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As promised in last week's installment, here are more acrylic sketches from my recent painting trip in Italy and Germany. Among other places, I painted in Naples, Cefalu, Gallipoli, Berlin, and Bavaria. At the bottom of the page, I've included a detailed description of my painting set-up.

Since my return from Europe, I've been busy in my studio creating larger oil versions of some of these scenes. These will begin to go on the market next week, so stay tuned!

View of the Mount Vesuvius from the Bay of Naples. Painted May 28, 2019, 8x6" acrylic on panel. A larger oil version of this is now in progress in my studio. 

Mid-morning on the beach in Cefalu. Painted May 30, 2019, 6x8" acrylic on panel

Late afternoon on the beach of Cefalu. Painted May 30, 2019, 6x8" acrylic on panel

Cefalu is a gorgeous coastal town in northern Sicily. This view was worth repeating, so I painted it both in the morning and afternoon.




Skiffs in the harbor in Gallipoli. Painted May 25, 2019, 6x8" acrylic on panel









Unfinished study on the piazza in Cefalu. Painted May 30, 2019, 6x8" acrylic on panel

As you can see, this is a location with a lot of activity. My limited painting time only allowed for the church to be established in my study. 

Harbor in Gallipoli. Painted May 24, 2019, 6x8" acrylic on panel

Germany 

Brandenburg Gate facing east, late afternoon. Painted June 1, 2019, 6x8" acrylic on panel





Brandenburg Gate facing west, late afternoon. Painted June 1, 2019, 6x8" acrylic on panel

On our first day in Berlin, I found a great spot across from the historic Brandenburg gate. Knowing there would be a dramatic difference in the light on the opposite side, I quickly followed the first study with an additional view from the other side. A little over an hour total for both studies. 

Church view across field, Tutzing, Germany (Bavaria). Painted June 9, 2019, 6x8" acrylic on panel. The onion dome was a common feature on historic German churches in Bavaria. I had previously only seen this in Russia. 

View of lake near Füssen, Germany (Bavaria). Painted June 10, 2019, 6x8" acrylic on panel. Our B&B overlooked this lake, and with the long summer days, I was able to begin this painting around 8 pm and wrap up by 9 pm, when this photo was taken. 




View of river in Nuremberg, Germany. Painted June 5, 2019, 6x8" acrylic on panel. The sun created a dramatic diagonal across the main building, and while I wasn't able to capture much architectural detail, I was pleased with capturing the light effect. A larger oil version of this is now in progress in my studio, and my on-site study, however simplified, has made a great reference.

Plein-Air Equipment

As most of you know, oil paint is my medium of choice, but for traveling I've been experimenting with faster drying paints. Last September I painted in New Mexico, and did a series of plein-air sketches in gouache (opaque water color). For this trip to Italy and Germany, I was working with acrylics on canvas panels. 

Because I was painting up to three sketches per day, the quick drying time of acrylic (most panels were dry to the touch within an hour) made my quickly growing collection of paintings  much easier (i.e. less messy) to handle and store while traveling. My choice in working small (none were larger than 6x8") meant that I could produce more work within a shorter period of time. I had to forgo details in favor of the broader shapes and colors, but this is generally acknowledged as the best way to capture the essence of a subject in a short period of time. 

After trying half a dozen plein-air easels over the last decade, I've recently been using the products made by Prolific Painter. They offer well designed palettes that attach to a tripod, and have an attachment for the top of the tripod which holds canvases or canvas panels. When closed, the palette fits easily into a backpack. I used their "Fly on the Wall" palette, which closes up to about 8x8". Check out their website at www.ProlificPainter.com for more information, including videos on usage. 

You can see in the photos that a brush holder, a medium holder, even a roll of paper towels can be attached to the palette.  At the base of the tripod is a hook that extends to attach your backpack (great for weighing down equipment in case of wind). My backpack is a Kelty Redwing 32, and it fit all my equipment very nicely, including a collapsable stool (like you would use for hiking or camping).

My paints were Golden Open Acrylics, which dry a bit more slowly than regular acrylics, and even more slowly with an additional slow dry medium. This would allow me to do a bit of blending while working, but still dry extremely quickly when compared to oil. 

My Golden Open Acrylic colors are very similar to my colors of choice in oil. They included Titanium White, Transparent Red Oxide, Dioxizine Purple, Ultramarine Blue, Phthalo Blue, Phthalo Green (Blue Shade), Sap Green Hue, Hansa Yellow Opaque, Yellow Ochre, Indian Yellow Hue, Cadmium Orange, Pyrrole Red, and Alizarin Crimson Hue.

I'd attach a toiletry bag with a handle to the tripod with a bungee cord to hold my tubes of paint while working.

My panels were Fredrix Value Series Cut Edge Canvas Panels. They came 8x10", but I cut mine down to 6x8" before the trip using an exacto knife. Slicing them was easy. They are super thin, about 1/8" thick. I like to work on toned canvas, so I gave them a thin wash of raw sienna acrylic before the trip (the same warm tone I would use if painting landscapes in oil). 

I had a 6x8" Raymar wet panel carrier with me, which can hold 6 panels, as well as a Panel Pak 6x8" holder, which can hold two at a time. These were great for getting a freshly painted surface back to the hotel room. But with the quick drying time of the acrylic, I could just stack my completed studies together and throw them in a bag for further transport during the trip.