“The arched bridge at Pontassieve.”
In Italy, during the painting trip, we stayed at the lovely winery I Veroni, at their villa. A beautiful place situated near the grapevines. Nearby, about 20 minutes walk downhill is the little town of Pontassieve, which literally means “The bridge over Sieve river.” The town is located where the rivers Sieve and Arno meet, east of Florence. The importance of the town was given by the bridge, the main connection of Republic of Florence to Mugello, Casentino and Arezzo. It was an important crossroads and maintained the status after the development of railway. For that it was heavily bombarded during Second World War. Hence it was reconstructed but maintained the medieval look in the centre. One of the most important landmarks, is the arched bridge.
During the workshop, we came down twice to Pontassieve, for painting. First time we did a thumb box sketch, from approximately the same place. Second time, we took the easels, so we can do a bigger painting. But it wasn’t enough time to finish it on location. A great start though. I decided to complete the painting as part of my weekly challenge of a painting a week.
I used my usual palette, adding just yellow ochre and manganese blue.
I finished it in one session, retouching the sky, some of the bridge, the greens, some of the distant buildings and the water.
So, here it is:
“The arched bridge at Pontassieve.”
Oil on linen.
12” X 16” (30 X 40cm)
