Sunny Italy -Take 2

Sunny Italy
9 x 12 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
(work in progress)

Started this painting yesterday in a workshop I'm taking with Jim Richards, an excellent artist and instructor in Decatur GA. 

I was attracted to this scene of Italy because of the distinct pattern of light and shadow as shown in the value pattern of the original photo below. the more I paint, the more evident it becomes that I love painting the drama of light and shadow. I'm not as excited to paint something on a dull day. Although Jim has been sharing a new view on that so I may experiment with some more "local tone" scenes that I might have passed by due to lack of prominent sunlight in the past ( will post any learning from experiments in future blog posts so stay tuned).

 After getting as far as I did in the painting above (noted work in progress), Jim came by and helped me to simplify the scene and get an even better read on the light and shadow.  Just a few things he did make a big difference. Today is another day of the workshop and my aim will be to paint looser, use bigger brushes, focus on larger, more connected shapes. Stay tuned for what develops.
Thanks Jim for a great day of demonstration and painting!

Sunny Italy, edited by Jim Richards