Interpretations of El Greco's View of Toledo

Starry Sky, watercolor, copyright Nina Leung 2013

 I've always loved dark skies and light colored landscapes. Since the sky is normally lighter than the landscape, it's appealing to see the opposite. Could that be why we like the look of stormy skies so much?

Dark Desert Sky, graphite and colored pencil, copyright Nina Leung 2013

 The two above were also partially inspired by a great Georgia O'Keeffe painting. I took her technique.

Umbrella Tree, watercolor, copyright Nina Leung 2013

 This tree is right down the street from me and it really does look like this. the colors really do blend from yellow to red. The strong contrast reminds me of the View of Toledo.

Big Sky, watercolor, copyright 2013

Gio's Story Sky, tempera and crayon, copyright Nina Leung 2013

 The boys did their own version of a stormy sky. They first did some finger painting. I gave them one color at a time and let them go crazy. They loved it!

The next day, they received a piece of green paper to cut in half. Eamon needed a little help as he's not yet 2. Then they colored it with some brown and black crayons and then glued it to their stormy sky. They were pleased with the results.

Eamon's Stormy Sky, tempera and crayon, copyright Nina Leung 2013

Favorite Finds for View of Toledo

The stormy sky that inspired this weeks posts.

Loving these inspiring photos of stormy skies.

Really?! There are people that love clouds this much?

A fashion designer inspired by El Greco.

What it's like to go to Toledo.

Looks like I'm not the only one that compares El Greco to Cezanne!

Very informative El Greco info.

Travelling with View of Toledo

Okay, this is an easy one. If View of Toledo were a place, it would be.......surprise, surprise, Toledo!

View of the Toledo from the bridge. 

El Greco's View of Toledo

Ipad rendering of El Greco's View of Toledo

A stormy sky in the Bay Area on Saturday inspired me to choose this painting.  I love dark skies and light colored landscapes as in El Greco's View of Toledo. I never knew he made any landscapes, so I feel that this one is pretty special. Doesn't it look modern? It reminds me of Van Gogh's Landscape at Saint-Remy, painted almost 300 years later.

El Greco traveled throughout Italy learning a combination of techniques including color and design in Venice, composition that he learned from Michelangelo, and the Mannerist style both in Rome. He certainly traveled a lot! Imagine what that was like back in the late 1500's! He left Italy for Spain after being ostracized by Michelangelo. Apparently, El Greco was pretty vocal about his not so flattering opinions of Michelangelo's work. Doing so forced him to go find patronage elsewhere.

He finally made his way to Toledo where he created his most famous and praised works, including The Burial of Count Orgaz, one of my favorites. He loved Toledo and lived there until his death.