Daily Sketch No.79 Lemon Coloured Buildings of Menton, Cote D'Azur

Menton on the Cote D'Azur is famous for its lemons so while I was here I felt compelled to do a sketch of a lemon coloured building with a palm tree, so typical of the area!

Daily Sketch No.78 The French Border above Ventimiglia, Italy

If you drive 20 minutes inland from Ventimiglia (Italy) you will suddenly arrive at the French border in the mountains. Only a few French signs tell you this. No passport control, no buildings apart from an old hut. Just around this bend in the road is another country, another language, another culture - amazing!

Daily Sketch No.77 Through the Trees, Bordighera Alta, Italian Riviera

The Italian Riviera became well known in the 19th century when the British and Russians came to the area during the winter months due to its mild climate. Tourism developed and to this day it's still a popular destination particularly for Italian holidaymakers. It's not quite as affluent as the Cote D'Azur but almost as beautiful, a painter's paradise, even Monet came to paint here in Bordighera. This is a view looking through pine trees with a glimpse of the blue sea.

Daily Sketch No.76 Airole Village near Ventimiglia, Italy

The village of Airole like many thousands of villages throughout Italy is built on a hillside. What is incredible first of all is how they built them with no modern building equipment and secondly the planning - did the villagers have some kind of master plan or was it all haphazard. Anyway, some have survived due to investment from people from a variety of European countries. Airole for example, from the 1960s onwards saw the arrival of  Dutch, German and Swedish (and a few British) tourists who bought holiday homes, making Airole a very international village and everyone seems to get on very well with each other.

Daily Sketch No.75 Glimpse of the Sea, Villefranche, Cote D'Azur

Like many of the resorts on the Cote D'Azur, Villefranche started as a small fishing village years ago and over time became a tourist resort, although it is one of the resorts that has kept its character. Whilst wandering around it became obvious that a cruise ship was moored nearby and the village soon filled up with passengers, mostly British looking for a few souvenirs to remind them of their time on the French Riviera. As I walked around I came across little glimpses of the blue sea so I wanted to capture that moment in today's Daily Sketch.

Daily Sketch No.74 Gorbio Village, Cote D'Azur

Just above Menton is the very pretty hilltop village of Gorbio. In fact one of the adverts for the yoghurt Petit Filou was filmed here several years ago (with the two blonde children). Apart from a few restaurants and a couple of shops there are no commercial outlets for tourists like on the coast - I like that!

Daily Sketch No.73 Menton Church at Night, Cote D'Azur

Now up on the French Riviera for several days so hopefully sketches with blue skies after poor weather in Tuscany. Arrived late this evening in Menton after a 5 hour journey from Barga. Menton has a spectacular church that  is even more impressive at night.

Daily Sketch No.72 Coreglia Village from Tiglio, Tuscany

Across the valley from Tiglio is the village of Coreglia. As the crow flies, it is about one kilometre but there is no road across the valley. So to get to Coreglia from Tiglio by car you have to drive back down to the main valley bottom, drive a kilometre along the valley and back up the hill adding several kilometres to your journey. Very frustrating!

Daily Sketch No.71 The Fosso, Barga, Tuscany

This is the main entrance into Barga Vecchia and there is always lots going on - deliveries, cars driving into the old town, people hanging around chatting etc. It was lovely to do a sketch with the warm sun on my back as the weather is very changeable at the moment.

Daily Sketch No.70 Tiglio Village near Barga, Tuscany

After the heavy rain yesterday, the welcome sunshine arrived this afternoon and I went up to Tiglio village. There are lots of sketching potential around the village despite its small size and I will probably do a series of sketches later in the project as I like the village so much. The large Italian flag in the centre looks like it is from the local agriturismo.

Daily Sketch No.69 Wet and Misty Barga, Tuscany

Managed to find some shelter to produce this sketch of wet and misty Barga Vecchia, and watercolour is a perfect medium for this kind of weather. The forecast is rain and showers all this week. Heading toward June and no sign of a hot Tuscan summer yet!

Daily Sketch No.68 Vines and Posts near Barga, Tuscany

Just above our house is a cute cottage looking house on the old Renaio road which has dozens of vines and their posts. These give a vertical rhythm to the composition and a portrait format rather than landscape format heighten the vertical aspect even more.

Daily Sketch No.67 Loo with a View, Barga, Tuscany

Today I visited a friend’s apartment in Barga Vecchia and I just had to take advantage of the magnificent view from the bathroom and produce my daily sketch. By just adding the toilet roll holder tells you its a bathroom, no need to add the toilet, bath and shower etc....

Daily Sketch No.66 Below the Duomo Wall, Barga, Tuscany

A cool day today, despite sunshine and a blue sky. This piazza just below the duomo wall is always a calm place to relax, just the bells of the duomo chiming every 15 minutes. I liked the cool shadows, emphasising them even more by using pure ultramarine to suggest that cool temperature.

Daily Sketch No.65 Sunlight and Vines near Barga, Tuscany

Nestled within a valley near Barga are some lovely old buildings. The withered vine posts in the foreground create vertical interest and frame the buildings. I also liked the ploughed field breaking up the large amount of foliage.

Daily Sketch No.64 Barga Theatre, Tuscany

Right in the heart of Barga Vecchia is the theatre which has a modernist style of architecture. What caught my attention was not the building but the huge Italian flag on the outside, and adding a bit of colour in the late afternoon sun.

Daily Sketch No.63 Piazza Garibaldi, Barga, Tuscany

I bought some water soluble wax crayons on Saturday so this is my first effort. They have lots of potential to produce a more impressionistic sketch than watercolour and the colours are really vibrant which suits my style.

Daily Sketch No.62 Porta Macchiaia, Barga, Tuscany

There are three entrances into Barga Vecchia, this one is called Porta Macchiaia and is the oldest. I mentioned in one of my postings a few days ago that Italian drivers are very skillful at parking. Notice a Volvo estate car parked on the left of the sketch owned by Ricardo Negri who owns the L’Osteria in Piazza Angelio. To drive a car that length into Barga takes great skill and nerves of steel!

Daily Sketch No.61 Windows and Shutters of Piazza Puccini, Lucca, Tuscany

I went to the beautiful walled city of Lucca today, stocking up on art materials and strolling around in the 30 degree heat! Lucca is famous for being the birthplace of Puccini and in this piazza where I did this sketch there is a monument to the great composer, but it was the windows and shutters above eye level that grabbed my attention and the shadows cast by the piercing sun. Tomorrow rain expected with a drop in temperature by 10 degrees!

Daily Sketch No.60 View from the Fornacetta, Barga, Tuscany

A beautiful summer day. House Martins and many species of insects flying around. This is a view from the Fornacetta looking up to the Duomo, which is just behind the cyprus trees. Stocking up on art materials in Lucca tomorrow, so another Lucca sketch is a possibility.

Daily Sketch No.59 Ape in the Shade, Barga, Tuscany

Barga Vecchia has many narrow streets and alleyways. This is Via di Mezzo, the main street that goes from one end to the other side and is possible to drive a car down particularly if you have a small car or an Ape, a three wheeled vehicle made by Piaggio who make the famous Vespa scooter. The word Ape means Bee in Italian because these vehicles buzz around making the sound of a Bee. They are like the transit van in Britain, a workhorse carrying light goods. Small, economical and cheap to run, they can get into places where no car can go. Many are used by older men and agricultural workers but even young teenage boys drive them, customising them with stereo systems and sporty wheels. I want one!

Daily Sketch No.58 House in the Trees, Barga, Tuscany

On the hillside behind the Conservatorio di Sant’Elisabetta, nestled between trees is a hidden building, part of The Palazzo Salvi Estate. I liked this secret building that I think may have been recently renovated due to the new roof tiles. By concentrating on just the building and the surrounding foliage, the sketch takes on a more abstract quality.

Daily Sketch No.57 Tiglio Shadows near Barga, Tuscany

Late afternoon I drove up to Tiglio, just above Barga to sketch some of the shadows that dominate this time of day. The road winding through the hamlet is very narrow but all Italians drive these narrows streets with ease although many cars have dents and scratches, including my old Citroen!

Daily Sketch No.56 House with Red Shutters, Barga, Tuscany

Most shutters in Italy are a dull dark green colour. A few are a dirty brown but the owner of this house in Barga Vecchia must be a bit of a rebel - the shutters are a lovely red. Not sure whether this is legal but they certainly add some colour to Barga Vecchia!

Daily Sketch No.55 Here Comes the Rain Again, Barga, Tuscany

I mentioned that I would probably be doing today’s sketch from the car and I was right! This sketch was done looking from the lower part of Barga up to the Duomo on the hillside. I liked the fresh greens on the trees.

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Daily Sketch No.54 Looking from the Duomo, Barga, Tuscany

As you can see from the clouds in this sketch, the weather is very changeable at the moment. A bit of cool sunshine and then a few sharp showers. As you will gather by reading my comments that accompany my sketches, the weather is usually mentioned. As a landscape painter, the weather has a massive influence on my work. It can transform a mundane view into a spectacular subject for painting. Tomorrow, rain is expected so it may be back to doing the sketch from my car!

Daily Sketch No.53 A Little Oasis in Barga, Tuscany

Barga Vecchia has many alleyways that lead sometimes to quiet little corners, a little oasis with pots of flowers, creating little green spaces as gardens are very rare in Barga Vecchia. From this vantage point you can just see the tower of the Duomo.

Daily Sketch No.52 Palazzo Balduini from Altana, Barga

Today, I got the chance of getting above ground level to do my sketch from an Altana, which is an architectural structure built in the upper part of a building to take advantage of the scenic view. This particular altana has several huge windows and the views are stunning, although like many, this one is used to hang washing! This altana would make a perfect studio or at least put a few sun loungers in and drink a cocktail whilst admiring the sun setting over the surrounding mountains. Sometimes I don’t understand the Italians!

Daily Sketch No.51 Tree Lined Via Roma, Barga, Tuscany

The newer part of Barga, just below Barga Vecchia is where most of the shops, banks and cafes are situated. This is one of the main roads that is tree lined with beautiful turn of the century villas on either side. These trees also provide shade on hot summer days. I liked the sun and the shadows on the road.

Daily Sketch No.50 Barn in the Rain, Barga, Tuscany

Just behind our house is an old neglected barn that will probably last for many more years. Built from material that was to hand round about gives the building loads of character and so I sketched this with a soft conte pencil, smudging with my fingers and adding a bit of watercolour over the top to give the appearance of rain and years of neglect.