to Spannocchia on this road, I picked wildflowers and did not pick the same kind twice. I wish I had had the time to paint them. Next year...

Small Sketchbook from Italy Trip

View of Vineyards at Spannocchia in Tuscany

Now that I am home from my month of painting in Italy, I am madly painting and getting organized for my upcoming show at the Art League of Hilton Head from August 9 - September 10. The opening reception is on Tuesday August 10 from 5-7 pm.

Since I was not able to really document my trip via the blog as I had hoped due to the slow internet in Tuscany, I am back-tracking a bit now. I want to start with my small sketchbook that I bought at my favorite art supply store Ditta G. Poggi in Rome. The sketchbook is made of Khadi paper and is 5 by 6 in. I wrote Italy on the cover in a font I thought was appropriate and this little sketchbook turned out to be one of the most satisfying forms of painting and sketching that I did the entire trip. I also bought this small Winsor Newton travel watercolor set there that came in a black enamel box and was no bigger than my camera. The lid on the left holds the water that is kept in a flask like compartment that runs the body of the the set. I changed out a few of the colors and was good to go. I just love it! I am just obsessed with small things like this. It is so portable but functional and I used it constantly while there. I guess it is in keeping with my passion for small paintings.

I also found some skinny tape to tape off the borders. I kind of like the tah-dah moment when you peel off the tape to see what your painting really looks like with a nice clean edge. I developed this habit from Joseph Zbukvic after taking a workshop with him last year. I like the way it looks in the sketchbook.

I have some other thoughts about working small. I do not consider my work to be miniatures. I just do not think that that is what they are. Not a value judgement. I think it is because my work is not detailed. I am think of them more as a visual response to a compelling view - more like a poem than a paragraph so to speak. I try to be essential without a lot of detail. I could and I can work that way. I do botanical illustration too but my landscapes are about something different. Being on location is being in the moment and very present in my life. Painting is a way of capturing and savoring that experience.

I will be posting more sketches from this sketchbook over the next two weeks.When I have documented all the paintings for my show I will post them as well. I just got a new Espon scanner and I am loving it.

Finally, the painting above was done during one of the last days at Spannocchia. It was a view that I had not noticed before. I took a new found friend Liz Cellucci out to paint with me. We had a stellar day painting around Tuscany.