The Eyes Behind The Lens & Other Stories

I have some new work inspired by the beauty of the bearded irises that flowered beautifully in May. Please take a look at my new gallery into the iris blue at Imagekind

radiance Macro Fine Art Photography Print at Imagekind

My new food blog, My Tuscan Kitchen is now live. I’ll be adding recipes and there is much more in store over the next few weeks. I’ve long wanted to set up my own food blog, as cooking is one of the great passions in my life.

This blog is all about cooking from the heart, using fresh, seasonal ingredients, local produce, testing out old, traditional recipes and creating new dishes. I’ll also be featuring Italian Wine Articles, Tuscan Interiors and suggestions to creating a Tuscan Style in the home.

Please come on over and join me there, if you have any suggestions, just let me know, I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

Hannah

So, the lazy snowflakes I wrote about a few days ago?..they turned into a blizzard and snowed us in…such are the many surprises nature had up her sleeve for this land before she allows everything to bloom under a warmer sun. A few photographs of the this Tuscan countryside graced with a magical white blanket.

A typical Tuscan Amphora decorating the back garden

The Old pig pens and Italian box topiaries in the back garden

Palazzo Cervini and the Eremo , Vivo d’Orcia, Val d’Orcia, Southern Tuscany

I’m off now to light the fires..

I awoke this morning to the sight of a some large, soft flakes of snow meandering lazily to the floor. Gone has any sign of spring apart from the few specks of beautiful violet in the forms of crocuses on the meadow, but even they are obscured by a ghostly grey white mist that shrouds and dulls any light or brilliance.

Winter has come back just to remind us that the land can’t yet be seduced by the warmth of the sun and the refreshing sunshine of spring. It’s cold, and it’s time to light the fire, get warm and get cooking something hearty. I have decided to make a  soup and a slow-cooking ragù for later (the perfect antidote to the cold for many Italians I’m sure) I’m currently working on my new blog, My Tuscan Kitchen, which is all about my passion for food, wine and cooking fresh, seasonal delicious food. Take a look if you have the time..just like any new baby, it’s newborn but growing daily and demanding a lot of looking after and love!

Ciao for now, I’m off to go get lost in making a ragù…

After my first Imagekind review of the beautiful black and white photography of Andrew Gibson, I have decided to swing over to a splash of colour for this week’s reviews.

I discovered Michael Rafferty last week when he was featured on the Imagekind home page. I am constantly surprised and amazed at the quality of original art on Imagekind and Rafferty’s work is an exceptional example of the use of colour.

“Deep Blue Yonder” Watercolour print from the gallery “Colourscape” by Michael Rafferty at Imagekind

Blue is arguably my favourite colour and I love the exploration of this deep, spiritual hue in this simple, yet complex study. I was instantly attracted to this piece as it reminds me of the studies I used to do in watercolour and inks. You can tell the artist has just lost himself in this piece and enjoyed the process of playing with pigment and water immensely.

My recommendations for printing

Fine art print: in either “Grande”(48″ x 34″) or “Massive” (60″ x 42.6″) on Hahnemuhle Torchon Fine Art Textured paper. I recommend minimal framing with no mat and UV protection glazing to keep the emphasis purely on this beautiful study of blue.

Print on Canvas: Gallery-wrapped in “Grande”(48″ x 34″) size on Piezo Pro matte canvas.

“Quench” Watercolour Study by Micheal Rafferty in the gallery “Colourscape” by Michael Rafferty at Imagekind

I love the depth and mystery of this piece, is it a landscape, abstract or simply an exercise in colour and paint? Rafferty clearly is a natural in this medium and you can see the sensitivity he possesses for colour and tone. Again, a wonderful piece for relaxation and best, in my opinion, printed large.

My recommendations for printing

Fine art print: in either “Grande”(48″ x 34″) or “Massive” (60″ x 42.6″) on Hahnemuhle Torchon Fine Art Textured paper. I recommend minimal framing with no mat and UV protection glazing to keep the emphasis purely on the warm, soft tones.

Print on Canvas: Gallery-wrapped in “Grande”(48″ x 34″) size on Piezo Pro matte canvas.

“In the Pink” by Michael Rafferty in the gallery “Gravity”by Michael Rafferty at Imagekind

Here we see a different type of colour work from this artist, a much more contained and considered style, yet still that same sensitivity and love of colour. Commercial Gloss paints and acrylic washes are the medium here for one of my favourite of his series of “drip” paintings in the Gravity gallery . Reminiscent to the later work of Bridget Riley, this work appeals to me in particular as it plays with the relationships bewtween teh complimentary colours of red and green. The effect is both mesmerising and absorbing, I find myself drawn into the lines and tones, my eye wonders constantly. A wonderful addition of modern art to a modern, unfussy interior.

My recommendations for printing

Fine art print: size “Grande”(48″ x 34″) on either Epson Enhanced Matte paper or Epson Ultra Smooth Fine Art paper to enhance the graphic tones and saturation of this piece. I recommend minimal framing with no mat and UV protection glazing to keep the emphasis purely on the art.

Print on Canvas: Gallery-wrapped in “Grande”(48″ x 34″) size on Piezo Pro matte canvas.

West East North South by Michael Rafferty in the gallery “Gravity”by Michael Rafferty at Imagekind

Again, Rafferty exploits the relationship between complementary colours here. This piece appeals to me on many levels, it has the heat and optimism of sun drenched, warmer climates on the left and the cool, yet intense blues on the right, rather like the contrast between a tropical flower and a bright blue sky. This work would again look fabulous printed large and hing on a white background and in a minimal /modern interior.

My recommendations for printing

Fine art print: size “Grande”(48″ x 34″) or “Massive” (60″ x 42.6″) on either Epson Enhanced Matte paper or Epson Ultra Smooth Fine Art paper to enhance the graphic tones and saturation of this piece. I recommend minimal framing with no mat and UV protection glazing to keep the emphasis purely on the art.

Print on Canvas: Gallery-wrapped in “Grande”(48″ x 34″) size on Piezo Pro matte canvas.

See all the Michael Rafferty Fine Art Prints at Imagekind by clicking this link.

Prices for Prints start at *$12.74 and canvases from *$25.28

* subject to change

All works shown here are copyright©Michael Rafferty. Please ask the photographer for permission to use in any way. Thankyou

After writing about the joys of bathing in thermal waters last week, it seemed that a visit to Saturnia Falls, the free to all thermal baths in the heart of the Maremma region of Tuscany, was inevitable. All the other “official” thermal baths and pools are sadly not open until Easter..sigh. So, last Sunday morning I woke to blue skies and a hint of heat in the sun, and decided that a day wallowing in thermal water was the perfect antidote to the computer and Internet that seems to occupy most of my time in these winter days.

We set off fairly early for the 1 and a half hour drive down from the mountain where we live into ancient Etruscan heartland. The temperature was rising all the time as the journey progressed, this due to that fact we were away from the chilly, north side of the Monte Amiata and that we were driving south towards Rome towards the coast. During this wonderful, sunny drive, the landscape changed slowly from winter greys and dull browns to warm, sandy ochres and lush greens with ancient olive groves and warm, 20°c sunshine.it felt like stepping into another season, another land.

Sunday Morning Mists in the Val d’Orcia

Ancient Olive Groves in the Southern Tuscan Sun with a beautiful yellow blanket of wild calendula

During the journey, we passed through Scansano, home of one of my favourite wines at the moment - Morellino di Scansano, a smooth, fruity red wine that is tipped to become one of the big new stars of the Tuscan wine scene.

At first sight of Saturnia falls, you just have to look and appreciate the wonderful sights and sounds of this small, hidden corner of Tuscany. It is an ancient 3000 year old set of small pools, natural jacuzzis and cascading waters coming straight from a volcanic crater..maintaining a perfect heat of around 37° c.

The luscious natural jacuzzis and cascades of the Terme di Saturnia

The Etruscans and Romans certainly knew a thing or two about relaxation and well-being as well as it’s correlation with being at one with nature. These falls were used by both cultures for centuries as a perfect, south-facing suntrap where you can wallow all day in perfect bliss.

Once underneath in the warm water, you immediately feel the tension melting away and your mind clearing. To begin with, we sat cross-legged in one of the shallower pools directly under a fairly ferocious stream of water, a perfect massage for the neck and shoulders. As the afternoon progressed, a long wallow in one of the deeper, more gentle pools was really beautiful, allowing the water to cleanse and exfoliate away winter skin and the sun to spiritually cleanse the mind and soul. This water has an amazing effect on the skin, the same feeling you would have after a sea salt exfoliation treatment at an expensive spa. You skin feels, smooth, shiny and new, like you have been reborn …I need to get there every week!

In fact..it’s a must, and I recommend this to anyone visiting Tuscany this year to make for the thermal baths..it’s the ultimate in holiday relaxation and as close to nature and the experiences of the ancients as you can get.

I’m so pleased that this so talented young actress has won the oscar for best actress at this year’s Academy Awards. Brava Marion!, I look forward to seeing much more of your talent in future movies.

Calling all fellow UK foodies and Italophiles….I just discovered that the Observer Food Monthly (My favourite UK Sunday Supplement) is running a competition to win a pair of VIP tickets to “La Dolce Vita” event at London’s Earl’s Court Olympia.

La Dolce Vita is a sensational event which celebrates the very best of all things Italian at Olympia, London 13-16 March 2008. You can experience, taste and buy some of Italy’s finest products as well as socialising with its charismatic personalities, dine at London’s top Italian restaurants, saunter through a mini ‘Corso Como’, attend catwalk shows and discover the delights of Italy’s diverse regions.

One lucky winner will win a pair of Food & Wine Connoisseur tickets for the show. The tickets include fast track entry; a speciality masterclass in the ‘Scuola di Cucina’ – which include wonderful chocolate sessions that delve into the illustrious and luxurious history of Italian chocolate, as well as providing a rare opportunity to taste locally produced chocolates from each of the regions; a speciality masterclass in the ‘Wine Academy’ – which include sessions on Prosecco - why it beats champagne hands down - and Super Whites - excellent wines from the Friuli region and wine tours around Italy. £20 worth of Fiorini and access to the VIP area in The Piazza are also included.

The prize also includes an overnight stay at The Intercontinental on Park Lane, London and a dinner at the hotel’s swish new Theo Randall restaurant.

Enter now at the Observer Food Monthly Website,  Closing Date is midnight on Monday 3 March 2008. Good luck!

A few snapshots of the first warm day of spring here.

Next Door with Lavender

Gina and Cypress Trees with the sun in her eyes

The house in the Hermitage