Little Little Plein Air

Le Contesse, 2013, oil on panel, 4 x 4 inches 

This has to be my smallest painting yet, funny thing is that the subject is a grand view of the valley bellow Cortona. Believe it or not, this little 4x4 inch painting took over three hours to complete, the usual time it takes me to paint an 8 x10 or 9 x 12 painting. Challenges for this painting were plenty, not only was I trying to fit such an amazing view into a small space, but I was also working with water soluble oil paint. This kind of paint is a little funky, it was a gummy consistency which makes it hard to layer, and the smallest amount of water makes it very runny. It was a constant fight but I stuck with it and I am very happy with the results. Thank you to Jeremiah Patterson for lending me his oils, panel, and paper palette; I am very happy I got to do this.