I’ve always wanted to go to Tuscany and this summer I will get the chance. John and I will spend three days in Florence and then visit Barga Italy in northeast Tuscany. I have romantic notions of John and I visiting the birthplace of the renaissance, eating Tuscan food and drinking Tuscan wine.

After three days in Florence we will drive northeast to Barga, a medieval town that is an artist colony. There the plan is to enjoy the Tuscan life while painting the beautiful landscape known for it’s magnificent light. I have a friend who I know from Naked Wines who has invited us to stay with her for a bit. I want to paint her a painting as a gift so I started to get int the mod by painting the above painting of Barga with the Alps as the backdrop. Since ‘light was the star’ I decided to use the painting the light method of the Cape Cod School of Art as described by Lois Griffel in her book “Painting the Impressionist Landscape”

This has certainly peaked my interest about the trip and am looking forward to it even more.