Donna Magnani was last visiting the city with her group of artists all ready to soak up the atmosphere of painting “en plein air” in Barga in May of 2010 (article here) but this week she was back at Casa Fontana with a new group of students and a new tutor -- Rodger Bechtold.
Donna Magnani, an artist and arts administrator, has painted and travelled throughout Italy. Her love of Italy and familiarity with Tuscany and Umbria inspired the launch of Workshops Italia. She coordinates small group stays in quaint, off-the- beaten-path spots, with delicious local cuisine and the visual feast of the Italian countryside. Most trips include opportunities for study with noted artists, independent work, cooking classes or just enjoying the simple lifestyle and beauty of Italy away from the crowds.
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Rodger Bechtold
Exuberant coloured landscapes are the trademark of the nature-based painter, Rodger Bechtold. His painterly interpretations of place and moment offer an open, uplifting quality to his Midwestern countrysides and his liberated sense of color vitalizes each canvas. An accomplished landscape painter for over 30 years, Rodger Bechtold studied art at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In addition, he studied with well-known painter, Wolf Kahn in Santa Fe, New Mexico at Mr. Kahn’s invitation.
“I create landscape paintings that have a feeling of spaciousness beyond the limits of the canvas dimensions, charged with colour, expressed with energy and seemingly effortless brushwork. But most of all I’m interested in communicating what it feels like to be there.” -Rodger Bechtold
Rodger Bechtold -- Retrospective at the Miller Art Museum, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Selected Public Collections
Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; Northern Trust Bank, Milwaukee, WI; Northern Trust Bank, Denver, CO; The Greenbrier, acquisition by Carlton Varney, White Sulphur Springs, WV; Arthur Andersen, Washington, D.C.; Charles Wm. Foster & Associates, Ltd., Chicago, IL; Hollister, Inc., Libertyville, IL; Heritage Insurance, Sheboygan, WI
Rodger Bechtold talking about making art and his first visit to Barga
We were delighted to host Rodger Bechtold and his students at Casa Fontana last week. Another group of artists will be arriving next week and will be holding an exhibition at Cafe Capretz on the 23rd June
I was very happy to return to Barga with a fifth froup from Workshops Italia. Everyone in Barga has been so helpful and welcoming on our stays there. To me it feels like a magical and beautiful home away from home. Rodger Bechtold thoroughly enjoyed this workshop, which was his first trip to Italy. Rodger is the third painter/instructor I have had the pleasure of introduing to Barga, and someone from my home town that I have admired for years. I fell in love with Barga the first time I visited frineds there ten years ago and am always excited to bring new people to enjoy Barga. One of the workshop participants from the 2010 workshop, Betty Pimm, decided to return this month with a group of her friends from Texas. Hi Betty, I hope you are having a wonderful time! Donna