Painting Away

Today I'm writing from Umbria and posting from my cell phone nonetheless, so we'll see how this works.

I'm away because I'm teaching a week of watercolor sketchbook at the most wonderful villa, here completely for artists' workshops called Arte Umbria.

I've had the wonderful opportunity to scout out the "neighborhood" over the last few days to decide where we should go painting.

As luck would have it I was invited to paint at this wonderful private castle this afternoon, Castello di Montegiove.

What a treat and such a wild beautiful place. If you're ever in Umbria, stop to paint, you'll never want to stop!

Upcoming Show

A quick post to invite you to an exhibition of Roman cityscapes and landscapes opening in Rome this Friday.

Roma Itinerari d’Amore

Paintings, Sketchbooks and Photography

Opening Reception Friday, May 10 -  18:30

Studio-9 Vicolo della Moretta, 9 - Rome

Artists

 Kelly Medford

Giovanni Ragone

Olha Pryymak

Caterina Rosa Maria Iollo

Pietro Simonelli

Exhibition Open from May 10-30

Tuesday - Friday 11-13 and 17-19

Saturday and Sunday open by appointment

Looking forward to meeting you at the gallery!

Take a plein air painting or sketchbook journaling workshop in Italy

Click here to see current available courses and dates

The Turtle's Pace Wins the Race

Well, getting into this larger canvas has been very exciting for me. 

Just the act of using my entire arm (as opposed to just the wrist) to paint feels powerful and how painting was meant to be.

The Old Casale
60x75 cm
work in progress

 I was sure I could just "whip this out" in no time. Getting the canvas covered with the first layer of paint took somewhere around 5 hours.

Then when I came back to it the second time, there was the beautifully mowed path in the midst of the tall grass- as if they had mowed it just for the painting! It added the perfect lead in for the composition.

With the weather being so unpredictable, it is taking a long time in between sessions to get back here. Today it's raining and other days it has been overcast with a blaring white sky that just wouldn't work.

Watercolor study done in the same location

Maybe I'm considered "old-fashioned", but I do not paint from photos. More than out of principle, it's out of a commitment to make the best work that I am capable of. There's a huge tangible difference between being there and responding to a place, its feel and light in the moment and attempting to recreate it from memory plus experience as opposted to the limited and flat information that a photo can provide.

Painters that have been out there in the field for decades have enough experience and painting vocabulary to draw from. They know what light and shadow does in all of the various conditions and therefore can really produce solid paintings even away from the actual location.

Why would I stay in the studio when I could be out here painting?

Upcoming Exhibition

Itenirari d'Amore: Tavolette, Taccuini e Fotogrfie di Viaggio

Studio-9

May 10-30

Opening Reception Friday, May 10 6:30 p.m.

Gallery Opening Times:

Tuesday-Saturday 11-13 and 17-19

Sunday open by appointment

RSVP Here

Upcoming Workshops

Too many to list here, click here to see and participate in upcoming sketchbook journaling or plein air oil painting workshops in various locations around Italy.

What Does Spring Look Like in Rome?

Well, spring in Rome is usually sunny and full of life. It's always full of life, but this year is a little more waterlogged than usual.

Taking advantage of the moody skies, braving the rain is full of reward.

Spring Rain, Parco degli Acquedotti

11x14"

Oil on Linen Panel

©Kelly Medford

Click here for purchase information

Not only is this a special place where ancient Rome is still easy to imagine with the rows of aqueducts running through expanses of open fields, it's magical when it rains and the cloud cover rolls in.

Clouds over Frascati, Parco degli Acquedotti

6x8"

Oil on Wood

©Kelly Medford

SOLD

Rome's aqueduct park transports me to another time and almost lets you see into a painter's world from centuries past. I purposely choose these rainy or overcast days to paint here because of the movement of the clouds. In the city it's a relief to see the sky sometimes.

The biggest challenge painting on these rainy and overcast days is keeping the values all close together. There is no bright white apart from an occasional burst of light through the clouds in the sky and no deep rich dark, just the ghosts of shadows. Then all of that intense green spring grass has to be kept checked or else you just wouldn't believe that green amongst the gray.

A good exercise to say the least, painting these gray days. Even better for the soul.

Upcoming Exhibition

Itenirari d'Amore: Tavolette, Taccuini e Fotografie di Viaggio

Studio-9

May 10-30

Opening Reception Friday, May 10 6:30 p.m.

Gallery Opening Times:

Tuesday-Saturday 11-13 and 17-19

Sunday open by appointment

RSVP Here

Upcoming Workshops

Too many to list here, click here to see and participate in upcoming sketchbook journaling or plein air oil painting workshops in various locations around Italy.

Finding Shadows in the Roman Forum

House of the Knights of Rhodes- what would that be you ask?
I didn't know either.

All I knew is that I had to stop and paint those shadows through the arches and that red flag flying right in the center of it all.

House of the Knights of Rhodes, detail study

8x6"

Oil on Linen Panel

©Kelly Medford

available for purchase here

The signature red flag with the cross in the middle let me know that this loggia was somehow affiliated with the Knights of Malta, that is their flag and symbol, and it turns up in the most unlikely places all over the city.

Walking along the highly trafficked road along the Roman Forum, finding something to paint as a quick study or sketch is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the columns, arches, ruins, monuments, noisy traffic and hoards of tourists, finding something to paint seemed unlikely at best.

Trajan's Forum, just "across the street" from the Roman Forum (which was all one until Mussolini built this road between 1924-1932 separating it) is one of my favorite places to visit and maybe gets a little shadowed by the Forum in terms of numbers of visitors.

This actual loggia that I painted was built on top of the ruins of Trajan's Market in the 12th century and was restored in the 1460s and is attached to a house that was the seat for the Knights of Malta (in ancient times known as the Knights of Rhodes). More than that I cannot tell you, but most likely our Roman readers will have more insights and wisdom to share.

Upcoming Exhibition

Itenirari d'Amore: Tavolette, Taccuini e Fotogrfie di Viaggio

Studio-9

May 10-30

Opening Reception Friday, May 10 6:30 p.m.

Gallery Opening Times:

Tuesday-Saturday 11-13 and 17-19

Sunday open by appointment

RSVP Here

Upcoming Workshops

Too many to list here, click here to see and participate in upcoming sketchbook journaling or plein air oil painting workshops in various locations around Italy.

What's All the Fuss About Sketching?

Sketching or drawing, painting and scribbling on location, while waiting for the bus, standing in line or a quick dash of a moment that just can't be missed is essential for every artist.

Sketching is like taking visual notes or keeping a diary. It can also be used to remember ideas, good future painting locations or to stave off boredom while endlessly waiting for public transportation here in Rome.

sketch done in my journal while waiting for the tram in Rome

The best part about sketching is that you don't even have to be an "artist" to do it, it could be for anyone. There's no pressure to make something brilliant or to prove your genius to the world. In fact you never have to show your sketches to anyone if you don't want to. You don't need much, just a pencil or pen that you're bound to have in your bag and even a scrap piece of paper.

a quick pen sketch of the Colosseum while waiting to meet a friend

I have to tell you the truth, I didn't always like to sketch. For years I had rows of empty sketch books with a few scribbles in them. Intimidated by the sheer number of blank white pages staring back at me I never felt quite up to the task of filling them.

When I moved to Rome and met the Urban Sketchers here, all of that changed and sketching became fun and a way to goof around, experiment and take visual notes without the time, commitment and pressure of producing a finished painting.

taking a break in the shade to do a watercolor sketch at Ostia Antica

Because of my new found love and enthusiasm for sketching, I decided to go public and invent what is called Sketching Rome Tours. The idea is to teach people who want to learn and see Rome in a completely new and personal way the art of sketchbook journaling. It's one of the most satisfying things about my job: watching the incredibly fun and creative sketches that people who swear that they are not artistic come up with. I'm blown away every time.

Melissa and her brother who came all the way from Canada
sketching in Rome's Pincian terrace

In reality every artist should sketch, especially since it encourages new ways of thinking about your work and without any pressure, it's a free playground. Drawing will always be at the foundation of a solid painting, so finding a way that you enjoy to fill up those sketchbooks is essential.

handmade sketchbooks by yours truly
for Rome Sketch Tour participants

So what are you waiting for? Put down that cell phone next time your on the bus and sneak a sketch of the guy nodding off across the way, you'll get a good laugh and when you look at your sketch you'll always remember that moment and smile.

sketch of Portico di Ottavia in
Rome's Jewish Ghetto

You can learn more about Sketching Rome Tours here or go to our Facebook page and show off some of your own sketches

Upcoming Exhibition

Itenirari d'Amore: Tavolette, Taccuini e Fotogrfie di Viaggio

Studio-9

May 10-30

Opening Reception Friday, May 10 6:30 p.m.

Gallery Opening Times:

Tuesday-Saturday 11-13 and 17-19

Sunday open by appointment

RSVP Here

Upcoming Workshops

Too many to list here, click here to see and participate in upcoming sketchbook journaling or plein air oil painting workshops in various locations around Italy.

There's No Painting Like Home

Do you ever do something repeatedly? Why?

I keep going back to this place to paint it over and over again. 

Why?

It's just across from my studio, this bit of countryside in the middle of a chaotic city. 

But more importantly the light, the enormous pine tree, those falling down sheds and the colors all combined keep drawing me back. So far it always feels like unfinished business.

Old Sheds in the Field

8x10"

Oil on Linen Panel

©Kelly Medford

I painted this yesterday with the last of the afternoon sun. That meant HURRY! Sometimes I enjoy the thrill of having to just get the painting down quickly and can also gauge where my skills are. There's only so much time to analyze, mostly you have to rely on what you already know and just go for it.

Hot Afternoon Field, Acqua Bullicante

5x11"

Oil on Wood

©Kelly Medford

This is a special place, green space in the middle of a city that is being threatened to be turned into high rise apartment buildings. And not just here but all over this part of town called Torpignattara. Ours is the most densely populated part in all of Rome and so the city government is looking for ways to house everyone.

October Clouds, Acqua Bullicante

8x6"

Oil on Linen Canvas

©Kelly Medford

 Only when you go to the park, it's packed with people chatting, walking their dogs, reading in the grass and even sunbathing, I'd hate to see these spaces get eaten up. Or even worse for those views to be interrupted with non-descript high rise buildings.

Silo on the Hill, Via di Acqua Bullicante

6x8"
Oil on Wood

©Kelly Medford

My mission? 

Paint as many of these places as possible. 

Now. 

To remember the Rome of today, as its always been a place of changing landscapes.

Upcoming Exhibition

Itenirari d'Amore: Tavolette, Taccuini e Fotogrfie di Viaggio

Studio-9

May 10-30

Opening Reception Friday, May 10 6:30 p.m.

Gallery Opening Times:

Tuesday-Saturday 11-13 and 17-19

Sunday open by appointment

RSVP Here

Upcoming Workshops

Too many to list here, click here to see and participate in upcoming sketchbook journaling or plein air oil painting workshops in various locations around Italy.

Thank you for following adventures in Painting!