Saturday

"La Casacce Orchard" plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"La Casacce Orchard", 12 x 12" plein air oil painting
available at DPW auction beginning at $150, click here to bid Please Note: The prices on the Tuscany plein air work is a limited time special -I am putting together a show of my Tuscany paintings and any that are unsold from my blog will be framed and hung at gallery prices.


I did this painting on the day that the rest of the group went to Sienna. La Casacce is a HUGE property with dozens of olive groves. The yellow in the painting is "Scotch Broom", which is very fragrant and apparently a burden to allergy sufferers. The background colour is not sky, just the rolling hills behind the ridge that the little house sits on (also property of La Casacce).

I want to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who have sent condolences on my recent accident, and be assured that a simple cast (actually life is FAR from simple in a cast) won't deter me from getting some plein air painting in -I just need a Sherpa -any volunteers???

EXCITING NEWS!!! I am in the midst of planning a painting workshop to be held at La Casacce in the fall of 2013. Please email me if you would like more information. Let's just say that this is the best deal for a painting workshop in Tuscany than you can find!!!


Enjoy!

To purchase this painting, or commission your own painting, please email me at williamsdotsharonatshawdotca (insert characters for the dot and at!)


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Thursday

"Bagno Vignoni -Thermal Springs" plein air oil by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Bagno Vignoni -Thermal Springs", 8 x 10" plein air oil
$200 unframed, please click here to purchasePlease Note: The prices on the Tuscany plein air work is a limited time special -I am putting together a show of my Tuscany paintings and any that are unsold from my blog will be framed and hung at gallery prices.


We escaped the rain by going to Bagno Vignoni, as it was the only place that had a large sheltered terrace to paint from. The sun did come out periodically and I was able to quickly catch the light/shadow pattern before the next shower drifted in. These buildings date back to the 1200's, and are still very beautiful. I can just imagine people on a long walking journey to Rome stopping here for the night and taking a healing bath in the  pool.

However, I am afraid that I have to report some BAD NEWS! Yesterday I totally severed my Achilles tendon in my left leg and will be in a cast for the next 6 to 8 weeks.. You ask me how I did this? By tripping over my suitcase in the dark (hadn't put away my stuff after my weekend retreat workshop -which went very well, despite the rain -but that is a story for another day after I get the Tuscany images over with). Needless to say, I am not sure what will happen to plein air painting this summer :-(  But you can be sure, if there is a will, which there is, then I will find a way, somehow!

Enjoy!

To purchase this painting, or commission your own painting, please email me at williamsdotsharonatshawdotca (insert characters for the dot and at!)

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Monday

"Roses And Grapevines", plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Roses And Grapevines", 9 x 12" plein air oil
SOLD

I was fascinated to learn that the roses at the end of the rows of grapevines act as the proverbial "canary in the coal mine". If something is to affect the grapes, it will show up in the roses first, allowing the farmer to nip it in the bud (small smile). And I thought they were just adding beauty to the place!

Enjoy!

To purchase this painting, or commission your own painting, please email me at williamsdotsharonatshawdotca (insert characters for the dot and at!)

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"Grapevines And Poppies", plein air oil by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Grapevines and Poppies", 8 x 10" plein air oil
SOLD

This is one of my favorite paintings that I did while in Tuscany. Several of the us ventured out to a neighboring vineyard to paint while the others rested or worked at the villa. Too bad for them as they really missed a magnificent day. This vineyard was right next to the tidy vineyard with the roses that I posted before -definitely a different gardener, as multitudes of wild flowers grew between the rows of this field. I hope the dynamic energy of this sunshine filled day comes through in the painting!

Enjoy!

To purchase this painting, or commission your own painting, please email me at williamsdotsharonatshawdotca (insert characters for the dot and at!)

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Thursday

"Cottage -Bagno Vignoni" plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams


"Cottage -Bagno Vignoni", 8 x 10" plein air oil
$200 unframed, click here to purchase Please Note: The prices on the Italy plein air work is a limited time special -I am putting together a show of my Tuscany paintings and any that are unsold from my blog will be framed and hung.


Bagno Vignoni is an ancient town built on a thermal spring. We painted here on two separate days and I was lucky to be able to remember how it looked in the sunlight despite the rain that fell in bursts during the day. This was the only nearby town that had a sheltered porch that we could paint from in inclement weather. Did I mention that the roses and other flowers in Italy were amazing???
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Sunday

"Road to Montigiovi" plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Road To Montigiovi", 8 x 10" plein air oil
SOLD

This was one of the most difficult scenes to paint of the entire trip -how to simplify all those buildings!!! Dianna's advice was to squint and paint what I saw in big shapes, so that is what I did. I embellished it somewhat, but feel that I was able to capture the awesome feeling of looking up at a Tuscany hill town.
This is what it really looked like:
You can see I took some artistic licence :)
Enjoy!


To purchase this painting, or commission your own painting, please email me at williamsdotsharonatshawdotca (insert characters for the dot and at!)

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Saturday

"Pienza Shopper" plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Pienza Shopper", 8 x 10" plein air oil
$200 unframed, click here to purchase Please Note: The prices on the Italy plein air work is a limited time special -I am putting together a show of my Tuscany paintings and any that are unsold from my blog will be framed and hung.

This painting was painted 90 degrees from the painting I posted yesterday. I had the architecture all done and then I waited with my camera for people to walk into my scene. When I found one I could liked, I used the image from my camera to jot her in. I knew it was risking the entire painting if I made a botch of it, but luckily she went in well without too much niggling. I even had a very nice woman walk back and forth for me, hoping to make an appearance in my painting.

Enjoy!

To purchase this painting, or commission your own painting, please email me at williamsdotsharonatshawdotca (insert characters for the dot and at!)


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Friday

"Laundry Day -Pienza", plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Laundry Day - Pienza", 8 x 10" plein air oil
$200 unframed, click here to purchase

One day we took our bus to Pienza, which is a beautiful little hill town. I walked down along the wall of the city and saw this scene and knew I had to paint it from life. Italian laundry -every artists dream right? I sat on a stone bench and made this little painting. The light was coming obliquely from the left and only hitting the clothing that stuck out from the wall. I loved the way that the houses had the street lamps attached to them, rather than on poles -such an ornate touch. Did I tell you about the roses in Tuscany? Boy can these folks grow the most incredible roses -this rose bush was HUGE and it was growing in the tiniest little bed made out of concrete (puts my loving efforts to shame -but that's another story!)


Enjoy!

To purchase this painting, or commission your own painting, please email me at williamsdotsharonatshawdotca (insert characters for the dot and at!)

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Tuesday

"Geraniums -La Casacce", plein air oil by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Geraniums -La Casacce", plein air oil, 8 x 10"
SOLD

Our first full day to paint was on Sunday, and because of all the travel, we stayed at the villa. The morning was bright and sunny when I painted this little piece -the flowers in Italy are amazing! I was focusing on the use of colour in this one, trying to make the vivid red geraniums really pop, and finding a dull red/violet made them pop the most.

Enjoy!

To purchase this painting, or commission your own painting, please email me at williamsdotsharonatshawdotca (insert characters for the dot and at!)

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Monday

Tuscany Plein Airs by Sharon Lynn Williams


"Olive Grove -La Casacce", plein air oil, 8 x 10"
$200 unframed, click here to purchase

I am finally back on my feet and almost recovered from my jet lag. I got home late last Saturday night, but after 9 days of lots of rest, not to mention falling asleep in the middle of the afternoon, I am beginning to feel more like myself. I can't believe how long it has taken for me to get back to my routine!
This is the first painting I did on my trip, and it shows one of the many olive groves on the property of La Casacce, the villa we were staying at. They had pruned the olives down quite a bit which is why they are small compared to the evergreen! The colour, light and atmosphere in Tuscany is very different than here in Calgary, and it took me a while to get a handle on it.
Stay tuned for more about my 'bucket list' two week painting holiday in Tuscany!

Enjoy!

To purchase this painting, or commission your own painting, please email me at williamsdotsharonatshawdotca (insert characters for the dot and at!)

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