Florence
Following the success of our trip to Florence and San Gimignano in 1999, we knew we had to return again to the famous medieval hilltop town. Florence was our base, staying at the beautiful Hotel Paris in Florence, just a stone’s throw away from Florence Cathedral and the city sights – a perfect way to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary.
We hired a car for the day, so after spending a very pleasant morning in Siena, we drove around San Gimignano looking for more different angles of the famous towers.
This particular study is based on some studies made just a few minutes before the sun disappeared, combined with my own recollections what the light was like when it struck the old stone towers. Real care is needed in applying clean washes of pure colour, Cadmium Yellow, then Rose Madder for the sky, then using a more intense combination of the same colours for the sun kissed towers. I’ve left some of the first two washes showing to suggest foliage, perhaps olive trees, shrouded by the lengthening shadows. My first studio painting of San Gimignano was an instant success when it was published as a limited edition print.
Winter Vines
Whilst driving around the countryside I also remember seeing local workmen burning vine branches. It was a lovely picture of “getting rid of the old to make way for the new”. I pulled over and sketched the scene by the side of the road with San Gimignano in the background, as Susan slept soundly, resting in the back of the car.
