Miniature landscape painting of the Tuscany sunset

This painting sold last night at my gallery exhibition preview, but it's still on view tonight for the First Fridays downtown art walk. It is a companion to another Tuscany painting I blogged about a couple of days ago:

"Lingering Light, Tuscany II" Oil on linen, about 3.5" x 7.75"

If you're doing the downtown art walk tonight in Richmond, come by Jennifer Young Studio & Gallery and see all of the "Small Stuff" -- miniature paintings and prints --on display for the holiday season. The gallery is located at 16 East Main Street between 1st and Foushee.

If you're not in Richmond, I am continually uploading new paintings to my web gallery, or you can see them offered first here, on the blog. I'm also offering free shipping (with some restrictions) until the end of the year, for holiday shopping convenience.

Useful links:

Ideas for hanging "small stuff" How I pack paintings for shipping My purchasing FAQ's My gallery information (and virtual tour)

"Lingering Light, Tuscany" miniature oil painting

More "small stuff" today as I continue preparations for Thursday night's gallery anniversary party and the First Fridays Art Walk that follows. This little painting shows the setting Tuscan sun over a sloping grove of olive trees .  There is a companion to this little painting that I'll try to post soon. 

 

 "Lingering Light, Tuscany" Oil on Linen mounted on birchboard Approx. 3.5" x 7.75"

It's an odd size, I know, but I do have a frame for it. It would also look great unframed, just perched on a mini easel.

I am enjoying the long horizontal format I've used in these pieces and in my previous painting of Venice. That's the great thing about making small works--you can experiment with formats and compositions (mediums too) with less sweat, tears, and expense than is sometimes required of a large canvas. And if they don't work out, they fit into the trashbin  a whole lot easier! I think this one's a keeper though. ;-) 

New Vignette- Tuscany watercolor landscape painting

New for today is another original watercolor vignette. This one is of Tuscan sunflowers so abundant in the summertime in the countryside south of Siena. This painting is matted in an 8x10" mat with all acid free materials, and comes in a clear protective sleeve.

"Summer In Tuscany" Watercolor/Pen & Ink

Update: just sold! To see the other small works I still have available for sale, please click here and here.

"The Terraced Grove, Tuscany"- Watercolor Vignette

Busy day today getting ready for the Thanksgiving holiday, but at 5 PM I've finally managed to find time to post!  Today it's a new Tuscany watercolor. I think I might be getting the hang of this watercolor thing :-).  The vignettes are a great way to work out compositions on a small scale. I may just have to reinterpret this one into a larger oil :

"Terraced Grove, Tuscany" Watercolor/Pen & Ink, 4x6" Contact me for more info!

We're getting ready to take a little Thanksgiving hiatus for a few, so if I don't have a chance to post again before I leave, happy Turkey Day! (Or if you are a veggie like me, happy carb day!)

Do you Squidoo? My new lens on hanging artwork.

According to Wikipedia,

"Squidoo is a network of user-generated lenses --single pages that highlights one person's point of view, recommendations, or expertise."

According to me, it's pretty addictive! I've really been enjoying surfing it, and I've also created a couple of lenses of my own. My most recent lens is: Hanging Artwork and Caring for Your Art Collection. While I've blogged some of this information before, I've included new content on my lens that I hope will be of interest to art lovers and art collectors. I've also just updated my other lens on landscape painting with new content, so check them out! And if you enjoy my lenses, please consider leaving a star rating for them at the top of the screen.

Verdant Hills

Here is today's newly completed painting:

 

Southern Tuscany has the most beautiful sloping and undulating hills. They are made even more striking, I think, by the winding roads (referred to as the "white roads") and cypresses that punctuate the landscape. As you can see by the field of sunflowers, this is a scene at the height of summer. This oil painting measures 20x24". For more information, please contact me.

Il Villaggio Piccolo

This is a painting of one of the small villages I saw while traveling throughout the area of southern Tuscany. I am not even sure if it could be called a "village". It was more a small grouping of houses plopped in the hillsides of the region called La Crete. The painting measures 24x30".

Silver and Gold

Here is another painting of Tuscan olive groves. I call it "Silver and Gold" because of the silvery leaves of the olive trees, contrasted by what I believe is golden broom in the foreground. This is a gallery wrapped painting measuring 24x30":

 

I've been moving my computer, phone and painting gear into the new studio space  over the past couple of weeks. I've had First Friday openings here monthly, but until today I was still working out of the old space. Being more or less in one location should help me to be a lot more productive in the coming weeks!

I should be able to get a better photo in a day or two and at that point I'll post the painting on my website. In the meantime, please contact me at the link below if you would like more information about this piece.

New Gallery Photos

I thought I'd post some photos of the new gallery space, which officialy opened last Friday night. We were swamped the entire night so I did not get ONE picture of the actual event! It turned out well--hectic but fun. We're both still recovering from total exhaustion, but at least we made it through "phase one". Phase two is still to come--moving my art studio part into the building. We hope to have that accomplished by mid January at the latest. Front room:

This is the wall to the right as you walk in the front door. The flowers on the table are from our new landlord!

This is the left wall of the same room--A great spot for the paintings in my mini collection:

This is a view of the right hand wall as you continue on into the middle room.

Here's a shot of the same wall looking back into the front room:

Here is the opposite wall in the second room. The picture to the far left is an original oil painting of Tuscany. The pictures to the right are canvas prints on the walls, and paper prints in the rack. People were amazed at the quality of the canvas prints, which looked so much like paintings that I had to tell them they were prints and not originals.

   

Heading out from the 2nd room and into the third room. This is where the band played opening night:

Rounding the corner into this third room, here is my wall of Key West paintings:

   

   I had these paintings framed differently from the usual gold because I felt like the solid gold was too formal for this subject matter. I like the linen liner and the platinum colored frame with the bamboo motif for these sunny Key West pieces.

   This last room will undergo some changes. The front two rooms with the hardwood floors will remain gallery space, but we'll use this area more for work space (to be determined), though we'll still hang some art here. Down that hallway is a fourth small room and a bathroom with a utility sink.

   Jennifer Young Studio & Gallery is located at 16 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA, 23219. Currently we are open from 6 to 9 p.m. during the First Fridays Art walks, and other times by appointment. Please call 804-254-1008 (1-877-DIAL-ART toll free) to visit the gallery or to inquire about the paintings you see on the website.

Oliveti Terrazzati

Here is a painting of the terraced olive groves I so loved in southern Tuscany:

I actually thought I was finished with this painting last week, but there was something about the sky that was bothering me. I set it aside and worked on other things, but kept looking at the painting over time. The sky was previously painted pretty plainly. I was going for the golden light of evening but it just didn't turn out right. I guess my photo reference of this scene had washed out the sky, even though I knew it was taken during that beautiful early evening glow.

Then the other evening as I painted in my studio, I noticed the most gorgeous clouds outside of my window. I ran and got the camera and took some shots, and then just sat and watched the remaining sunset, noticing the color transitions of an evening sky.

With that new information I went back and addressed this painting again, and now I feel that it better states the mood and atmosphere that I was trying to express. This painting is gallery wrapped and measures 30x40". Please click here or click on the image for detailed info and purchasing information.

New shows on the horizon

Fall is a busy time for many, and I'm no exception. I'm gearing up for a few shows: October 17, 2006, 6-7 p.m. Can Can Brasserie in Richmond, Virginia celebrates Art in our Community. One evening only. I will provide the art, and Can-Can will provide the wine tasting and munchies. The restaurant is located in the heart of Carytown in Richmond, VA, at 3120 W. Cary Street, Richmond, VA.

October 20, 2006 Please join us for an art opening on Friday October 20th from 6 to 9 p.m. I will be one of six artists featured in the First Annual Landscape Exhibit at the Rentz Gallery. The gallery is located at 1700 W. Main St in Richmond, VA.  Show continues through November 27th. Contact the gallery at 804.358.5338 for more information.

December 1-2, 2006 My annual open studio event! Lots of fun stuff in the works....Details to follow soon.

landscape painting artist Provence paintings Tuscany paintings

A Day in the Orcia Valley

I thought I'd celebrate my new blog home (on my own domain! Yeah!) by posting a painting I just finished this morning. I took a break from painting the waters of Lake Como to do another painting of the Orcia Valley (otherwise known as the Val d'Orcia.)  This painting measures 30x40". It is done on a gallery wrapped canvas, painted out to the edges on all sides:

On this particular day I tortured my husband by making him drive all over the Val d'Orcia (or so it seemed) before lunchtime to find views of the white roads lined with cypress trees. I had a thing for these winding roads and cypresses, which I think make marvelous compositional elements in my landscape paintings.

More paintings of Italy can be seen on my website here.

painting artist Italy landscape painting

New Italian landscape painting

Here is another painting of the olive groves in Tuscany. Just finished and still wet, it is a gallery wrapped painting with finished edges on all sides:

It measures 24"x24". Here is a side view:

This is a substantial 1 1/2- inch thick canvas that is smooth on the perimeter. Staples are attached to the back of the frame rather than the sides, which allows the artist to paint to the edge.

Most often landscapes paintings are done in, well, landscape format. But every so often there is a scene that lends itself just as well to a square orientation. To me the square is a nice surprise, and a bit more playful and informal. I really enjoyed painting this. I loved the layers of information, and the way the olive groves just went on forever. The light is that of a crisp afternoon in springtime. This is another scene from that beautiful region called La Crete, located in the province of Siena.

I'm titling this painting "Olives Without End". You can see the details about this painting in the Italian Landscapes section of my website.

-Jennifer Young; Vibrant Landscapes www.jenniferyoung.com Contact

New Italian landscape painting

I mentioned the other day that I was working on developing a much larger version of a painting I had created in mini form. Well, here is the larger painting. It is called "The Secluded Farmhouse" and the canvas measures 30"x40". You can see more details about the painting at my website in the Italian Landscape section.

Sometimes I get the feeling that people think I am kidding about the wildflowers in the springtime scenes of Tuscany and also Provence, but during the Spring, and especially in May, there are wildflowers blanketing the countryside everywhere. It is a magnificent time to be there!

 

 

Jennifer Young; Vibrant Landscapes My website: www.jenniferyoung.com Contact

Mini Paintings

...And speaking of smaller works, sometimes they are a great way for me to work out some interesting compositions. Many of my mini paintings are great in a small format, but the compositions might be too simple to translate into a larger work. Others, however, could work well on a larger scale.

I painted this little mini just before my autumn open studio:

 

 

The little painting sold on opening night, but I really liked the composition and have been wanting to see how it would work in a more developed fashion on a larger canvas. I started the larger one today, so we shall see if it holds up as well on a grander scale. 

To see more of my Italian Landscape paintings, click here.

Jennifer Young; Vibrant Landscapes www.jenniferyoung.com Contact

Smaller Works

Here are a couple of smaller paintings I did recently to include in my upcoming show. They are each 12x12" gallery wrapped:

"Early Lavender"

"Golden Valley"

Often times when collectors are interested in my smaller works, they are looking for pairs or multiples to use in a grouping. So I do try to keep that in mind when I am creating the smaller ones-- especially my minis. I don't go about creating "matching sets", but as I am working I think about compliments.

Because there are so many ways to hang art, I created a little sampling of ideas on my website that addresses some of the possibilities. It can really be a fun endeavor in itself, and an expression of one's own personal style and creativity as a collector. Some people like a very formal, symmetrical presentation, while others like to mix it up. Some people prefer that all frames match, but I'm one of those who enjoys an eclectic presentation and think that variety of frame styles presented together can look pretty neat, so long as they compliment each other (and of course the room's decor.) I've even seen both framed and unframed work hanging together to great effect.

While sometimes there is a perfect small spot to display a single painting, these smaller paintings can be shown in so many other ways. They can be stacked one over another on a narrow wall, or presented in groupings over a larger piece of furniture like a sofa or console. They can be used instead of sconces to flank a nice mirror over a buffet or hutch (I've done this in my dining room before). They can even be displayed more informally, and sit atop a mantle or book shelf.

Here are a couple of snapshots from my last open studio that shows how I displayed smaller works as part of a larger grouping:

 

 

 

 

Jennifer Young; Vibrant Landscapes www.jenniferyoung.com Contact 

Painting of Tuscany

Yesterday I put the finishing touches on the painting below. Sometimes they come together so nicely that they seem to paint themselves. I love when that happens! This is a scene of the countryside just south of Siena that we explored one fine day. I have been wanting to paint this scene for a while but haven't gotten around to it before now. It is soaking wet, but if it dries in time I may include it in my show in Greenville. I love this scene so much that I may even paint another version of it even larger. It measures 24" x 30" and is done with gallery wrap:  

Here is a shot from the side:

 

 

To see more of my Italian Landscape paintings, click here.

Jennifer Young, Vibrant Landscapes www.jenniferyoung.com Contact

Painting Demo Part III

Things are really starting to take shape now. I've started to add more of the "local" color greens to the highlight side of my distant trees, allowing the deep blues and blue grays to act as the shadowed underside. I also begin to indicate the lines of the vineyards and the silvery olive trees that dot the distant countryside.  

 

The painting is looking close to being finished (at least in my mind). Just a few details to address now. I've given more dimension to the olive trees in front and have begun to restate the trunks, adding some of the bluish highlights just in places where the sun hits the gnarled forms. I keep my distant buildings soft and sketchy because they are farther away. Highlights on the distant trees are duller than the richer green colors that I put on the highlights in the foreground. I also add detail strokes to my cypresses. Now I take a nice long look at the painting to see what adjustments need to be made before I start finishing. Placing a mirror on the wall just opposite of your painting is an excellent tool for this purpose. It reflects the painting back in reverse, giving you a fresh viewpoint from which to see the painting anew. Sometimes when you've been staring at a painting for hours it's hard to see what needs to be changed.

 

 

Viola! Here is the painting in its finished (or nearly so) form. I've touched in the slight suggestion of windows on some of the buildings, taking care not to do too much of that in the distant ones. I've also developed my vineyards a little more and restated my tree branches. One adjustment I made with my reverse viewing/mirror technique was in the foreground trees. I didn't like how the tree line stopped just short of the edge of the picture plane. It made the composition feel too boxed in. So I extended the tree line out to the edge, which I think gives it a nicer sense of fluidity.

 

 

"Gli Olivi della Crete," Oil on Canvas, 30 x 40"

As you may have surmised that "Gli Olivi" means olive trees, and La Crete is the region in Tuscany that is depicted. Over the next week as I work on other paintings, I will prop this painting up in a visible spot in my studio and just keep looking at it. I may make minor adjustments to it if something really jumps out at me after a while, or I may deem it "finished" and put a coat of retouch varnish on it when it dries to the touch for protection.

Thanks for tuning in! If you'd like to see the entire demo again, please view the following links:

Painting Demo Part I Painting Demo Part II

To see more of my Italian Landscape paintings, click here.

Painting Demo Part II

I begin to block in some of the color here, laying in the foreground so that I can gauge the values and temperature of the rest of the color. I want to emphasize these wonderful olive trees and the sloping hill. The olive trees are so distinctive in the Tuscan countryside. At different distances and in different light they take on shades of green, silver, and even blue/violet. But back to the painting; the ground is too dark. The light from the sky is shining directly on the places that are not in shadow from the trees, so I will try to bring out some more highlights as I progress with the painting.

Here I am giving a little more form to the foreground trees, and I lay down the color for where I will show some of the bare land. All of the ground is still too dark in my opinion, but I begin to lighten it up a little.   

 

 

Blocking in more of the painting, the distance is starting to take shape. I lay in very cool colors in the far distance, using blues and cool greens. In general warm colors come forward and cool colors recede, so I will start with relatively cooler, lighter colors in the distance and stronger, warmer colors as the eye moves forward in the painting. I still use slightly darker blues, (ultramarine, plus a dab of cad red light and white/ or ultramarine plus a dab each of cad. orange and alizarin crimson and white) even in the middle ground, as I can always add more local color later. I've also lightened up the ochre ground colors throughout the painting, which I think looks better and more convincing.

I start to feel more comfortable once the canvas is covered with paint and there aren't any unaddressed areas. Even if the value or color isn't quite right, it helps me to "see" the painting better if I can have everything more or less laid out. I have now indicated the buildings, more of the distant trees, and have added detail to the olive trees in the foreground, including giving them some more shadow areas. As I have worked in more color, you can see I've painted out some of the tree trunks and branches that were indicated before, so I will have to restate them again at some point.

As you can see, this is very much a push and pull exercise for me. Some artists start with the distance and work forward, and I used to try and do that too, but I always tend to want to lay in some of the foreground so that I can better determine what the distance will need.

Painting Demonstration: Part I

I thought I'd share some information here about my painting process in the studio. It has been raining and snowing for what has seemed like weeks here, so the photography may not be the best. The colors may not appear exact but hopefully these pictures will be sufficient to give you some idea of how the image looks.

Here is my inspiration photo. This is a picture I took with my digital camera when I was in Tuscany in the springtime. We stayed in Montalcino, in the southern part of Tuscany, and we drove all over this and neighboring areas. I think I must have taken about 1000 photos in all. I like using digital pictures because you can delete on site and don't need to worry about film. Plus, back home I can zoom in on details and see them directly in my computer monitor without having to go through the expense of printing the images unless I really want to. My photos are pretty amateurish, but I use them more as digital records to jog my memory of what I saw and sketched while I was there. The actual digital file for this photo is much larger, allowing me much more detail in the studio:

What I like about this scene: I love the lines and the layers of textures. What I want to emphasize. The buildings on the right and the olive trees in the foreground. What I will want to change: I'll reverse the direction of the lines in the front vineyard so that they don't lead your eye straight out of the painting. I will also simplify the buildings, both in the foreground and in the distance; leaving in what I feel to be important and taking out what I feel is distracting.

Here is a quick sketch of the scene that I will use to work out what I'm thinking about:

Okay, before you say anything, I can draw better than this! This is just a quickie sketch - a throw away drawing to cement in my mind what I want to focus on in the painting. It would be better if I had drawn a more rectangular shape, as this is the format I will use for my painting, but I just grabbed what was on hand at the moment of inspiration. As you can see from this drawing, I am still working out the composition. That grouping of cypress trees is right in the middle of the photo, but I will experiment with some other placements. My objective is to make an interesting painting that expresses my impressions and feelings about this beautiful land that I visited, not to make an exact copy of a photograph. While I want to be true to the subject, my first commitment is to paint a dynamic and harmonious landscape.

Starting: Nowadays I mostly paint on white canvases, though some times I still tone them with a quick wash of raw sienna or alizarin crimson. I mix alizarin crimson and ultramarine blue, and with this I draw with a round bristle brush just a quick layout of my composition.

 

 

I'll lay in the sky because this is usually the lightest/brightest part of the picture. I don't get into a lot of detail here because I want to keep it loose and things are still subject to change. However, I do want to have a road map in place, so to speak. My next step will be to start blocking in the painting and laying out my color. In the coming days I will post my progress on this painting...stay tuned!