Daily Sketch No.140 Barga Duomo and Theatre, Tuscany

I liked the angular lines in this view of the Barga Duomo and theatre. The steps give a lovely rhythm to the foreground.

Daily Sketch No.139 Entrance to Castelnuovo, Tuscany

This entrance to the town of Castelnuovo makes a nice dark frame to the sunlit piazza inside. The shade is a welcome resting point to the hot sunshine that continues through the day.

Daily Sketch No.138 Evening Light with Traffic Sign, Barga, Tuscany

Many people painting or sketching this scene would delete the traffic sign as it looks ugly but that little sign makes Barga a real authentic place. It means No Parking, although no vehicles could get into this little piazza except motorcycles but a skillful Italian driver with a small car/ape would try to get there if it meant parking as close as possible to his/her destination!

Daily Sketch No.137 11.30pm, Aristos Bar, Barga, Tuscany

The first sketch in this year long project was Aristos Bar, the epicentre of Barga, where things just suddenly happen. Normally Aristos closes around 8pm depending on who is around. Tonight after a stint manning our joint exhibition with Fiona Scott-Brown, I was surprised to see Aristos still open. A music session must have occurred!

Daily Sketch No.136 Cars in Barga, Tuscany

When visitors come to Tuscany they tend to photograph the images that Tuscany is known for - cyprus trees, sunflowers, rolling hills, vines, olives, Fiat 500s, Vespas etc. but Tuscany is not a theme park, people live and work here and Barga is typically still a working normal Italian town. It just happens to be a stunning medieval hilltop town! Exposed telecom and electric cables, dented cars parked in small squares, this it is what defines the true Italy, which is what I’m trying to do with my Daily Sketches.

Daily Sketch No.135 After the Rain, Barga Duomo

After many weeks without rain, we finally had a thunderstorm lasting an hour or so. Early evening there was a beautiful soft light, the sun trying to blast through the haze and the duomo just visible.

Daily Sketch No.134 Scaffolding and Medieval Costumes, Barga, Tuscany

Yesterday evening was the procession through Barga for Saint Christopher, the patron saint of Barga. Dressing up in medieval costume is no big deal in Barga, since Barga is medieval and the costumes looks great and not out of place, but a modern invention like building scaffolding places this sketch most certainly in the 21th century!

Daily Sketch No.133 Via Dell’ Acquedotto, Barga

A few days behind uploading my sketches due to organising an exhibition in Barga. So this is Mondays sketch, looking down Via Dell’ Acquedotto with Barga Duomo just behind the distant trees. The car gives a sense of scale.

Daily Sketch No.132 Coreglia from Tiglio village, Tuscany

I love shadows! They can transform a view, create a 3D effect on a 2D piece of paper. The arrangement of these shadows in Tiglio fell just perfect to lead you around the page and guide your eyes to the village of Coreglia in the far distance.

Daily Sketch No.131 Night, Via Di Mezzo, Barga, Tuscany

The penultimate evening of live music in Barga. Very busy with people, great for local businesses. Barga Jazz festival soon. Bring it on!

Daily Sketch No.130 Night, Piazza Garibaldi, Barga, Tuscany

Another great night in Barga, live music, people dancing. No music in this area, Piazza Garibaldi, just people walking from one piazza to another and several Fiat Panda’s chilling out after another hot day!

Daily Sketch No.129 Late Evening, Parco Kennedy, Barga

Another lovely evening, the last rays of sunshine now behind the distant mountains. Barga now comes to life again with the piazzetta once again tonight, the sound of music in the air, bats fly around and people enjoying themselves.

Daily Sketch No.128 Festa delle Piazzette, Barga, Tuscany

The Piazzette in Barga is held every July. Around 10 days of live music brings lots of people from the surrounding area starting from 8pm to midnight and beyond. Great atmosphere and good business for the local restaurants and cafes.

Daily Sketch No.127 Bicycles and Shadow, Lucca, Tuscany

Yesterday morning I strolled around elegant Lucca looking for shade and came across this pack of cycles, resting in this shadow, waiting for hire. A complex scene but by drawing a few cycles and suggesting seats and handlebars in the background, your brain knows they are masses of cycles! I wanted the bikes and the shadow to be dominant in the sketch so no need to colour anything else except a bit of bright colour on the building.

Daily Sketch No.126 Barn near Nebbunella, Barga, Tuscany

A few minutes drive south of Barga is the little hamlet of Nebbunella. Very rural with working farms, old men chugging around in Apes (3 wheeled vehicles) farming the land, their wives inside cooking and cleaning. This is rural Italy. The barn featured is typical of the area, slatted brick windows, no glass just air holes created by the bricks. If you bought this property and renovated you would have to keep these which would make the inside of your house very dark indeed!

Daily Sketch No.125 Marino’s Renault 4, Barga Vecchia, Tuscany

Marino who runs Aristos Bar a few seconds walk from here ALWAYS parks his old white Renault 4 here in this same spot in the piazza. Over the years I have seen photos and paintings and it is always there, the very same spot! Was this parking spot passed onto him, does he have a plaque on the wall?, I will have to investigate!

Daily Sketch No.124 Vine Posts near Barga, Tuscany

I liked this view looking through these vine posts not far from Barga, almost like prison bars, they add verticals to the sketch. Today a bit of grey in the sky but still very warm.

Daily Sketch No.123 SS Crocefisso Church, Barga Vecchia, Tuscany

Below the duomo is the SS Crocefisso Church. The high walls of the duomo on the right overshadow this church but the interior is lovely and the bell tower makes a great composition!

Daily Sketch No.122 Angles and Steps, Barga Vecchia, Tuscany

The attraction of this vista was the angles of the rooflines and the lines of the steps leading up to the sunlit house at the top. The rest of the scene was in shadow making the sunlit house even more of a focal point.

Daily Sketch No.121 Market under the Stars, Barga, Tuscany

Throughout most of July and August Barga has a ‘Market under the Stars’, basically a normal market with a bit of extra tack! that is held every Wednesday evening until midnight. Great for atmosphere rather than the quality of the goods, it is a good chance to meet up and have a drink after a very hot day. This sketch was from memory which usually turn out better sometimes than working from life!

Daily Sketch No.120 Vista from Michael & Louise House, Barga, Tuscany

There are some lovely little vistas around Barga Vecchia where you see a vertical slice of the surrounding landscape. We went to a friend’s house (just below the duomo) last evening and so took the opportunity to do my daily sketch looking from their lounge. Thank you Michael and Louise!

Daily Sketch No.119 Rooftops of Barga from the Duomo, Tuscany

The highest point in Barga is the duomo and this is the view from the steps of the duomo, a magnificent panoramic view of the rooftops and surrounding mountains that change in colour and tone throughout the day. Well worth the effort to walk up the duomo especially in the summer heat!

Daily Sketch No.118 Late Afternoon Mountains near Barga, Tuscany

Just a 10 minute walk from our house, you come across this vista of the distant mountains which become a purple colour late afternoon/early evening. Throughout the day they change in colour and tone. and late afternoon/early evening they become a soft purple colour It is still over 30 degrees in temperature at this time of day!

Daily Sketch No.117 ‘Sleeping Man’ Mountain from Lorenzo and Yvonne’s House, Barga

Last night we went to a friend’s house in Barga, the view from the enclosed terrace stunning, with the silhouette of the ‘sleeping man’ in full view. Unfortunately, I did not have my sketchbook with me but memorised as much as possible the view so this sketch is from memory. More importantly, its a reminder of a lovely evening with friend’s!

Daily Sketch No.116 Sunlight & Shadows below Barga Duomo, Tuscany

The last few days have been crazy, so just getting round to uploading my daily sketches, two days behind schedule! Here is Fridays sketch, a lovely piazza just below the duomo, one of my favourite places in Barga Vecchia. The sun is relentless, would be nice for a few days of rain!

Daily Sketch No.115 Late Evening Sky near Cascio, Tuscany

Tonight we fancied a bit of cowboy food so headed down to La Luna Del West, steakhouse and saloon restaurant. This was the view from our table with the village of Cascio just visible below the skyline of the mountains.

Daily Sketch No.114 Converted Chestnut Farm above Coreglia, Tuscany

Last night we went to a friend’s house to celebrate the 4th July, American Independence Day. High up in the hills, the views stunning and the setting idyllic. I managed to quickly produce my daily sketch before the sun set behind the distant mountains. A few years ago the house was a rundown chestnut farm, now a beautiful home and complete with swimming pool!

Daily Sketch No.113 Moonlit Sky above Tiglio Village, Tuscany

Another very atmospheric night where the moon was even bigger than last evening. Tiglio village is on the skyline so they must have a view of the huge moon over Coreglia, the village across the valley from Tiglio. Brings to mind the famous visual of Elliott and ET cycling in front of the moon!

Daily Sketch No.112 Moonlit Sky, Barga, Tuscany

Sometimes atmosphere can be more important in a sketch. For example, there was a full moon, a light from an open window and roofs silhouetted against the clear night sky. Cars parked in the foreground give a sense of scale. This scene is the day would be mundane but tonight it became the subject of the Daily Sketch.

Daily Sketch No.111 Italy/Spain Final Euro 2012

Tonight is the Euro 2012 final Italy versus Spain. Watching from the sofa with a cold drink as it is still hot at 9pm. Sadly within the first few minutes you knew who were going to win. No celebrations in Barga tonight!

Daily Sketch No.110 Green Quarter, Manchester

Manchester is an ever changing City. For example I did a painting of this same view about three years ago. This huge complex, opposite Victoria Station was hardly started, several cranes on the skyline. Now it is a thriving metropolis houseing thousands of people.