from vineyards to wheat fields

After spending the past couple days drawing overcast vineyards and olive trees, we then moved onto a different, but equally beautiful landscape: rolling wheat fields. Although still cloudy and chilly, the change of scenery gave me a new sense of excitement, and I thoroughly enjoyed drawing from a different perspective. After spending the morning overlooking rolling green hills, we returned to the bus to drive to a couple other viewpoints, eventually arriving at the quaint town of Chiusure. The town offered a whole other set of breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside. After stopping to have a quick bite to eat (I had a hearty bowl of penne pasta with ragu sauce, and it truly tasted like it came from a traditional Italian kitchen), we hopped back on the bus and drove down the hills to our next location. We visited an old monastery, and were able to experience frescoes painted way back during Italian antiquity. Although old and damaged, the colors of the frescoes remained vibrant, and one can only imagine how vivid they appeared during their prime.

This is the composition I chose to focus on the morning we visited the wheat fields. The wispy clouds only added to the tranquil atmosphere, although they dissipated as the hours progressed. 

Standing in some wheat fields, my shoes thoroughly muddied by the fertile Tuscan earth.

 

The above images were all taken from different areas in Chiusure. The town was very small, but offered fantastic views of Tuscany and the monastery below. I absolutely loved the endless shades of green and blue that changed with the daylight. The town itself is primarily occupied with retired folks, which became hard to believe since it was located on the side of a hill, and was filled with very steep-sloping streets and multiple levels connected by stairs.

Pots of heavenly-smelling, fresh basil plants growing near the entrance of the monastery.

The monks at the monastery also produced their own wine, grappa (an Italian, vodka-like liquor made from the skins of grapes), and olive oil. We walked into their cellar and were able to see huge barrels where the wine used to be stored, many of them had to be at least 10 feet tall.

The three photos above show details of the frescoes in the monastery. Apparently, they depicted a biblical story, and although I was not familiar with the narrative, I could definitely appreciate the artistic and compositional elements that these paintings demonstrated.