Shopping in Positano, Italy

An exercise for my art class was to put together this sketch and painting using value changes. As a demonstration painting, it was a tour de force having only an hour and a half to complete and answer questions. More time for critique and individual help would be nice but is limited by room availability. My Senior Center volunteer teaching has been a rewarding experience. They are wonderful, accomplished artists along with beginners and I try to have something for everyone.

Amalfi Dreams

A year ago I was on the Amalfi coast of Italy. It was a busy place trying to tour the different towns.  Crowds were everywhere especially, on the buses that leave you standing.   I came across my sketch book from that trip and decided to try putting together an imaginary scene from those sketches.  The steep walls with roads and tunnels dwarf all of the boats below.  It is an awesome place.  I would love to return and just set up and paint.

Water View of Amalfi

Took a long break in October but did a lot of painting.  This is the last of my watercolor paintings from my time in Italy this summer.  We took a water taxi from Amalfi to our hotel.  The view from the water is very different than from the road.  I did this painting on Arches 140 lb paper that is glued to board.  No wrinkling and painting on paper is soooo much better than fabric or clayboard.  I am interested to see how it holds up.

A Vertical View

This is the view from my hotel on the coast.  I took the elevator down to minus 6 for my room.  It was down another few levels before reaching the walkway that wound further down to the water.  Quite a spectacular view.  The vertical format was chosen to emphasize the vastness of the stone wall.  I painted the road and tunnel above to give an idea of how exciting the driving is on the Amalfi Coast.  The house was there and I  included it in the painting to allow something for comparative size.  I left the beach and water inlet white or near white to give the painting a focal point.
By the way, the water was warm and I did plenty of swimming.