Flowers in a Terracotta Vase
It is easy to create a little piece of Tuscany. Whether you are a highly skilled or a novice artist, you can create Tuscan painting styles. Still-life painting, mural painting and abstract art are all ways to create a small bit of Tuscan heaven.
Tuscan Abstract Painting
You can create a Tuscan painting with just simple washes of color. Choose a vertical or horizontal composition, but don't mix the two. A Tuscan painting should have a peaceful feeling; mixing the directions would make it much more energetic.
Typical Tuscan color choices include yellow, peach, white, honey brown, dark brown, red, blue and green.
You can use thick or thin paint can be either used thick of thin. If you are thinning the paint, mix the acrylic paint and water in a bowl. The object is to create a wash that is similar to a watercolor.
Next, use a brush to paint broad lengths of color across the canvas; again, either vertically or horizontally. Overlap the colors carefully allowing them to bleed into each other.
This painting, while simple, may be the best way to represent the Tuscan lifestyle through its quiet colors and country feel.
Tuscan-Styled Still-life Painting
Tuscany is a land rich in color and texture. The Tuscan love for nature is evident in everything around their picturesque villas, from the wooden unpainted furniture to the woven fabrics used for curtains. You can be easily recreate this mood in a Tuscan still-life painting. A still-life is generally a beginning piece of artwork.
A still life will generally include flowers, fruit and bowl. To give a still-life a Tuscan feel, replace the bowl with a lidless biscotti jar composed of warm shades of yellow. Use bright colors like turquoise, orange and red to paint flowers on the jar. This will create the look of a hand-painted biscotti jar.
Paint flowers like roses, geraniums, bougainvillea, and star jasmine in the jar. These flowers are all common to Tuscany and their wide range in color will echo with a natural Tuscan feel. Don't forget to include the flowers' greenery.
Then, add fruit common to Tuscany: apples, pears, figs, grapes, lemons and cherries.
When painting drapery such as a tablecloth, choose fabrics like burlap, and gently paint the fabric's weave.
Tuscan Styled Trompe l'oeil
If you are ready for a more advanced subject, Tuscany homes are famous for their Trompe l'oeil murals. These murals appear to be windows to the world outside and depict rolling hills, mountains, evergreen trees, fountains, grape vineyards and basilica-style architecture. Tuscan use of color is generally very light almost pastel.
To paint the mural begin with the background. Paint the mountains in the distance at varying levels of elevation. Paint the farthest mountains in a light blue hue, a little darker than the sky. The blueness of the mountain color should increase as they are painted closer into the foreground.
Paint rolling hills a little bit closer into the foreground also with varying levels of elevation and in differing shades of yellow ochre. Paint green rows of the vineyards at alternating angels on the hills, but keep each vineyard on a singular hill going the same direction.
Add evergreen trees, rock patios and any other element like a fountain even deeper into the foreground. This will not be the closest element in the picture, so leave room for barrel-vaulted archways and Corinthian style columns at the closest level of the foreground in the painting.
Lastly paint the barrel-vaulted archways into the foreground. Your audience should feel like they are looking out a window and observing the archways. Include greenery like ivy vines attached to the walls.
