Marc Dalessio

Here are a few paintings from my trip to Montefalco. Again, one of the more picturesque spots on Earth. I’ve been trying to update my geotagged landscape archive so people can take advantage of all the hours I spend scouting around for views (see my earlier post if you have no idea what I’m talking about).

My painting companions this time were Greg Horwitch, Ebba Heuman, Alex Rooney and Rupert Alexander (if anyone was wondering why it’s been raining in Italy for the last two months, it’s because Rupert has been trying to paint outside since early May).

This time, I was very partial to the Clitunno river which runs north through the valley.

Fig Tree on the Clitunno at Casevecchie. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Tractor Bridge on the Clitunno. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Another Tractor Bridge on the Clitunno. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

We were there for wheat field season. Always one of the best times for plein air painting. Here are a couple of larger paintings of the fields.

Wheat fields below Montefalco. 90 x 110 cm, oil on linen.

Wheat Fields on the Trasimeno. 80 x 100 cm, oil on linen (work in progress).

Our scouting trips took us quite a ways from Montefalco. Here are some sketches from further north.

Sunset, Trasimeno. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Hay Bales at Montalera. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel

Poggio delle Corti and Perugia. 60 x 80 cm, oil on linen (in progress still).

The holy grail of landscape painting is a foreground, middle ground and background which compose together beautifully. The combination of the flat central valley, rolling hills, and mountains in this part of Umbria, combined with wheat fields, poplar trees, and picturesque hilltop towns, makes this one of the best areas to paint in Italy.

Here are some action shots from the trip:

Painting meter large canvases with a cigar box.

Greg at Casevecchie.

Ebba on Lake Trasimeno.

Alex below Montefalco.

Rupert scouting the wheat fields.

Me getting up over the olive trees near Trevi.

Today is the last day of the ten day plein air course around Trevi, Umbria. One of my favorite landscape painting spots in the whole world. We had great weather after the first couple of days and I was helped immensely by the multi-talented Daniela Astone who assisted me in teaching.

White roads and hay bales.

Poppy fields below Trevi.

This is the first time I’ve done an extended intensive workshop and it was interesting to see how much the students improve after ten days of straight painting. We were also lucky that two professional painters, Charlie Church and Takuma Kaneko joined us. So often the best teaching is a good example.

Takuma finishing off the day from the parking lot of the hotel.

Charlie helping Denise with her painting.

Ben Fenske also did an excellent demonstration one afternoon on aerial (atmospheric) perspective and planes.

Ben giving a demonstration below Trevi.

We stayed at a charming little agriturismo, Le Vedute, on the hill outside Trevi, where Pietro and Marta looked after us splendidly.

Here are a few more action shots from the trip:

Daniela painting ducks on a river bank.

Maike at the end of a long day.

Bob painting in the shade in the valley.

Luigi painting at the Clitunno Springs.

Overall the course was a a great success and we got good feedback from everyone. Daniela will scout around Maremma for a location for our next workshop together and hopefully we can set something up for September.

View of Trevi from the Bed and Breakfast.

I’ve posted the dates and location for the first of two plein air workshops I hope to do this June. The area around the town of Trevi in Southern Umbria really amazed me for it’s picturesqueness when I was in Spoleto a few years back. I’ve been back a couple of times since then to scout the place out and I feel it has incredible potential for a plein air painting location.

The town is also quite beautiful and without much traffic, if the group is interested in cityscapes.

Picture taken in the center of Trevi this September.

For more information, head over to the courses page.