The paintings displayed here are based on my travels, from the most recent, Italy and Cuba, to the most distant in time, Mongolia. They include ones from Turkey, Republic of Georgia, Austria, France and Norway.

Italy

The three paintings below are from my recent trip to Italy. The first is of a small canal beside our hotel, adjacent to San Marco Piazza. The second is of the famous Rialto Bridge, the oldest bridge across Venice’s Grand Canal. The monument to Victor Emmanuel II in Rome’s central Piazza Venezia is depicted in the the third painting. The ruins of Hadrian’s Athenaeum unearthed in 2009 are in the foreground.

Venice canal                                                                                                               Oil on Canvas, 20″ x 24″, $300


Rialto Bridge, Venice                                                                                              Oil on Canvas, 20″ x 24″, $250

I had hesitated to paint the Victor Emmanuel III monument scene because of the level of detail it presented. Not until I started using a new technique of blocking in the large forms in pastel colors and then selectively choosing details to include did this painting come together.


Monument to Victor Emanuel III-Rome
Oil on Board, 11″ x 14″ $200

Earlier, I was privileged to accompany high school students to Italy and Greece.  A highlight was our visit to the lovely Island of Capri. Here I capture the colorful fishing boats, beached after a day in the waters of the blue-green Mediterranean.

Capri Harbor, Italy                                                                                                      Oil on Canvas, 22″ x 28″, $400, prints available

France

The village of Dabo, located in the Vosges mountains in France’s Alsace area, is the home of my forester Ruffenach ancestors. The Rock of Dabo once hosted the castle of the Duke of Dabo, but now a small church crowns the promontory. The second painting of the Rock of Dabo was displayed at the MN State Fair.

Dabo France, Vosges Mountains                                                                         Oil on Canvas, 16″ x 20″ Private Collection

Rock of Dabo, France                                                                                              Oil on Canvas, 10″ x 20″, $600 framed

Havana Cuba

In January 2017, I visited Havana, Cuba, staying in the  Old City. Here are two street scenes, the first on a misty morning after a rain, the second featuring a blind man tapping down the calle. The moat view is that of Castillo de la Real Fuerza, one of two Spanish forts that guarded Havana’s deep harbor, where the Spanish once gathered their treasure ships from the Mesomerican coasts to convoy back to Spain.

Havana Calle                                                                                                             Oil on Board, 12″ x 16″, $230


Old Havana Calle-2                                                                                                  Oil on Board, 16″ x 20″ $175

Havana’s Castillo de la Real Fuerza                                                                  Oil on Board, 11″ x 14″, $200

Turkey

Through a series of coincidences, I visited Turkey three times: twice staying in Istanbul, once enjoying an archaeological tour of the country’s interior. Displayed are two large-format views of  Istanbul’s magnificent Hagia Sophia. One of my all-time favorites is the one of Heliopolis, the scene caught at early morning.

Hagia Sophia, Turkey,                                                                                             Oil on Canvas, 20″ x 24″, $150


Hagia Sophia, Turkey-2                                                                                         Oil on Canvas, 22″ x 28″, $200

The image below depicts the remains of St. John’s Basilica at Ephesus, Turkey, overlooking one of the the seven wonders of the ancient world: the temple of Aphrodite.


St. John’s Basilica, Ephesus, Turkey                                                                    Oil on Canvas, 16″ x 20″ $250

Here  is the Necropolis at Heliopolis, Turkey where Romans came to its natural hot springs to heal their ills–and were buried if that didn’t work.


Heliopolis, Turkey                                                                                                    Oil on Canvas, 16″ x 20″, $350

Fishmongers, Istanbul Bazaar                                                                                  Oil on Board, 20″ x 24″ NFS

Austria

Between stops in Azerbajan and Istanbul, my daughter and I spent five days in Vienna.  The day before leaving, we rented a car and drove south to Andau in Bergenland, Austria to locate the home village of my Peck ancestors.  In the village cemetery we spotted this caregiver.

Watering Graves, Andau, Austria                                                                        Oil on Canvas, 24″ x 30″, $250

Scandinavia

After an 18-day visit to Scandinavia with my Aunt Carolyn, I painted two versions of a scene we caught on a day tour in the gorgeous Geiranger Fjord area, midway up Norway’s west coast. One is large format, the other small.

Norway Valley                                                                                                            Oil on Canvas, 16″ x 24″, $200


Norway Valley-2                                                                                                       Oil on Board, 11″ x 14″, $75

In Sweden, a tourist walking down the deserted street in Old Sigtuna caught my eye.  The painting since has become one of my favorites.

Sigtuna Sweden                                                                                                         Oil on Canvas, 20″ x 24″ $325

Here I worked from a photo taken at a Swedish Midsommer festival, with each participant wearing the clothes of her/his native province.

Swedish Midsommer                                                                                               Oil on Canvas, 20″ x 24″, Private collection

Later in the tour, we climbed up behind the restored Hanseatic League Harborfront in Bergen. The 14th century wooden buildings were used by the German fishery merchants for four centuries. Their colorful steeped roofs called for a painting, as did their facades that faced the harbor.


Rooftops of Bergen, Norway                                                                                 Oil on Canvas 12″ x 12″, $125

Hanseatic League Storefronts, Bergen, NOR
Oil on Board, 24″ x 28″, $150

In Odense, Denmark on the island of Funen, we visited the Hans Christian Andersen Museum and wandered the streets of the old city in the rain.

Odense DK Rainy Day                                                                                              Oil on Board, 9″ x 12″, $125 framed

Syria

Because my daughter was working in Syria  at the time, I had a chance to visit the country before its archaeological treasures were trashed. Here is the cloister of the Crusader Fort Krak des Chevaliers. The fort guarded the main route from the Mediterranean to the Middle East interior.

Krak des Chevaliers Fortress, Syria, Cloister                                                    Oil on Board, 16″ x 20″, $200

Republic of Georgia

When my son was working in the Republic of Georgia, I visited 10th century Sapara Monastery high up in the hills. From the monastery wall, I found the view across a valley toward distant mountains  breathtaking.

Stone Wall at Sapara Monastery, Georgia,                                                    Oil on Board, 16″ x 20″, $150

Guatemala

The photo on which this painting is based was taken by my daughter when in Antigua Guatemala.  The Roman Catholic cathedral of St. James was first built by the Spanish in 1541, but suffered two earthquakes in the next two centuries.  Now it has been partly rebuilt.

Antigua Cathedral, Guatemala                                                                           Oil on Canvas, 20″ x 24″, $300

Mongolia

Although I painted many images based on my travel to Mongolia and China, this is one of the few that remain in my possession.  It is of a pre-adolescent girl I met while visiting a ger camp in the hills outside of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.  She was an accomplished horsewoman, as are so many of the Mongol youth. The painting of a snowy approach to the Buddhist monastery is one of my all-time favorites.

Mongol Girl in Blue,                                                                                                  Oil on Canvas, 20″ x 24″. $200

Approach to Gandan Buddhist Monastery                                                          Oil on Canvas, 20″ x 24″, Private Collection