Dream Spaces

Watercolor Painting by Dennis Pendleton. A few years ago I taught a workshop in Tuscany that was headquartered in a historic farmhouse and this is a painting of one of the bedrooms. My main objective was capturing the afternoon sunlight that filled the room. I simplified the antique wooden furniture with dark values that swallowed up details and concentrated on the patterns on the wall created by the sunlight and the artificial light from the lamps. These patterns are a mixture of yellow ochre and cobalt violet and I painted the heater against the wall with the same color to create harmony.

The pillows and bedding had a flower pattern on them which I ignored when I painted the folds and shadow shapes. Deciding what to leave out is just as important as choosing what to include and I thought the flower pattern would make the painting to busy. I wanted these folds in the bedding to lead your eye into the painting and I painted them with a mixture of cerulean blue and different warm and cool reds. The open book was left by one of the artists in the workshop and it happened to be placed in the perfect location because it slows down your eye as you enter the painting. The open book also suggests the human element without actually having a person in the room.

The thick walls of the farmhouse and the afternoon breeze through the window made these rooms the perfect temperature for a cool place to relax and read in the afternoon. I still remember the quiet solitude as we relaxed in our rooms after having lunch on the patio overlooking the beautiful Tuscan hills.

I will be teaching a 4-week ONLINE ZOOM CLASS at the Art Students League of Denver starting February 3rd titled, "DREAM SPACES: THE BEDROOM IN WATERCOLOR", and we will be painting scenes like this. Registration for the class starts February 12th and I would love to have you in the class. Happy Painting! Dennis Pendleton

This painting "Tuscany Bedroom' is 18 x 24 in a double matt with a beautiful Italian carved gold leaf frame and the price is $750. For information contact me at pendletonstudio@gmail.com.