The Road to Castello Banfi

By Barry Hammond

Oil on canvas

100 cm x 100 cm x 4 cm

Price on request

Meaning and visual impact:

While driving through Italy in the summertime with some old friends for a weekend at the Castello Banfi in Tuscany, the storms clouds were brewing. Despite the impending summer storm, every once in a while, a beam of sharp light would peer through the cloud cover. I did a sketch in the car and took some photos to capture the extreme light and shadow structure that was unforgettable. Being the summertime the fields were fairly burned out and dry from the summer heat and sun - thus the brown and yellow hues on the landscape. The famous Tuscan cedar trees really came to life against the beams of light and dark stormy skies. That is the visual impact of that day that I have tried to capture in this work.

Technical aspects:

The major challenge was for me to capture as accurately as possible the dramatic landscape view I experienced. My sketches and photos helped a lot but it took a lot of time and effort to get it right. I have been trained in the renaissance and old masters painting techniques, materials and methods and I primarily relied on those skills to make this painting come alive.