Abstracts Of My Italian World

Abstracts of my Italian world. The hottest summer on record and prolonged drought made me think abstract. That is the story of my Italian world which I have depicted in a new series of three abstract digital paintings.

Abstracts of My Italian World

My World In A Countryside

This piece, ‘My World in a Countryside’ is an abstract that is in many ways an emotional self-portrait. It is an attempt to create artistically, through digital media, how I feel about my adopted home of Umbria in Italy.

In this abstract, as is the way in Italy, the sun dominates everything. A beautiful blue sky is also reflected in the lower part of the image. This suggests beautiful Lago Trasimeno over which I have a fabulous view from my house. There are hints of trees, leaves and an undulating hill side. There are also splodges of paint, added to reflect the artistic inspiration I draw from where I live. This really is my interpretation of my Italian World.

Umbria on Fire

Heat and Drought

We have suffered an extremely long period of drought, followed by an incredible heatwave, with the nickname ‘Lucifer’. This heat as affected a large part of Europe but up my mountain it has been the hottest I can remember.

Wild Fires

Everyday has brought a new wild fire, here or in neighbouring Tuscany. Some fires are caused by lightning strikes, some by a carelessly discarded cigarette, others started deliberately by arsonists. The smell of smoke has often hung on the air. The fire planes and helicopters fly over our house taking water from Lago Trasimeno to help put out the flames. The abstract ‘Umbria on Fire’ is my interpretation of a wild fire. Fast moving and destructive, a mix of dark shadows from black smoke contrasting with the yellows and oranges of the flames consuming the trees, some still showing their greenery before the fire reaches them.

Coping with the Heat

We have spent large parts of days holed up inside the house with all the windows and shutters closed, just sitting in front of our fan. The cat garden (so named because it is where our little group of outside cats spend a large part of their time) had two sun umbrellas erected. This was to provide as much shade as possible and the cats sleep all day underneath them. I have kissed good bye to my garden and had to choose which plants I was going to try and keep going by using waste water.

As I write we are blessed with a couple of cooler days and the possible change of rain tomorrow before the heat starts to build again. The cats are taking advantage of the cooler air as you can see!.

To Live Within a Sunset

The good news about the weather is that it has created some wonderful effects at sunset. The sunset, or tramontana, most evenings are a joy. The fire in the sky echoes the heat on the ground. The final of my three abstract digital paintings is called ‘To Live Within a Sunset’. It was inspired by one evening’s beautiful sunset that filled the sky and poured through the windows of my home, bathing everything in pink.

Before you go

My name is Dorothy Berry-Lound an artist and writer. You can find out more about my art and writing at https://dorothyberryloundart.com.

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Thank you for reading!