Chilean Wine Country, part 1

So when I said I was back to painting regularly, I guess I really meant "I paint regularly but it takes me forever to finish a painting now".  And so it goes with a baby.  No big deal though, I just finished this painting in my new basement art studio which I happen to like much more than I expected! It's possibly the only place in our house where it's acceptable to make a mess.  This is painting is of a vineyard in Chile.  The photo was taken on an amazingly clear and perfect October day, and I remember taking a deep breath in hoping to never forget how I was feeling at that very moment- blissfully content with life.  Vineyards are my happy place (aren't they everyones?) and this one was amazing.  If you ever see this wine in the store- buy it! Casa del Bosque is the name of the winery ("house of the forest").

But back to the painting.  I should seriously consider renaming my blog "painting with purple", because every painting has it.  Lots of it.  And this painting is no exception.  It started out as a pretty straightforward translation of the photo (boring!) So I warmed up the scene and added a bunch more colors in similar value that were deeply saturated.  The result is a rich warm painting with wine barrels that look like they are on fire and heavy vines ready for the harvest. 

So I'm on to my next painting.  I'm really into painting people, and I'm taking another stab at this in watercolor.  Then after that I will get started on the first painting feature my sweet baby girl :-)