Back to Burano Italy

"Burano Boats," oil, 8"h x 10"w, ©Jill Banks 2014

Well, not really. But my thoughts are revisiting the place.

This is the second painting worked on canal side in this fishing village/island filled with impossibly bright-colored buildings, boats, scenes, things everywhere you look. Here again, I tucked myself away from the bulk of the crowds, later in the afternoon when many visitors had already headed home.  Still, there were plenty of appreciative, enthusiastic onlookers happy with my take on the scene.

"Like Colors: Burano Italy," oil, 10"h x 8"w, ©Jill Banks 2014

The first painting from the one-day visit was "Like Colors." The smaller paintings were done as multiples on an unmounted piece of linen (Centurion Deluxe Oil-Primed linen available in pads)... necessitating cropping and mounting the paintings once back home (as in now). 

That's what's been going on in my kitchen over the last week.

Both of these paintings, along with more, will most likely be found under a tent on May 31 and June 1 for "Art on the Green" in Great Falls, VA.

I'll be missing from there on May 31 -- still painting and participating in festivities at Mountain Maryland Plein Air, held in Cumberland, MD from May 27 to May 31. There I will be one of 30 artists chosen from around the country: painting, competing and exhibiting in this plein air event.

Husband Randy will be setting up the display and hoping you'll visit in Great Falls on May 31. Then, I'll be there, too or instead ... on June 1.

I hope you had a wonderful Mothers' Day! I sure enjoyed spending time with our kids, son Sam's in-laws, the Anonicks and my Mom and Dad. Couldn't be better!!!

Jill

Phone: 703.403.7435
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Web: www.JillBanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Subscribe to my Email Newsletter: News from the Easel (This link takes you to the subscription page.)

 
May 27-May 31: Mountain Maryland Plein Air I join 29 other artists juried from around the country to capture Cumberland MD and surrounding areas in this plein air competition and exhibition. Second time around.

May 31 & June 1: Great Falls Studios Spring Outdoor Art on the Green Festival  Two days with my work under a tent in the Great Falls Village Centre, corner of Georgetown Pike and Walker Road,  Great Falls, VA. Husband Randy will hold down “the Fort” on Saturday while I finish up at Mountain Maryland and then I hope to see you on Sunday, June 1!
 
March 5 - December: Richeson75 Still Life and Floral 2014  Two of my paintings: "Honey Bunny" and "Garden Girl" were chosen as finalists in this online competition and exhibition. 75 total works were selected for this exhibition from entries/artists worldwide. See the exhibit at http://richeson75.com/stilllife/index.html

Paint with Me in Italy: August 3 to 10, 2014. For more info, itinerary and links to register, see the classes page on my web site. Great folks are signing up to join me on this wonderful adventure. I hope you can, too! 

Burano, Italy: Every Day, Laundry Day

"Like Colors," oil, 11"h x 7"w, ©Jill Banks 2014

Maybe because they know how great it looks hanging there.

Short post because I'm back home. All messed up between Italian and US time. And, I teach tomorrow.

But, at the power of suggestion ... meeting up with the Selliers who were in my cafe nocturne scene in Venice (see previous post) ... unexpectedly ... we headed to Burano the next day. MANY paintings will follow but here is what I did that day, with my back against a very purple wall -- hoping like heck no one would clear the laundry line before I was done. Phew. Made it.

A new email newsletter will come out soon (so if you want to receive it ... subscribe through my web site). And, this coming weekend, May 3 & 4  -- I do hope you will come to see me at the Fairfax Fine Arts Festival being held in Fairfax Corners, VA. More info is on my web site. One more Italy trip blog post may come tomorrow -- depending on how productive the jet-lagged, time zone messed up version of me happens to be.

Phone: 703.403.7435
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Web: www.JillBanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Subscribe to my Email Newsletter: News from the Easel (This link takes you to the subscription page.)

 
May 3 & 4: Fairfax Fine Art Festival  I'll be under a tent in Fairfax Corners ... surrounded by artwork. Come visit/shop for original art. More details to come on my web site's Events page.

May 27-May 31: Mountain Maryland Plein Air I join 29 other artists juried from around the country to capture Cumberland MD and surrounding areas in this plein air competition and exhibition. Second time around.

May 31 & June 1: Great Falls Studios Spring Outdoor Art Festival  Two days with my work under a tent in the Great Falls Village Centre, corner of Georgetown Pike and Walker Road,  Great Falls, VA. Husband Randy will hold down “the Fort” on Saturday while I finish up at Mountain Maryland and then I hope to see you on Sunday, June 1!
 
March 5 - December: Richeson75 Still Life and Floral 2014  Two of my paintings: "Honey Bunny" and "Garden Girl" were chosen as finalists in this online competition and exhibition. 75 total works were selected for this exhibition from entries/artists worldwide. See the exhibit at http://richeson75.com/stilllife/index.html

Paint with Me in Italy: August 3 to 10, 2014. For more info, itinerary and links to register, see the classes page on my web site. Great folks are signing up to join me on this wonderful adventure. I hope you can, too!

"Burano Boats" Painting Today

"Burano Boats" work in progress, oil on Raymar panel, 16"h x 20"w, ©Jill Banks 2011

This is my second day painting on this scene from Burano, Italy ... the town of fishermen with impossibly bright colored houses along canals near Venice. I've painted a few scenes of Burano and each has become a favorite of mine and eventually of their owners.

More of Burano: "Pizza and Pesce," 8"h x 10"w, private collection.

I've been thinking a lot lately about my painting ... and reading up on landscape painting, looking intensely at paintings I admire, etc. I've been enjoying plein air painting but there is so much to learn! There are two big challenges for me. One is to get intense, glowing color in a single wet-into-wet (alla prima) session. Two is to handle the paint in these quick sessions while chasing the light. There are more ... but these two are my most obvious obstacles to overcome. Solutions I know for achieving glowing color rely on multiple painting sessions. And, paint handling comes naturally when I'm in full control developing the painting (i.e., when I'm in no rush and letting the subject reveal itself on canvas).

More Burano: "Food and Wine," 24"h x 36"w, private collection.

So, I've been on the lookout for solutions and may have found one. I read about a different approach to use for plein air that makes sense to me that should help with building the paint layers. Next painting start, I'll try it out ... and let you know. And, then I'll try it again. And again.

I've also decided to return to push colors further ... again. Time to experiment and see what happens.



New Discovery: Correcting Color Casts

"Boats in Burano," 8"h x 10"w, private collection.

Perhaps that's not an exciting title ... but in the last hour I made a startling discovery. I stopped working on my "Burano Boats" painting late tonight at the Artists' Atelier and photographed it under the Tungsten lights in the gallery which cast a yellow glow/film over everything. When I went in to edit and crop it in Photoshop Elements -- as I do each time I post -- I tried out a different edit tool under Adjust Color called Remove Color Cast. I put the dropper on the supposedly white base trim in the gallery and it adjusted the whole photo to remove the amount of yellow that was in the white. It was amazing!!! No more yellow casts for me!

Each time I learn something that makes life/my job much easier, I wonder why it had to take me so long. I suppose that's not the right outlook.

Events
August 3 - 31: "100 Faces in 100 Days" on exhibit at the Artists' Atelier, 1144 Walker Road, Great Falls, VA. Open hours: Wednesdays through Saturdays, 12:30-6:00pm.


August 3-September 5: 'Scapes Exhibit at the Art League, 105 N. Union Street, Alexandria, VA. My entry, "A New York State of Mind," won Honorable Mention.

Thursday, September 8, 7:30pm: Demo for the Vienna Arts Society, Vienna, VA. More details to come.

Sunday, October 2, 10am-5pm: MPA McLean Artfest, juried outdoor arts festival, McLean Community Park, McLean, VA

Saturday and Sunday, October 15&16, 10am-5pm: Great Falls Annual Studio Tour. Major weekend long event with 47 artists from Great Falls Studios participating in a self-guided tour. I'll be in the Artists' Atelier, the studio I share with 14 other artists at 1144 Walker Road, Suite G, Great Falls. Last year, the tour drew 7200+ visitors from throughout the DC area. Don't miss it!

To read more about the 100 Faces in 100 Days project on my web site (www.jillbanks.com), go to the 100 Faces Project Pages 1 and 2 where you can see all 100 of my volunteers. Click on the paintings, and go to my blog post for that person's sitting.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 1 (faces 1-54): www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project.html
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 2 (faces 55-100): www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project_2.html
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

"Hunks of Watermelon" Painting and "Boats in Burano"

Today was the last day of my Fall Still Life class. What a great group. Tuesday's will feel a little funny until January classes start.

Watermelon appeared. (Strange season, I know.) Part to be eaten. Part to be painted. The real watermelon setup looked perhaps neater than the cutting board version I decided to paint. This is one of those odd top-down views. It's a little tricky. I may come back to this tomorrow. A sign is that I bothered to put saran wrap over my models and left my palette at the studio. The knife, I know needs work.

Last night, I finished up "Boats in Burano." This one's little (8"h x 10"w) considering the scale of the scene. That's a lot to pack into a little bit of canvas.

By the way, this is a lot of red considering that my principal reddish-orange color on my palette, Cadmium Red Light made from Gamblin has been misbehaving lately. It's got to be coaxed into the right consistency with the addition of Gamblin's Neomegilp and the tube has sprung a few leaks. Just imagine your two hands the color of the top side of each hunk of watermelon. I didn't think it would ever come off. Yikes.

Tomorrow night's the reception at the Great Falls Studios Exhibit at Life with Cancer in Fairfax. See my contributions in an earlier post.

Tomorrow a.m., I drop off my donations for Art Night Out 2010 being held Friday, November 19th at the River Bend Country Club in Great Falls, VA. I'll fill you in on those donations soon.

"Hunks of Watermelon", 12"h x 4"w, oil on canvas, copyright Jill Banks 2010.

"Boats in Burano", 8"h x 10"w, oil on Senso linen, copyright Jill Banks 2010.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

"Boats in Burano" Painting Start Today

I'm typing one-handed today so this post should be quick. I managed to injure my left
(fortunately) hand yesterday rearranging furniture. Ouch.

Here's a new scene from Burano, Italy ... a small fishing village near Venice. I've got more to do on it, but I like the reflections, abstract building shapes, etc. I tried to approach it as I would a plein air painting with direct color, large simple shapes. I must admit that having a sore hand was a bit distracting. It made it a little harder to transport myself into the scene.

In the vein of ... "if you like this one ... you might enjoy this one" (that Amazon.com employs), here's another painting "Bridge in Venice" that's also available for sale. Or see more on my web site www.JillBanks.com gallery pages in the Places and Market galleries

"Boats in Burano" work in progress, 8"h x 10"w, oil on Senso linen, copyright Jill Banks 2010
"Bridge in Venice", 11"h x 14"w, oil on Senso linen, copyright Jill Banks 2008

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435 

"Pizza and Pesce" Painting of the Day

Painting this scene of a Burano snack shop today made we wish I was there. I got a kick out of their pizza and fish signs. Even though this shop was right near where the ferry dropped us off, it was full of locals the day we visited.

"Pizza and Pesce", oil on linen, 8"h x 10"w, copyright Jill Banks 2009.

More Venice and Burano scenes available include:
"Ferrari Boat", oil on linen, 24"h x 36"w, copyright Jill Banks 2009. Contact me at jillbanks1@aol.com or 703.403.7435 for purchase.


and "Rialto Market", oil on linen, 24"h x 36"w, copyright Jill Banks 2009. Available through Chasen Galleries in Richmond, VA.


and "Bridge in Venice", oil on linen, 11"h x 14"w, copyright Jill Banks 2008. Contact me.



Plus, as promised, you'll see my new "Food and Wine" of a Burano Market soon.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435