Day 61: Afternoon on the Terrace, Florence

Day 61: Afternoon on the Terrace, Florence

Today was a gloriously beautiful day in Florence. I immediately knew that this was the perfect place to paint today, the best terrace in the whole city.

I’ve seen a lot of great apartments in this town, but this one, Judy’s house, is by far my favorite. It’s an apartment on the top floor of an old tower at the corner of the Ponte Vecchio and is above most of the city with awesome views all around, you really can’t beat it. It’s the most lovely apartment and while you feel instantly at home upon entering here, you still can’t help but be in the presence of the beauty that is Florence.

Having such a little canvas I knew I couldn’t capture the whole of the place, but I did want to give a sense of the aftternoon light coming in. I was intimidated by this composition at first, it seemed too complicated a task to tackle in a single afternoon session, but I dove in and just tried to get the overall sense of light and feeling of the place.

Over and over again I choose subjects that I’m not sure I know how to paint. Instead of choosing something easier I just go for what I want to paint because some quality about the light and composition attracted me in the first place. I keep surprising myself, that really if I just try and get the big sense of light and shadow and take my time, putting one thing down at a time and relating it to its surroundings, at some point I have a painting! Painting never ceases to amaze me, that I can put colors on a canvas a make a picture seems like a miracle newly discovered each time. I am in awe of painting and of the endless beautiful situations and scenes that are out there just waiting to be painted and that keep presenting themselves to me. I really feel lucky to have the oppotunity to take the time and try and paint them. Painting each day is quite a humbling experience; not knowing how to accomplish a painting each time and just figuring it out as I go is exciting and inspiring. It also keeps reminding me that I can paint anything I like, I just have to try, and if it doesn’t come out the first time, just go back and do it another time and another until I get what I’m looking for.

To buy this painting for $100 from my website, click here. To see all other paintings from the 100 day project, click here.

All paitnings are 6×8”, painted on birch, are unframed and cost $100 (+ $15 shipping). You can buy a painting directly from my website using paypal or contact me at kellyaskey@gmail.com.

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