Yet another day of heavy showers and more expected for the next 10 days at least...aaarrghh! but just realised that I will be sketching outside over the Winter so will have to get used to bad weather. I sketch this view of the village of Sommocolonia sitting in the car. The greens are really fresh and vibrant at the moment.
At last, the sun came out for a few hours this afternoon. I produced this sketch sitting on a wall in the sunshine looking from Via Del’Aquadotto towards the Duomo. The sun and shadows on the yellow house on the left makes the sketch come to life. A mixed bag of weather again next week!
Today I went to Lucca to stock up on art materials and have a stroll around in the rain. As an artist, rain is great for creating atmosphere - figures reflecting on wet pavements and bright coloured umbrellas. The walled city of Lucca (the birthplace of Puccini) is a 45 minute drive south of Barga and if you are in Tuscany you must go and visit. Smaller than Florence and Pisa, its easier to walk around, elegant and clean with some beautiful churches and lovely cafes for people watching. This sketch was done sitting outside a cafe in Piazza San Michele.
I find vines truly amazing. Throughout the Winter and early Spring they look like old stumps of wood but look closely and you will see they are perfectly pruned, ready to get maximum growth and grapes during the summer and early Autumn. Notice the silhouette of Barga Duomo in the distance.
After the town of Castelnuovo, the valley opens out to reveal some lovely villages and the architecture changes slightly - churches acquire domes on the top of the towers and the houses take on an alpine feel, the shutters become solid pieces of wood rather than slatted. High mountains dramatically loom over the valley and yet we are only 30 minutes drive from Barga. Today we had heavy showers and sun at the same time. I sketched this view of Sillicagnana village from the shelter of the car.
These trees leading up to the Fosso car park are like sculptures, the trunks have a camouflage effect and the Spring leaves dapple in the afternoon sunshine. Sadly, a few had to be chopped down due to a disease, l hope the disease does not spread to the rest of these beautiful trees.
I have always liked this reddy brown coloured house behind the Duomo. It is an unusual colour for this area. The views from the house must be fantastic. Today was cold and dull but the clouds moved for a few minutes, allowing the sun to shine on the foreground grass. Moments like these inspire any landscape painter!
