Fiesole Still Life Painting

Dear Art Lover,

     It is October, the month of orange, no?  A few years ago, I saw this hearth-like scene at a friend’s house during their holiday party.  Orange always seems like a happy color to me and I wondered if I had it in me to tackle it in art to create a similar emotion. 
     This pastel on heavy Fabiano Artists Watercolor Traditional White paper - 140 wt depicts a Tuscan vase with a couple of metal kettles.  The dried plant stems make me think of a bad hair day, but they lend a wonderful element of contrast to all the other shapes and tones.  They all sat upon a shelf made from an old log and other wood parts.  

"Fiesole Still Life"

21.5" x 29"
Pastel on Fabiano watercolor paper 140 wt.
© 2010
Kelly Borsheim

"Fiesole Still Life" - 22" x 29" framed in black

      Fiesole is a quant small town up in the hills above Florence, Italy. Tuscany is famous for its orange warm colors and I liked the coziness of this scene.
       The pastel is framed in a simple, but angled black frame with Museum Glass and includes a black spacer so that the art does not touch the glass. No mat so you may focus on the warmth of the art and it looks more like a painting. [Museum Glass is a trademarked product that SERIOUSLY reduces glare. It is wonderful.]
This would look great in any room in which you want to feel cozy and comfortable, perhaps a reading room or social room.

 I chose to create this pastel painting on a highly textured watercolor paper. It is a thick paper and I was able to use the texture to beautiful effect. I like it that the closer one gets, the more texture one sees. I am also fascinated with the layering of colors and the play of cool and warm pigments together. Note that in the grey vase on the right, I added purples and yellows into the greys. I hope that you enjoy this composition in pastel.

     Now, if you have read this far, I want to share that starting with this cheerful and warm piece, I will be offering selected artworks at an enticing price over the next several months.  “Fiesole Still Life” is priced at $1600, framed.  If you mention this savings project, you may acquire this original artwork for only $1200, plus free shipping.  AND, if you already own an original Borsheim artwork (painting, drawing, or sculpture), you will receive an ADDITIONAL 10 % off!

Contact me.  sculptor@borsheimarts.com

    

Peace,

Kelly

http://BorsheimArts.com

P.S.  Welcome into the world, Noah!  My brother’s second grandchild.

Framed in simple angled black frame on the left

Fiesole Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I attended a party up the mountain from Florence not too long ago. It was at a private home in Fiesole, Italy. As much as I love the city of Florence, I often miss trees. And air. Of course, everyone breathes in Florence, but let’s face it: nothing beats mountain air! I loved my escape to this party!

This first image is simply a reminder for me of a funny event that occurred when I got my first apartment in Florence. Imagine my joy as I waited at the bus stop of Fiesole’s main piazza of seeing a man waiting for the bus in his slippers! That is SO me! Two years ago shortly after I moved to Florence, I bought slippers at a little shoe store not far from my apartment. I knew that the stone floors would kill my calves. However, I felt that my sense of fashion was insulted when the saleslady said to me in Italian, “You do understand that these shoes are to be worn only indoors!” How could she know?

These next two images are from a walk I took up in Fiesole. The paths overlook the Florentine valley. I got a kick out of the “Pericolo di Caduta” (‘Danger of Falling’) sign. In the sunset picture, the famous marble quarries of Carrara are behind one of the pointier mountain peaks on the horizon (left of center).



And this last romantic image is to share with you so much of the warmth of winter in Tuscany. I love these Italian homes of stone and wood. The oranges and the iron just completed the natura morte for me. Enjoy!

P.S. Fiesole is pronounced “Fee-AY-so-lay.”


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Landscape Workshop in Fiesole - Steve Armes

American landscape artist Steve Armes comes to Italia to paint as often as possible. He had also made friends via the Internet with my friend Dorian Iten from Switzerland. Anyway, Dorian invited several of us artists here in Firenze to attend a free workshop that Steve generously offered this past Saturday. I know almost nothing first-hand about painting landscapes, so this was a wonderful opportunity.

We all met up at Fiesole, the last stop on l'autobus # 7, up the mountain from Firenze. After showing us some of his work, giving us an overview of materials and how to prep the board to paint on, and discussing his approach, Steve led us around a corner not too far away from the bus stop to an abandoned building that apparently is a great place to drink beer and then smash the glass bottles.

But Steve set up his easel and, under changing light conditions on this cloudy day, did a great demonstration for a couple of hours before several of my friends set up theirs and began to work. I must confess that while I enjoyed that morning, I was itching to get home to my figure work and left around 13:00 to return to Firenze. A nap was in my future as well. I do hope to be showing some of my current projects soon . . .

If you would like to see some of Steve's finished works or learn more about him, visit: stevearmes.com

If you would like to see Dorian's site, check out:
www.dorian-iten.com