Up the hill

Oil on canvas size 30x30"
Trees...again. Love them, especially in Tuscany. Pathways and trees, I could paint them over and over again. Light and colors change according to the time of the day, the season, the color of the sky. I can never paint a landscape without trees. Pointy trees, squat trees, bare trees, trees in flower. Twisted trunks, gnarled roots, tender saplings. I am a painter of trees.
This painting can be seen at Buckland Southers Galleries, in West vancouver.

Coming back

Oil on canvas, size 20x24"
Coming back to Tuscany is always an emotional journey. Coming back to my roots, my youth. Colors, scents, flavors never forgotten. The roofs, landscape, trees and pathways are still there as are the huge doughnuts ( called Frati, in the countryside near Pisa )that I had last year after almost half a century.
I also came back to this image after almost two years and painted it again albeit differently, larger and with a different stroke, a smaller brush, more details.
I do that often. I paint the same image to see how the memory has changed and if I can add other elements, other feelings.
This painting can be seen at Buckland Southerst Gallery
in West Vancouver.

The end of Summer

Here is the finished painting after a few changes in composition and color.
Title "The end of Summer" oil on canvas size 30x30"

Work in progress.

A 30x30" oil on canvas of a country road. No title yet, I will think of a title when the painting is finished. Any suggestions?

On the way to Florence

One of the last paintings resulting from photo references and sketches taken on my last Tuscany trip. I will be leaving soon for Italy to gather new material for my paintings plus enjoy the food, the wine and the people. I need these annual trips to Italy to refresh my art and my spirit! I will be leaving soon and I will spend about 12 days in Tuscany and 12 days in Sicily hoping the weather will be warm enough (especially in Sicily) to produce some plein air paintings.
"On the way to Florence" oil on canvas size 20x24".
Sold November 7, 2007 by Buckland Southerst Gallery, West vancouver.

Early morning in the Olive grove

This is one of my favorite and recurrent images. A path through trees with long shadows that happen only in early mornings or late afternoons.
This painting is 30x30" one of the largest sizes I have ever painted. Most of it is painted using a #4 bristle flat brush, a small brush for such a large painting!
I worked on this piece in stages waiting for the paint to dry before applying other layers of color. Unusual for me an "alla prima" painter, an impatient and impulsive painter.
I think this painting is quite successful. I like the light in it and the variation in the large areas of color.I like the trees foliage and the impressionistic foreground. I am also happy with the shape on the main tree trunk. I think it gives the piece a certain tension and expressive quality.
This painting is on display at Buckland Southerst Gallery , West Vancouver.


Your comments and criticism are welcome!
Sold October 2007 at Buckland Southerst Gallery, West Vancouver.

Paesaggio con Cipresso ( Landscape with Cypress tree)

This painting stems from sketches and photos done in my last trip to Tuscany. A field of Poppies and a lone Cypress trees in the countryside near Siena.
I am going back soon and I will sketch again and take hundreds of photos of my beloved Tuscany.

Paesaggio con Cipresso is a large 24x30" oil on canvas. It can be viewed/purchased at Buckland Southerst Gallery, Vancouver, BC.

Just an update: this painting was just sold September 23rd, after only 5 days since I brought to the gallery. I am working on a 30x30" oil painting of trees now, it should be finished in couple of days. I will post it here of course!