Painting my garden

The gardens around my studio and house are really picking up steam with summer blooms. I think it's best described as a cottage garden, and borders on chaotic at times. This is the same spot I shared with you in early spring...much improved now, I think!

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My little "fountain" of succulents in the garden opposite the studio is now surrounded by a flowering butterfly bush, purple cone flowers and towering lilies (just about to bloom) And here's Ted, alternately my garden cat and studio cat. He likes to support me whenever I am being industrious:

ted

With such an easy access garden, you'd think I'd paint it a lot more often than I do. I mean, you really can't get any more convenient when it comes to a plein air painting location! But there are a couple of challenges to overcome. First, the light moves pretty quickly in my little oasis,really only remaining constant for less than 2 hours. Inevitably even small paintings seem to require more than one session. Secondly, while I do have some painting time during the week while my little girl is with a sitter, any time she sees me painting outside she wants to "watch" (which quickly evolves into wanting me to push her on the swing, blow bubbles, etc.)

Nevertheless, I did get an opportunity over the July 4th weekend to complete this painting in the yard while Dad distracted DD:

"The Cottage Garden" Oil on panel, 12x9" (SOLD) © Jennifer E. Young

"The Cottage Garden" Oil on panel, 12x9" (SOLD) © Jennifer E. Young

Commissioned paintings for Frances Mayes' Tuscan Sun Wines

Speaking of commissions, I thought I would share a few details of what for me was a rather exciting (and consuming) commission this past winter:

Italy painting for Frances Mayes' Tuscan Sun Wine labels

Tuscan Sun Wines, LLC of Denver, Colorado, commissioned me to create seven paintings of the Italian countryside for their exclusive use on a new line of wine labels for writer Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun.

Tuscany painting for Frances Mayes' Tuscan Sun Wine labels
Tuscany painting for Frances Mayes Tuscan Sun Wine labels
Tuscany painting for Frances Mayes' Tuscan Sun Wine labels
Tuscany painting for Frances Mayes Tuscan Sun Wine labels

Each of the seven oil paintings portrays a theme that is central to life in Cortona, Tuscany and “Bramasole,” Mayes villa made famous by Under the Tuscan Sun. Listed here are pictures of my favorite pieces completed for this project. If you follow this link it will take you to the wine distributors website where you can see how the paintings look on finished labels!

Promenade sur la Rue Claude Monet

Well life has taken an interesting turn for me this past month. My lack of posting would suggest that I have been away from the studio, but that is not the case. In fact, I feel as if I have become a permanent studio fixture, getting up at 5 a.m. and painting whenever I can find the hours before and after the hubby goes to work and my daughter goes to sleep. "But where are the paintings, then?", you may ask. Well, the work I'm referring to is more commercial in nature. I can perhaps post more on that in time, but not at the moment. Suffice it to say, that up to now,  I haven't had much time for my own "personal" work this year.

Nevertheless, things are normalizing (for now), and I have been able to return to my easel to finish a painting I started some time around New Year's Day.

"Promenade sur la Rue Claude Monet" Oil on linen, 11x14" ©Jennifer Young

"Promenade sur la Rue Claude Monet" Oil on linen, 11x14" ©Jennifer Young

Hollyhocks always make me think of France. I have tried growing them in my own garden but they always seem to get overtaken by rust. Maybe my garden is altogether too crowded or too moist, because in many parts of France they always seem to be growing out of what looks to me to be dry rock! This is a street in Giverny that leads to Claude Monet's famous home and gardens. The street is aptly named Rue Claude Monet, and is itself the subject for many potential paintings.

Balbianello Gardens (W.I.P complete)

Well, it just hasn't been my couple of weeks. Between family sickness, election day, and bracing for hurricane Sandy (which thankfully turned out to be the hurricane that wasn't for us in Richmond) my daughter missed some preschool, which meant no painting or blogging for me. Finally I am back to it, though, and happily share the completion of the Lake Como painting I blogged about in my last post:

"View From Balbianello Gardens" Oil on linen, 16x20" (SOLD) ©Jennifer Young

"View From Balbianello Gardens" Oil on linen, 16x20" (SOLD) ©Jennifer Young

This painting places the viewer at the edge of the gardens of the famous Villa Balbianello. A procession of Baroque statuary lines the garden's perimeter and looks out across blue waters to the distant harbor of a neighboring village. When I returned to the easel today,  I decided something was needed in the middle distance to anchor the right side of the painting and create some balance. And so a sailboat was born.

I like this addition very much. It creates some interest for the water and pushes the distant village and mountains back through the use of overlapping form. I also felt like the line of statues led the eye to that spot, and the fact that there was nothing there troubled me. It's funny how one little thing like that can bring a painting to a satisfying resolution.

Balbianello Gardens w.i.p

Balbianello Gardens w.i.p.
Balbianello Gardens w.i.p.

After the time requirements of my last painting, I thought I would reward myself this week with some smaller pieces for a while. Halloween came early to our house in the form of a nasty virus that has rendered us all coughing, sneezing zombies (the littlest of which apparently doesn't sleep much at night with a cold). Needless to say,  I am really dragging this week. Nevertheless, I've managed a little studio time, and here is my painting in progress ( a 16x20" canvas)  of the beautiful gardens of Villa Balbianello.

I did a painting of the villa itself a while ago, (which you can see here) but this view is from the edge of its magnificent gardens, looking beyond the statuary towards the distant village across the lake .

This is one session worth of work (about 3 hours). I will probably need another session of a couple of hours to finish. The punkin' seems to be dropping her naps more and more these days (say it ain't so!) but if I can squeeze another nap out of her today, I might actually be able to complete it.

Still no plein air painting this fall, though we are fast approaching the height of color here in Richmond. :( I could give myself lots of excuses for this, but bottom line is,  I  guess I haven't been able to get myself organized enough to have enough time for field work . Mornings are so chaotic, and  I'd really need to be out of the door when it's still dark outside, and have my location planned out in advance, in order to be back at my daughter's preschool for pick-up at noon. It's frustrating, but  I'll tell you one thing... I have never been happier to have my studio right in the back yard instead of halfway across town like it used to be!