Plein Air Painting in Tuscany

Plein air landscape painting of Sant'Angelo in Colle, near Montalcino, Tuscany.

Sant’Angelo in Colle. 20 x0 30 cm, oil on panel.

A quick post with some of my paintings from last week in Tuscany.

Late May/early June is my favorite time to paint in the area south of Siena, as the wheat fields are at their best, just before the harvest. The Senese is probably one of the more picturesque places on earth, and it is arguably the place where the first landscape paintings since antiquity were painted in the Allegory of Good and Bad Government frescos by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the town hall of Siena.

Plein air painting of a Fiat Panda.

Fiat Panda. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Painting of a farmer in Chianti.

Mario. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of Castelmuzio, Tuscany, Italy.

Castelmuzio. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Montisi (unfinished). 20 x 30 cm.

Montisi (unfinished). 20 x 30 cm.

We were lucky with the weather. There were thunderstorms around Montisi (where we were staying) but with the big skies of the Senese we could see where they were growing and move around them.

Plein air painting of Sant'Angelo in Colle.

Sant’Angelo in Colle #2. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Dipinto della spiaggia a Roccamare.

On the Beach, Roccamare. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

The last few paintings are of the sunset every evening from the farmhouse where we were staying outside of the village of Noce, near Tavarnelle val di Pesa. It’s part of a continuing series I’ve been working on which I intend on framing all together in one large frame. You can see some of the ones from last year here.

Plein air painting of a Tuscan sunset.

Torricella Sunset #5. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of a Tuscan sunset.

Torricella Sunset #6. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air landscape of a sunset in Tuscany.

Torricella Sunset #7. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of a sunset near Tavarnelle val di Pesa.

Torricella Sunset #8. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

3 comments

  1. The color/light effect on the second sunset is wonderful and unexpected. I’m an admirer of all your paintings. Thanks for sharing. If you ever want to paint in Puerto Rico, I live in Vieques and would gladly put you up in our second floor. I paint also, and would be so curious to see how you would handle the tropics and third world-ish life here.

  2. Marc,
    Delighted to see our new posts. I had to write to say that the composition, light, values and color, of Castlemuzio, particularly as my eye was led to the central tower, gave me the sense of “being there”. You captured the atmosphere exquisitely.
    I’m always intrigued by your versatility and the quality of your plein-airs, all of them.
    Thanks for putting them “out there” for us all to see, study and be inspired by.

  3. Marc you are such a gifted and prolific painter. I really enjoy and learn alot from your work. It seems you travel quite alot and that is great! I have recently returned from a whirlwind trip to Italy with my daughter’s college Way too much moving around to do much painting but I did manage to sketch. I am intrigued with the idea of spending some serious time in Tuscany. One of the instructors is from the area and also recommends it to painters.

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