Gypsy in Italy

Gypsy in Italy

12 x 9, pastel

Well, folks this is the final painting accepted into the Artoberfest Show and it is a 1st place winner! This painting won the pastel division. I was so thrilled, excited, speechless, but it gets even better. My good friend and long time art teacher, Angie B Brown, purchased it. Angie is a fabulous artist, winning many awards. In fact she won the oil/acrylic division tonight. To have her purchase one of my paintings, is very humbling.

I had traveled to Italy with Angie, where we saw this woman standing against a building in the street in Citta Della Pieve playing her hand organ. But there is more to the story than I have painted here. She had wooden marionettes attached to her feet and legs. As she played the the organ, she moved her knees/feet and had the marionettes dancing to the music. It was amazing. So I can see her being the subject of more paintings down the road.

If you have the opportunity to visit the gallery this month and the first 2 weeks of November, please do so. There are some lovely paintings. The show will run through Wurstfest.

Weathered Beauty

Weathered Beauty

12x9, pastel

Click to Buy

This is just the first of, hopefully, many more paintings with this woman as the subject. She is a gypsy woman, who lives in Italy. I was blessed to get to see her while visiting Citta della Pieve. She played the hand organ as marionettes that were attached to her feet and legs danced. It was such a joy to behold and the small children loved it.

This is also my first attempt at a portrait of a female using pastel as the medium. I truly believe that portraits are easier in watercolor. Now there are plenty who would argue that point with me.