Day 118: Chiantishire

Day 118: Chiantishire

Ok, so Chianti is known as “Chiantishire” only because, well, you can guess by the name. It is beautiful and picture perfect and today even more so, as the clear blue sky provided only the occassionaly puffy cloud floating by.House on the Hill, Greve in Chianti6×8″Oil on Panel(c) Kelly Medford, 2012I have a confession to make. I was following a sign for a monastery and then I found myself walking up a steep hill under the sweltering sun with all of my painting gear (and no sign of any monastery). I got to this open field with olive trees and grape vines, saw a nice big patch of shade and decided that this was the place to paint, if nothing else, for practical reasons.I took one look at this old stone house up on the hill and thought that it would be a great little painting, but felt unsure about painting that airy grass around it. I was determined to maintain my shady spot though and set to paint. This painting didn’t come quickly, but it did come and man, was I glad to have my piece of shade today.The part that interested me the most in this painting was first the perspective of looking up and then the green of the olives with the yellow of  the old house against that deep blue sky. I seem to naturally be drawn to color contrast combinations.You can see this painting or purchase it here from my website.Thanks for your interest in my work and for following the 120 day project!