Marc Dalessio

Here are some of the sketches from the last month. We stayed in the little village of Pujols near St-Emilion (Bordeaux) in France, and then in Chianti near Tavarnelle val di Pesa.

My liver will need some time to recover.

Haybales near Pujols. 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel.

The Dordogne is especially interesting to paint as it is unusual to have tidal effects so far inland.

Boats on the Dordogne. 23 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

The Dordogne at Castilion-le-Bataille. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Petanque. 30 x 40 cm, oil on panel.

Branne. 30 x 25 cm, oil on panel.

Gate at Saint-Emilion. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Gensac. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Sketches of the Church at Pujols. 20 x 15 (ish) cm each, oil on panel.

We were in Tuscany for the anual Vendemmia, or grape harvest.

La Vendemmia. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

La Vendemmia #2. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

I’ll post the rest of the Chianti series later in the week.

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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Many of the posts on this blog are about my travels, as I find it more interesting. However, I do live in one of the more picturesque places around and paint here quite often. The problem with plein air painting in Tuscany is that the Chianti region, where I usually stay, is actually terrible as far as subject matter goes. The small olive trees are fine if painted up close, but the little blue blobs are really unsightly when seen from afar. And don’t get me started on vineyards… parallel lines from a distance?

That said, Tuscany also has some of the best plein air subjects in the world, especially the rolling hills and wheat fields south of Siena. My other favorite spots are the Mugello, north of Florence, and Maremma, along the coast to the southwest.

Here are couple from a trip to the Val d’Orcia:

Vineyards at Poggio alle Mura. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

The Old Station at Bibbiano. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

The Gulf of Baratti has to be one of the more beautiful bays in Tuscany, though it can be a bit too pretty.

The Chapel of San Cerbone at Baratti. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

We stayed with friends on a couple of July weekends and I ended up painting around the house a lot to avoid the crowds.

Barbeque and Well at Torrenuova. (Needs to be cut down still).

The Bridge at Torrenuova. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

I also painted a bit further north, on the coast near Bolgheri.

White Road at Palone. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Stone Pines at Palone. 30 x 40 cm, oil on panel.

Palone, the Beach. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

And lastly, I painted a bit in the hills above Lucca, which was new to me this summer and is an area I would love to paint more thoroughly.

Bagni di Lucca. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Clothes Hanging at Benabbio. 20 x 25 cm, oil on panel.