The Swimming Pool at La Forra

It was nice to lounge under an olive tree and gaze at the distant mountains.

Another La Forra Painting

A view through the trees of the road leading to the swimming pool.

Tuscany Hillside - One of many chalk pastels painted on my trip to Italy.

This is the view from the terrace off my apartment at La Forra. La Forra is a real farm growing grapes and olives. They bottle their own brand of wine and olive oil.

Lakeville Road

Here in Sonoma County we have some wonderful back roads. This is a portion of Lakeville Road. Funny, I've never seen a lake around here. We do get "ponds" from high tide on the Petaluma River, however. Maybe that's what the road is named for.

Cypress Line Up at Villa Vignamaggio

I had given up for the day. Couldn't fine a scene I wanted to paint, and I was completely worn out. On the way back to my apartment around 4 pm, I saw this scene. I knew I had to paint it. It turned out to be one of my best on the trip in Tuscany.

Path through Grass, Bodega Bay

Bodega Bay lies east of Point Reyes National Sea Shore. I used an irridescent pastel chalk for the underpainting. The irridescence doesn't quite show in the photo.

I feel lucky living in the San Francisco Bay Area with its many scenic locations to paint the landscape.

The next couple of posting will be paintings I've done locally. Then I'll post more paintings from my three trips to Tuscany.

China Camp, San Rafael, CA

Yellow Skiff, a pastel painting done at China Camp State Park on San Francisco Bay. I don't know who owns the skiff, but it has been on the beach for at least 20 years. In fact, I painted a watercolor of the skiff in 1980.

Hillside town of Montegonzi

This view is from the swimming pool at La Forra. Montegonzi is a medieval town still resided in by Italians. Our group walked down the hill from La Forra and had a ball shopping in the little grocery store. I got to practice my Italian!

Road from La Forra, Montegonzi

This road leads out of the farm where I stayed near the medieval town of Montegonzi.

Another pastel painting from Tuscany

This pastel was painted from the terrace at Villa Vignamaggio, the villa where Midsummer Night's Dream was filmed.

Persephone: POTHOLDER UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

I just can't stop. HELP!

I copied a face from a 1915 painting of the Holy Family, tweaked it in Photoshop, then printed the image on fabric. The words are printed on fabric, also. I spent $25 on the font because it looks vintage. I can't wait to get to the beading part.

I did take a break this morning to walk Freddie, my dog. Then back to the "drawing board."

I'm still working on my Doggie potholder, too.

B R Cohn Vineyard, Sonoma, California

This is a pastel painting done in November 2004, in Sonoma, California. The leaves changed color late last year. A week later the wind blew all the colored leaves off the vines. Landscapes are my favorite thing to paint with pastels. I travel a good deal and also have local locations where I paint, especially Marin County and Sonoma County. We have S.F. Bay and the Pacific ocean among other scenic spots to paint.

Pastel Painting, Tetonia Idaho

Pastel painting done in October 2004, near my son's place in Tetonia, Idaho. This is the western view of the Grand Tetons.