Thursday 12 October 2017

It's all about Summer




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I don't think it's a secret that I love to paint fruit!?  Here is a couple from this summer, apricots, strawberries and cherries.  All my favourite colours.




Available on Etsy

Monday 11 September 2017

Fireworks and Toffee apples



'Toffee apples' oil on wood 20x20cms, available on Etsy


The summer holidays are over and it's back to school this week.  I'm not a big fan of extremely hot weather and spend most of August at home so now  the worst of the heat has gone it's time to get moving again.

During the summer months the evenings are the best time to take a walk or socialise and you often find young children playing on the seafront up until midnight.  It's that time of year when each village or town has it's annual festival or  'feste' to honour their patron saint.



These are busy occasions with funfairs, stalls and fireworks.


People come from all over to enjoy special traditions to each town and to see the free concerts or sit out and eat on the streets. 



Even the horses get dressed up ready to pull their Sicilian carts!


Friday 16 June 2017

Reflections of Verona








oil on wood 20x20cms available from my Etsy shop


I wanted to try something a bit different and usually my little experiments  remain on my studio shelf but this one I quite like.  What do you think?
This is the reflection of buildings along the river Adige in Verona.  It was a freezing winter's day with small amounts of snow still left in the shady areas of the river bank.  Verona can be a very busy place in the summer with tourists filling the squares and streets but it was far nicer in cold January even if my fingers and everything else was frozen!






Monday 5 June 2017

Not sour at all......



oil on wood 20x20cms Available here


The painting above is my latest painting of Grapes.  Then I noticed just how many times I've painted grapes.





Here are some of them....




...and there are quite a few!  Do I have grape problem?




They are lovely to paint, especially when they are sitting by the window in natural light.




I don't have any plans to stop!


Tuesday 30 May 2017

Pink Teabag




Oil on wood 20x20cms available on Etsy

I love the colours of these fruity flowery  teabags.  My favourite colours...so in the end I just had to paint one.  This tea had berries and hibiscus flower in it and is supposed to aid relaxation and sleep.  It seems to work.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Tuesday 9 May 2017

Warm enough for a dip!



Oil on wood 20x20cms Available on Etsy

It gets warm early here in Sicily.  In April it's possible to go to the beach.  We did just that for Easter and travelled to the small island of Favignana.



Favignana is just off the Sicilian coast, about 30 mins on the hydrofoil from Trapani.  It's one of the Aegadian islands...Marettimo and Levanzo are the other two.
Beautiful beaches and rocky coves and so much nicer 'out of season'. Bikes or a boat are the best way to get around!




 There is only one little town but good for food and a glass of wine or two in the evening.
The other two islands are even more smaller and i'm saving those for next time....


Tuesday 2 May 2017

Lemons and a blue bowl



Oil on wood, 20x20cms available from my Etsy shop

Last of the lemons, all are gathered for this year. Painted here in my favourite blue bowl...or at least favourite for the lemons. The afternoon sun filtering into the shadows lit up the lemons but it was sooo hard to capture.

Tuesday 18 April 2017

Big Fat Tomato






Oil on wood 20x20cms Available on Etsy
This was a fun one to do....it just shows there is always some inspiration to be had in the fridge!

Sunday 9 April 2017

Venice in Winter


Oil on wood 20x20cms


Earlier this year we had a short break in the North of Italy. We were based in Verona but happily for me Venice was only an hour away by train.





The weather was sunny with blue skies but sooooo cold (compared to Sicily anyway!)
Visiting somewhere like Venice in winter is one way to avoid the crowds although it was still quite busy.





An easy way to see Venice without spending sackfuls of money is to take the vaporetto or water bus. If you make sure you get a seat at the front you get fantastic views. We took one all the way down the Grand Canal... freezing but beautiful!






Sunday 2 April 2017

Bags of Apples





Oil on wood 20x20cms Available from my Etsy shop


One of my favourite subjects..apples!  These were still in their bag from the market and the colours glowed against the white so I painted them just how they were.