TUSCANY, CINQUE TERRE, CHIANTI

Posted on September 17, 2013 by splashingpaint

A few days in a villa outside San Gimignano exploring the countryside and villages is a great prelude to a painting workshop.

Amanda and Gordon, our tour guides for the workshop, chauffeured us through the vineyards and olive groves of Tuscany, exploring the countryside to discover the best painting destinations, vineyards and restaurants.

Early morning in the vineyards surrounding San Gimignano.

Cinque Terre Coastline from Montorosso

Painting in Riomaggiore

Regular critique sessions were a lot of fun in the Hotel Courtyard.

Dry flowers on a San Gimignano window sill.

Washing Day – San Gimignano

San Gimignano as the sun rises

Old lady carries flowers to one of the Saints in San Gimignano

Early morning mist in the valleys

Two Cats – San Gimignano

San Gimignano before bus loads of visitors arrive.

A rare event – these little things run for years on a tank of fuel.

A window in Castellina in Chianti.

Religious ceremony in Montorosso.

Spectacular mountains between Pisa and Cinque Terre.

Castello Di Meleto in Chianti – our home for the second week of the workshop.

Castello Di Meleto

Great views of the Chianti countryside from Castello Di Meleto.

Our one shower of rain for the entire workshop as we head to the castle cellars for a wine tasting and tour of the castle.

Strange leftovers from the 12th century still dangle from walls in the bowels of Castello Di Meleto

A happy man with a nice bottle of Chianti Classico from the castle vineyards.

Fine Dining at Castello Di Meleto

In Florence, a small yellow car the width of a refrigerator.

Leonardo da Vinci’s attempt to breathe under water.

Descendants of Michelangelo and Leonardo still decorate the walls of Florence.

Large flocks of Vespers gather in the back streets of Florence.

In Florence you can hold up your trousers with a Real Python for just 25 Euro

Pigeons fight for crumbs outside the Uffizi

Botticelli clouds drift over Florence

Two streets meet in the small town of Greve in Chianti

Castello Di Meleto vineyards

Castellina in Chianti

Castello Di Meleto’s pool disappears into the Chianti hills.

Souvenirs – Florence

Markets – Florence

DOWN THE COAST

Posted on May 29, 2013 by splashingpaint

With the school holidays over and the weather starting to cool down, it seemed like a good idea to take a couple of weeks exploring all the little beaches and coastal villages to the south of us.

We left home with clear skies and blazing sun, but my wish was for threatening clouds and dramatic light along the beaches – I guess you can’t have everything.

Perfect camping spot on a sunny headland with kangaroos and sea eagles at Diggers Camp.

Sunrise on Redcliff Beach

Cool, clear mornings and deserted beaches

After a few days zigzagging in and out of all the southern beaches, rainclouds started moving up the coast and the swell picked up.

Looking towards Solitary Island under threatening skies. Great for photographs – not so good for painting watercolor.

Painted in haste with a cup of sea water between showers as the tide came in.

Back home in the studio, shuffling around ideas for a large wet and rainy painting.

MALDON AND THE MOUNTAINS

Posted on December 9, 2012 by splashingpaint

With 5 days up our sleeve before the Maldon Workshop started we decided to slowly plod our way down to Victoria via backroads and out of the way places rather than race down the highway.

We camped behind the pub in the little town of Goolma, where the publican spun us a great tale about his favourite dog staring down a possum – neither would give in and they both died without ever moving.

This is the possum

…and this is the dog

Foggy morning behind the pub

We wound our way down onto the Murray River before heading across to Maldon. Great to see the river with so much water and the country in such good condition.

Julienne, the workshop coordinator in Maldon, arranged for us to stay in this fantastic little farm house – complete with chooks and a veggie garden.

Maldon is a beautiful little town protected by a heritage listing to preserve the unchanged character of the place.

The 5 day workshop was a lot of fun. We met some fantastic people and really enjoyed the quiet little country town.

Melbourne was in the middle of the Spanish Festival in Brunswick and the Polish Festival in the City, so there was a lot happening.

After a few days in Melbourne we took off towards the Snowy Mountains via the Sale Wetlands…

…a spectacular series of swamps, creeks and billabongs just out of town – made even more dramatic by the approaching storm clouds.

From Sale we drove up towards the Snowy River and took the long windy track down to McKillop Bridge.

The mountains were magnificent and the road signs basic.

MacKillop Bridge across the Snowy River. First built in 1935 and washed away a few days before it was due to open.

Mmmm – Jindabyne Steak, 4 minutes each side, Yum.

Above Charlotte Pass there were still patches of snow on the ground.

Snow Gums

Thredbo River

Platypus in one of the small creeks.

Stormy night up near Kiandra

Creek on the Long Plain Road

Home via Washpool NP.

PRAGUE

Posted on October 13, 2012 by splashingpaint

The old city of Prague is an amazing collection of domes, turrets and spires. The ground is completely covered in cobble stones and the Gothic architecture is fantastic – the only downside is that thermometers in Prague only need very small numbers.

St Vitas Church

Large Religious thing covered in gold, silver and angels – St. Vitas Church.

Inside St Nicholas Church – No man in red suit inside.

The Chapel of All Saints in the town of Kutna Hora, outside Prague, is completely decorated with human bones – the remnants of up to 17000 bodies killed by the plague in the 16th century.

Kutna Hora – a quaint little town with some weird signs on the shop windows

Big gun in central Prague

The Palace Guards do a much better job of standing still and doing nothing than the white faced, sheet draped buskers standing on boxes around the city.

Buskers on Charles Bridge

Prague has very few old cars, in fact late model Porsche’s are such a common site that, to stand out in the crowd, the owners must go to ridiculous lengths.

These tiny blue cars are police vehicles.

Lost in translation

Like many bridges throughout Europe, Prague has it’s share of Lovers Padlocks. The idea is you take your sweetheart down to the bridge, pledge your undying love, attach the lock then throw the key in the river.

This guy must have had commitment issues and opted for a combination lock! (names were written in pencil too)

The ultimate extreme sport – a balloon ride over the spikiest city in the world.

LAKE COMO

Posted on October 9, 2012 by splashingpaint

Lake Como is a long V shaped lake set among steep, mist covered mountains in Northern Italy.

It is fringed with small villages accessed by a winding maze of roads or a busy network of ferries.

The town of Como is the main Ferry hub and has a Funicular railway to the village above. The views from the mountains are spectacular and from the water the lake takes on a mysterious, fairytale quality with imposing villas and castles and small picturesque villages set at the bottom of steep, dramatic mountains.

Como

Varenna

Italians love anything that goes fast. Lake Como host boat races that see speeds of 130kph. These guys came a proud third.

Menaggio

Painting at Menaggio

Como Funicular

All the colored mechanical bits that pull the carriage up the hill.

View of Como from the ascending funicular.

VENETIAN BOATS

Posted on October 5, 2012 by splashingpaint

Boats in Venice are long, skinny and stylish. They vary slightly depending on what function they perform.

Traditional ,cool and stylish

Fast and stylish.

Fast, wooden and stylish.

Yellow Vaporetto.

Airport taxi.

Cool and wooden.

High speed transport

Service station

Italian Cool

Foreign invader

Two men in boat with a pole.

Ugly

Sewerage barge

Work barge

Happy work boat

Black vaporetto.

Goods barge

Courier Barge

Garbage Barge

New Vaporetta

Old Vaporetto

Middle aged vaporetto

Very long boat

Color coordinated delivery barge

Work Barge Figure Head.

VENICE WORKSHOP

Posted on October 2, 2012 by splashingpaint

Venice has to be one of the most spectacular painting destinations in Italy. Standing on Rialto bridge and looking down the Grand Canal feels more like watching a bizarre movie than experiencing a thriving city.

We arrived in the afternoon and were rapidly transported to our hotel by water taxi.

Leaving Marco Polo Airport by water taxi is a chaotic experience. 110 Euro from the airport to the city means the drivers are pretty serious about getting the job done quickly.

Churning through the back alleys en route to Accademia Bridge

Painting on the grand canal.

Early morning along the canals

The last gondola workshop in Venice was just around the corner from our hotel … and right opposite a great little bar.

Everything is delivered by barges along the canals

A late afternoon storm blackened the sky behind Santa Maria della Salute making for some great photos.

Evening drinks along the waterfront

Interpreti Veneziana were performing at the San Vidal Church, 5 minutes from our hotel. Italian Baroque played with passion and enthusiasm – a fantastic night.

Burano Houses

Burano is famous for its lace making, but I think this guy is mending a fishing net.

Splashing Paint

Paintings, photograph's and thoughts of a wandering artist

Category Archives: Travel

TUSCANY, CINQUE TERRE, CHIANTI

DOWN THE COAST

MALDON AND THE MOUNTAINS

PRAGUE

LAKE COMO

VENETIAN BOATS

VENICE WORKSHOP

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