Nymphs in Arcadia

Since my current larger projects are taking a while I thought I would rehash some older work. This is part of a series of paintings I did in 2008 of the small Piaggio Apini or ‘worker bees’ (as opposed to the Vespas or ‘wasps’ made by the same company). They were used by the artisans and tradesmen in Florence until they were banned recently by the new mayor.

Piaggio Ape in Florence

Ape, Via del Campuccio (?). 25 x 35 cm, oil on linen.

Oil painting of graffiti in Florence, Italy

Amore Ti Amo. 20 x 30 cm, oil on linen.

Since they move pretty quickly and I couldn’t always stand in the road with my easel, some were done from photographs. This was the only time I ever tried working solely from photography and I decided it wasn’t for me. I spent too much time training my eyes to work from life.

Dipinto di un Ape Piaggio a Firenze

Apino, Via Maffia (#2). 40 x 30 cm, oil on linen.

Ironically the ones I painted from life often look more photographic than the ones painted from photos. I think it’s because one has so much more information available when working on site.

Dipinto di un Ape Piaggio

Nymph in Arcadia. 40 x 30 cm, oil on linen.

The title of the post comes from a show I had in 2008 in a local cafe showing these little sketches. They say selling art in Florence is like selling ice in Antarctica, but these proved surprisingly popular.

Dipinto del trippaio di Sant'ambrogio

I’Trippaio di Sant’Ambrogio. 20 x 30 cm, oil on linen.

Plein air sketch of a Piaggio Ape in the Tuscan countryside.

June Rent. 25 x 40 cm, oil on linen.

Plein air painting of Via Toscanella, Florence.

Via Toscanella. 25 x 40 cm, oil on linen.

Oil painting of a delivery truck in Florence.

Via Maggio. 30 x 40 cm, oil on linen.

Plein air painting of a Piaggio Ape near San Gimigniano

Apino, San Gimigniano. 20 x 30 cm, oil on linen.

Plein air painting of Via Maffia, Flrorence

Via Maffia (#1). 30 x 20 cm, oil on linen. 

Oil painting of the Vivaio Torrigiani delivery truck.

Vivaio Torrigiani. 20 x 25 cm, oil on linen.

Chianti and Baratti Sketches

Daniela Astone and I just finished our back-to-back plein air courses in Chianti and the gulf of Baratti. We had 19 glorious days of sunshine during the two ten-day sessions. Here are a few of the sketches I managed to bat out during my time off from teaching.

Baratti Dawn. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

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