Europe!!

Follow each day in pictures by clicking below.

Day One. . .Barcelona
Day Two. . .Villefranche
Day Three. . .Florence
Day Four. . .Rome
Day Five. . .Southern Italy
Day Six. . .Malta


Paintings from Europe 2001!
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Marina Grande, Capri

Marina Grande, Capri

Marina Grande, Capri © (32"x38" including frame, acrylic on canvas) Two places struck me as particularly pleasing scenes to paint during our 2001 trip to the Mediterranean. The first was Villefranche on the French Riviera and the second was the island of Capri. Given the fact that I've been experimenting with various means of breaking outside the traditional picture frame, this scene of the Marina Grande, the main harbor of Capri, struck me as having possibilities along that line. In the past I've cut the frame and also built up 3-D images ON the frame as means of allowing the image to "break the frame", but this marks the first time I've ever left the frame intact while actually painting the image out onto it. This scene was, quite frankly, photographed with this idea in mind, and the frame, a broad pine with a subtle white stain, was chosen particularly to facilitate such a foreground element.
Broadly framed in pine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$750.


Back Gate, Caprese Villa

Spectrum

Back Gate, Capri Villa © (24"x24" acrylic on canvas) When you get lost, you find things. For about an hour I was lost on the back "streets" (really just wide, paved paths) on the Mediterranean island of Capri. I found beautiful views, some lovely back gardens, and this especially bright and attractive back gate to one of the hundreds of hillside villas which dot the island. If I'd stuck to the beaten paths, I never would have encountered it. Uncertain whether it would look best horizontally or vertically I shot it digitally both ways only to incorporate both images into a square format. Unlike many of my recent paintings, this one does not "break the frame." I've considered, but not yet decided, whether to attach small gravels (stones) to the frame along the left edge to allow them to flow outside the normal picture plane.
Framed in white. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$475.


Villefranche Harbor

Villefranache Harbor

Villefranche Harbor © (24"x24" acrylic on canvas) This was a very intimidating painting to do. Twice I put it off for simpler, less complex scenes, hoping to gain the confidence to take it on. The drawing was the most difficult - probably close to two hours. But once that was done, it became mostly just another seascape, not much more difficult than the earlier painting of Marina Grande, Capri. The sky came first, then the mountain rocks and trees, the water, the boats, the mountain villas, and finally, the buildings. Of course this one pales in comparison to the complexity of the next one, the street seen here FROM the street. If the painting seems "busy" that's exactly the feeling one gets in being there - colorful and busy - but oh so exciting.
Framed in white. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$475.


Villefranche Street

Villefranache Street

Villefranche Street © (18"x24" acrylic on canvas) I saved this, the fourth scene from our 2001 Mediterranean excursion, until last. With all its traffic and seaside buildings overlooking the water, it perfectly captured the look and feel of the lovely town, but also frightened me a bit. Like the scene of the Villefranche Harbor, only more so, this one is permeated with both the intense color and the intense compactness of the vertical landscape, both natural and manmade. Here I said if one were to fall from the sidewalk, better to fall in the water than into the street. The digital image from which this painting originated was shot from very near the far left edge of the harbor scene. It thus contains some of the same buildings and background.
Framed in white. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$475.


The Eastern Mediterranean 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

Egyptian Excursion

Egyptian Excursion" © (20"x20") acrylic on Canvas)

One of the stops on our 2010 cruise of the Mediterranean was the port of Alexandria, Egypt. From there, I suffered through a two and a half hour jaunt to Cairo to get my picture taken in front of the Pyramids and float around a little on the Nile while eating lunch. The last stop of the day was at the Egyptial Papyrus Institute. There I purchased for an outrageous sum a small blank piece of Papyrus. (They were rather chagrinned that I didn't want a piece with an art image already printed on it.) The purpose was, of course, to create my own "Egyptian" work of art. And, who better to grace my precious papyrus than the two most famous figures from Egyptian royalty, King Tutenkhamen (or rather his funerary mask) and Queen Nefertiti. Once finished, I was at a loss as to how to mount such a painting. Matting and framing seemed somehow "foreign" to such a piece. After numerous experiments, I eventually settled on the woven mats seen above. Papyrus is, after all, made of grassy reeds.

Papyrus mounted on woven mats with plywood backing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$395.



Marina Grande 2010

Marina Grande 2010 © (15"x30") acrylic on Canvas)

One of my favorite places in the Mediterranean is the island of Capri. In 2001, I spent a brief afternoon there, got lost, and fell in love with the place. Two paintings (above) were the result of that little excursion. In April of 2010 I was able to return to the island for a whole day, this time to really see the place. The palette knife painting above is the first of two paintings of the Marina Grande. The second (below), is from the opposite side of the harbor, the same size, also using a palette knife. This painting was created by using two photos, coupled together along with several additional shots gleaned from the Internet covering details on the periphery of the scene not contained in my photos. Though these two are currently the only planned paintings of Capri, I have numerous other photos many of which would make excellent source material for future works.

Framed in cherry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$395.


Marina Grande 2011

Marina Grande 2011 © (15"x30") acrylic on Canvas)

This second view of the harbor serving the island of Capri was painted in 2011, some six months after the first (above). Painted in the same "rugged" pallette knife manner, this work emphasizes the water, its boats, and the craggy mountain ridge overshadowing the Marina Grande rather than waterfront real estate. Like its sister painting, this work was also created from two ot three source photos joined in a mosaic fashion, with the rough edges edited somewhat by computer. Thankfully, I'm in the business of selling paintings, not photos. This method of gathering source material permits a greater panorama without the dostortion and other problems of a wide-angle lens on a massive SLR weighing about ten times more. On photo expeditions, I like to travel light and deal with the consequences in my digital darkroom back home.

Framed in cherry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$395.