December, Piazza Vittorio

December, Piazza Vittorio

December, Piazza Vittorio 8×6″ oil on panelAdmittedly, I chose this composition for the palm trees, they were just too fabulous not to put them into this painting and they reminded me of Florida. I originally went to paint in this square because it has these huge ruins right in the middle of the park. When attempting to figure out how to make a small painting of a big pile of ancient Roman bricks, I saw this composition looking through the square down the street and thought it would work better as a painting.I have to say that walking around the vastness of Rome with my little paint box is overwhelming. I’m tempted to feel almost silly with such a little wooden panel for painting such a large city with its centuries of history. Just one little painting at a time is all I can think for now until I find a solution to the conundrum. Maybe if I put them all together in the end, there will be some kind of story about Rome as it is now (as told from my point of view).I’m continually asking myself what is painting about for me? So far it’s been pretty simple and straightforward: to capture a moment in time to the best of my ability. But sometimes I think that maybe I’m too literal or that this idea of painting is just too simple. What would my paintings look like if I were to try and capture an essence of a place, what is it that makes up the essence of a place?There is no real answer for now (for me) to these questions, just the inquiry. In the meantime I have a lot of work to do in making the best (literal) paintings I can!