Tuscan Pottery

Tuscan Pottery
6 x 6
Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello

 I bought this beautiful hand made ceramic cup in a small town near Radda in Chianti when I was in Tuscany earlier this year with the intention of using it in still life set ups.  I finally got around to taking it out to paint this week. Before arranging a full set up, I thought I'd just start with this small study of the cup without any other elements to get a handle on how to approach it. Since it's a painting of something that's already hand painted I thought it might pose some challenges.  It was a lot harder than this little innocent cup looks . The shape is tricky and had to be readjusted several time and I am not sure I ever really got it exactly. The suggestion of the hand painting was actually the easier part compared to trying to capture the overall shape and form. I'm glad I tried it a simple study first before complicating matters even further. Look for it again in some upcoming still life paintings- maybe with some fruit and flowers next time.