It’s been a very warm morning, with the clouds billowing slowly on the edge of the Apennine ridge, in the upper Tiber valley in Tuscany.
I was drawn by the clocktower and cypress, typical motifs of the area and the strong diagonal they created for the design of the painting. The colours I kept soft and close toned. Colour is important however subtle, so I use a zinc white in the mid-tones to keep what colour there is clear and not too chalky.
This location was the haunt of artist, Piero della Francesca. I always think of him when I paint from this location. I could never understand why he painted clouds that looked like spaceships. Later I discovered that they were called lenticular clouds… And they are formed by the air moving in two directions (I think). you see them often here and they always make me smile. I realise how observant he was.
You can see them here in this photograph. They look like I’ve smudged them in photoshop, but they are 100% real! The view here is just to the left of where i made the painting.
12 x 10 inches, oil paint on panel. Art materials. Fine Artist’s colours, Michael Harding and Windsor and Newton. Ultramarine, burnt sienna, cadmium yellow, zinc and titanium whites.
Rupert Denyer 