I’ve unpacked the suitcase, done the laundry and distributed the gifts. I’ve settled back into work reacquainting myself with the myriad small disasters of the working day. I’ve rearranged the studio and tidied up a bit. So now there’s so more excuses for putting off starting on the post holiday paintings.
It might surprise you to know that as much as I love painting there’s something a bit daunting about sorting through my memories, masses of photos and all those small sketches I did and trying to distill the essence of the holiday that I now want to capture in larger pastel paintings.
Sometimes I absolutely know what I’m interested in. One holiday it was patterns- roof tiles, fields of different crops, rows of lavender, five metal jugs on a wall, bicycle wheels- stone fences-the list went on. Other times it takes a while for a them to emerge and this last Italian holiday was one of those.
When that happens sometimes I just decide to jump in and start painting whatever and see what develops. So here are my first three paintings and I think what might be developing is a visual essay on the varied landscapes of Italy.
When you live as far “down under” as we do, in southern Tasmania, it’s a long way to Europe and our usual approach is to whittle away at our wish list across 2 or 3 countries each trip. This holiday we spent 5 weeks in Italy instead of our usual 1-2 weeks and it really made a difference. We were able to stay a week each in four very different regions and explore a bit more in depth than we usually have time for and I think the vastly different landscapes, architecture and traditional work is what captured our interest. Of course this variety shouldn’t be a surprise given that the Italy we know today is a very recent entity .
A gentle morning landscape with mist rising over the Tuscan wheatfields, the emerald waters of Sardinia and snowcapped mountains reflected in Lake Arpy in the northern Italian alps – the start of a series celebrating the diverse landscapes of Italy.
- Morning wheatfields. Tuscany
Lindy Whitton Studio 
Wow so beautiful! It almost looks real
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They’re so beautiful Lindy! I’ve never been to Italy, and I’m already tired of seeing the usual architectural icons that everyone associated with the country. You’re artworks of the natural landscapes really gives a different view, and have really changed my perspective. Thank you for sharing these!
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Thank you so much! I love nature and after many visits to this wonderful country it’s the landscapes that speak to me most. I still love the history and culture but give me an overgrownEtruscan tomb in the countryside and a forest track winding down to a wildflower strewn river valley which I have to follow to find the tomb and I’m much happier than slogging through city streets from one monument to another. There’s a lot to love in Italy!
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I completely agree with you!
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Beautiful
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Lindy these are absolutely wonderful. I do hope you will grace us in Auvergne some time. You are an amazing talent. I wish I had a smidge of what you have. Really. I’m so glad to have found both you and your sister. My life is enriched.
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Thannk you! I’ve visited the Auvergne many times and love the area. I’ll have to find a painting from there and post especially for you. I think you’ve got bucket loads of your own talent . I always look forward to your posts .
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Thank you. That is a mahusive compliment. I would love to see a picture from l’Auvergne …. for whatever reason it’s home for me 🙂
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Great as usual! But I absolutely LOVED the mountain reflection one of Lake Arpy. felt Like I might be there gazing at that scene, it jumped out at me so much. Thanks!
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When we both there we both turned to each other and said “wouldn’t she love this!” Seems we were right!
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These are all lovely, but I especially like your interpretation of the Tuscan wheat fields. Very nice.
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Thanks Brian – it’s actually my favourite too- the mist rising with the morning sun shining through really made for a stunning scene. The benefits of getting up early !
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I love the Lake Arpy painting – the colours are wonderful.
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Thanks Sis. It was a pretty fantastic spot and worth the chilly morning walk to get there.
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Wow! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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