Tag: Tuscany | Marc Dalessio

June 25, 2017 by Marc Dalessio

Larger Plein Air Paintings – Spring 2017

Plein air landscape painting of dawn over Florence, Italy.

Dawn over Florence #1. Oil on linen, 70 x 90 cm.

Here are some of the recent larger plein air paintings from our hill above Florence. I did a couple timelapse videos of the progress this time.

Dawn over Florence #2. Oil on linen, 90 x 120 cm.

Plein air painting of olive trees in Tuscany in late May.

Olive Trees in May. 90 x 120 cm, oil on linen.

I’m working on a stable and portable system for working on larger paintings on site. I’ve just finished the first iteration and I’ll be taking it back to the US to try it out next week. These were mostly done with my older Italian steel field easel set-up, which also works really well.

The next two images are of the same painting. The first (below) was painting in the afternoon, but then I decided to glaze everything orange to capture the evening light effect.

Oil painting of an old olive tree in Tuscany.

Old Olive Tree, early version with afternoon light. 70 x 90 cm, oil on linen.

Large plein air landscape painting of an olive tree in Tuscany.

Old Olive Tree, final version with evening light. 70 x 90 cm, oil on linen.

Plein air landscape painting of fruit trees in bloom.

Fruit Trees in Bloom. 60 x 80 cm, oil on linen.

Plein air landscape painting of the garden at Villa Schneiderf.

Garden at Villa Schneiderf. 90 x 100 cm, oil on linen.

May 31, 2017 by Marc Dalessio

Tuscan Plein Air Paintings – Winter and Spring 2017

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

Here are images of some of my recent smaller plein air work from around where I’m living in the hills of Tuscany, just outside of Florence. The small village is called Vicchio di Rimaggio.

I’ve been slacking on the blog so there is quite a bit to post. I also have a lot on the burner at the moment as late May is always such a fun time of the year for painting outside.

Plein air painting of an old country road above Vicchio di Rimaggio.

The Old Road. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Urn, Late Morning. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of irises in bloom in the garden at Villa Schneiderf.

Irises, Villa Schneiderf. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Oil painting of a terracotta statue in the garden.

Terracotta Statue. 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of a corner of the garden at Villa Schneiderf.

Garden Study #1. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air sketch of the garden at Villa Schneiderf.

Garden Study #2. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of the garden at Villa Schneiderf, Vicchio di Rimaggio.

Garden Study #3. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of wisteria in bloom.

Wisteria and Scooters. 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel.

I’ve been painting a lot of olive trees.

Plein air painting of olive trees in the midmorning light.

Olive Trees, Midmorning. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of an olive grove in Tuscany.

Edge of a Cut Field. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of olive trees above Florence.

Olive Trees over Florence. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of an olive grove in the Arno river valley.

Olive Grove Sketch. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Some of these were color studies for larger pieces which I’ll post soon. Not all of my smaller studies get enlarged, but I find it useful to see how the view will look in paint before I launch into a big canvas. It also helps me to visualize scenes in paint, which is so useful for completing more finished work on a bigger scale.

Plein air color study of olive trees in the late afternoon sun.

Olive Trees, Late Afternoon (color study). 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of sunset in Vicchio di Rimaggio.

Sunset, Vicchio di Rimaggio. 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel.

Oil painting of a classical concert in the church of San Lorenzo a Vicchio di Rimaggio.

Concert in San Lorenzo a Vicchio di Rimaggio. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

July 10, 2016 by Marc Dalessio

Short Tuscan Trip

Plein air portrait of a Tuscan farmer with his chickens.

Mario and his Chickens. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Here, quickly, are a few small paintings from last week in Tuscany. I was there doing some organizational stuff, and didn’t have a lot of time to paint. I was also enjoying a bit of a break after all my work for the South Carolinian show in May.

Portrait of a young girl in a Tuscan farmhouse.

Portrait of a Young Girl. 35 x 25 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of a painter in Tuscany.

Ben Painting at the Torricella. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Outdoor Self Portrait. 35 x 25 cm, oil on panel.

I painted only portraits and still-lifes. As I’ve wrtten before, the Chianti region of Italy is one of the most beautiful places in the world to visit, but the ‘big views’ aren’t great for plein air painting. The small olive trees make for poor compositional elements, the hills are too close together, and the ubiquitous vineyards consist of parallel lines, which landscape painters do best to avoid.

Plein air painting of an espresso with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Affogato. 20 x 15 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of a Florentine steak.

Fiorentina. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Peaches and Ice Cream. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

December 24, 2015 by Marc Dalessio

Recent Italian Studio Paintings

Here are a couple of larger studio landscapes done from smaller plein air studies done on site in central Tuscany in September. I realize I haven’t posted anything in a while as I’ve been working on these larger studio paintings and they take a long time. I have three more on the easel and I’ll try to update the post as I finish them.

Studio landscape painting of Castelmuzio, Tuscany by Marc Dalessio

Castelmuzio. 120 x 150 cm, oil on linen.

Oil painting of Scrofiano, Tuscany by Marc Dalessio

Scrofiano. 90 x 110 cm, oil on linen.

Update: Here are a couple more, I’ll keep posting them here as they come off the easel. Some are heading for the Grenning Gallery this summer, one is off to Constantine Lindsay in London.

Landscape painting of Castelmuzio in Tuscany by Marc Dalessio

Castelmuzio, Backlit. 90 x 110 cm, oil on linen.

Landscape painting of Giudecca in Winter in Venice, Italy by Marc Dalessio

Giudecca in Winter. 90 x 110 cm, oil on linen.

June 5, 2015 by Marc Dalessio

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.

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

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.

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.

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.