An Old Olive Tree at la Casa Natale di Leonardo da Vinci

This painting is made using oil paint on gesso prepared wooden panel. I painted it en plein air after hiking up to the house where Leonardo da Vinci was born, in the eponymous town of Vinci in Italy. After walking around the property I snuck past some signs with all of my painting gear and set up under a tree (never a better place to paint than under a tree) and studied this beautiful, twisted, old olive during the golden hour. I like to think that maybe a little "Leo" ran past this tree barefooted as a child, or it was grown from the fruit of one he did.