Toscana

Carrying on from where I left off with "Ronda" I have incorporated the trees at left in "Ronda" into a more lively Tuscan landscape. I wanted more movement and a less oppressive atmosphere than the previous painting, a lot of the composition for this one was worked out in the tonal underpainting stage when shapes and tonal masses were adjusted using a rag and my usual mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin. Apart from rubbing out lines I hardly use turpentine at this stage any more as I find it rubs out what is underneath too much although it is a nice way of emphasising the grain of the canvas which I might try out on some rougher canvas in another painting. I was originally planning on it being monochromatic but decided later on to use a yellow/violet complementary with the green being a mix of Permanent Sap Green and Burnt Sienna.
Maybe getting nearer to what I'm looking for.
Oil on linen 16" x 12".
There is a short step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.