Archives

by Marc Dalessio

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.

by Marc Dalessio

The Tuscan Summer

Plein air painting of a woman reading under an olive tree in Chianti.

Tina Reading under an Olive Tree. 110 cm x 90 cm, oil on linen.

Here are a few paintings from the last week in Tuscany. I did this large portrait of my wife reading under an olive tree. Being able to get far back is really great for painting portraits, even outside (I’ve discussed this before).

Here was the set-up:

Plein air portraiture in Chianti

Plein air portraiture in the Tuscan countryside.

As idyllic as it looks, it was ridiculously hot. After the last four hour midday session I got sick from the heat and had cold sweats, nausea and a headache. An occupational hazard.

These were some of the smaller sketches:

Plein air cloud studies from the Tuscan countryside.

Three Tuscan Cloud Studies. 20 x 14 cm ea.

Plein air sketch of laundry and lemon trees, Tuscany.

Laundry and Lemon Trees. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air sketch of hay bales along a road in Chianti

Hay Bales along the Road, Noce. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of Pistoletto's sculpture at Porta Romana

Pistoletto’s “Headache” at Porta Romana, 20 x 20 cm, oil on panel.

The above painting went face-down into the dirt when the dog pulled the easel over, hence the debris. Another occupational hazard. The trick to getting much of the dirt or sand out is to let the painting dry completely, then clean it.

Plein air painting of piazza Santo Spirito, Florence

Piazza Santo Spirito on a Sunday in July. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

by Marc Dalessio

Oltrarno Exhibition

I’ll be having another exhibition for charity next week at the Osteria di Santo Spirito. The paintings are all sketches from this winter painted in the Oltrarno of Florence and a portion of the proceeds will go to the Amici di Santo Spirito association. The opening reception will be on Thursday, February 25th from 6 to 9 pm. You can see some of the work here.

by Marc Dalessio

Recent Cityscapes

Here are a few recent cityscapes around the Oltrarno (the south side of the river in Florence). Painted with my little cigar box set-up.
(Update: Here are a few more)
San Felice in Piazza. 14 x 16 in. Oil on board.

San Felice in Piazza. 14 x 16 in. Oil on panel.

Scaffolding on Borgo Tegolaio. 12 x 8 in. Oil on board.

Scaffolding on Borgo Tegolaio. 12 x 8 in. Oil on panel.

Via della Chiesa. 10 x 14 in. oil on panel

Via della Chiesa. 10 x 14 in. oil on panel

Via del Campuccio. 12 x 8 in.

Via del Campuccio. 12 x 8 in. Oil on Panel.

Torrigiani Garden Wall

Torrigiani Garden Wall. 16 x 12 in. Oil on panel.

Can't remember the name of this street. 12 x 8 in, oil on panel.

Porta San Miniato.

Porta San Miniato. 8 x 10 in, oil on panel.

Via del Canneto.

Via del Canneto. 10 x 14 in, oil on panel.

by Marc Dalessio

Contemporary Florentine Realism

Mia Madre by Elena Arcangeli.

Mia Madre by Elena Arcangeli.

Tomorrow is the vernissage for the first show I’ve ever ‘curated’ (I actually chose the artists, but not necessarily the pieces). There is a lot of excellent work on display from the teachers and alumni of the three traditional painting schools here: The Angel Academy of Art, Charles H. Cecil Studios, and the Florence Academy of Art.

The opening will be from 6 to 8pm at the Cami Gallery so if you’re in the neighborhood please stop by. The address is via della Condotta 36r:

Here are some images from the show:

cami1
cami2
cami3
cami4
cami5
cami6
cami7
cami8
cami9
panorama

Update: Here is a very short time-lapse film of the evening, you can use pause to see frames individually (sorry for the lazy photography, but I didn’t want to run around with a camera all night).