"Venetian Gondolas"
By James Swanson/ Traveler Jim M
11"x14" Oil on Canvas
See the journey of this painting
A Day of Sun Shine,
Day One of a Special Edition.
Welcome to Day One of this 14 day Travel paint special edition of the Artist and the Traveler. I've come across some wonderful Travelers so far in this world painting expedition. I've met Hill and Fell Walkers in the UK and Austria, a fly fishing couple who travel around in an RV looking for the big catch, to some humanitarians in Africa doing great things. All of them have had special stories to tell me that helped inspire their paintings.
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Travelers Jim and wife Cathy |
This special project needs an special guest, meet our new Traveler Jim M.! In 2007 Jim and his wife took a 14 day trip to Northern Italy following the trail of PBS travel guide Rick Steves Italian journey.
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Venice |
Traveler Jim M. did such a great job of documenting the trip on his web site that when I came across it I was floored. Which has lead me to ask to do a virtual tag along on his old trip and recreate the 14 day trip in paint. I'll be doing 14 plein air style of paintings, each one depicting different day of his trip. A painting a day for two weeks, lets get going!
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Jim's photo that I will be working with. |
Traveler Jim M. journal story of the trip: In September 2007, we began our highly anticipated Italian adventure. We had never been on an organized tour in the past and started looking at this tour on the recommendation of a friend. (Thanks Renee!)
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Beginning of the painting. Canvas is rubbed with some Raw Umber and Cadmium Red. Then the drawing is sketched in. |
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My Palette colors that I started with. |
Although we typically travel independently, we decided on a tour so that we could leave most of the planning to someone else.
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Dark colors are painted in first. |
We chose the Village Italy itinerary for several reasons. We wanted to experience what I call “The Real Italy” in the back door villages. We wanted to avoid the crowds in the major cities and the primary tourist destinations. (We can leave those for another time.)
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With the darks painted in, it's time for the sky and water. These are the big areas of the painting and get the painting moving when they are done. |
We also liked the idea of a smaller, active tour group. And of course, we had also seen many of Rick Steves’ adventures on public television. As you’ll see on our web site the pages that follow, the tour kept us busy (which is how we like to travel) and exceeded our expectations.
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Sky and water are added. I'm painting these paintings in a plein air style of painting. Which means that I'm painting as if I were standing right there. Which also means I'm on the clock and paintings as fast as I can. The light is a changing. |
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Getting there. With the painting blocked in it is time for some details. |
The travelogue is about our specific tour. No two tours are exactly alike, even if they have the same tour guide and same itinerary.
The tour guides adjust as necessary for the weather, closings, availability, and the specific tour group. So, if you want to find out more about our tour, grab a glass of Chianti (or two) and explore.
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It's close now, just the poles to add. At this point I was a little nervous about putting them in. But I knew it needed them. |
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The poles went in pretty easy. I just used a stiff brush with a lot of paint. I put the shadow side of the poles in first, then the sunlight on top. |
Details of the painting.
Framed and ready to go.
"Venetian Gondolas"
By James Swanson/ Traveler Jim M
11"x14" Oil on Canvas
Alright off to a good start on this virtual trip with Traveler Jim M. On Day 2 we will be moving just a short distance on down the road. Join us for it.
