Fruit of the Vine

On an anniversary trip to Italy several years ago, we were driving through Tuscany and came across this lovely vineyard.  The soft, dusty blue skin of these grapes, destined for a fine wine on someone's table, are so unlike the standard red and green grapes that I buy at the grocery store.  What a gift, these fruit of the vine!

On a 16x20 canvas I started by sketching the basic placement of the grape bunches, vines, and leaves.

One of the things that I loved about the photo was the way the dark values all connected in interesting shapes.  So in this step my goal was to paint the dark areas in a way that simplified the busyness and made sure I stayed true to that original inspiration.  Everything that I left unpainted (below) would remain a light value in the final painting.     

Just a few strokes later (ha!  not really) and here you go:

  Fruit of the Vine, 16x20 Oil, available

Vineyards at Southpoint

The beautiful countryside and peaceful feel of Durham's Vineyards at Southpoint made for a great day of plein air painting with my friend Betsy Duncan.  I loved the glowing backlit vines and the wonderful shadows cast by nearby pines, so I adjusted my composition to emphasize that light by cropping out the sky (and Betsy too - sorry! :)   I enhanced the contrast of dark and light values, but kept the little white house subdued so that it didn't draw too much attention.  All in all I was very pleased with this plein air piece, so I painted a larger version (at bottom) in my studio. 

The view from my easel

 Vineyards at Southpoint, 8x10 oil,  
available 

  

 In the larger studio version, I let a little bit of sky peek through to give more depth and I warmed up the colors of my sunlit areas.   This painting was juried in to the 2011 Junior League of Raleigh art show at the Raleigh Convention Center.

Vineyards at Southpoint, 16x20 oil,  
SOLD

And now for a special thank you gift ... 
If you sign up to receive this blog by email, I will send to you a free 6x8 reproduction of this painting, printed on 8x10 satin card stock.  How's that for sweet grapes?!  
There are only 25 prints available, so they will go to the quickest art lovers :)

Just enter your email address in the "Receive by Email" box on the top right and press submit.  Then be sure to provide your snail mail address to me (click here) so that I know where to send your gift.

Are you already a subscriber?  Just share this blog with a friend who then subscribes and both of you will receive this gift, along with a little bit of sunshine on Sunday mornings.