Painting Diary

A Sunny Winter Day 

“A Sunny Winter Day” was painted on location in a new area I discovered some time ago above Coronation Park in Ystradgynlais.

Unfortunately, at this time of year it is not easy to walk up there, as much of the route is covered in marshy grass and mud. In the end, however, I found a lovely dry, sunlit patch of green grass from which I had a wonderful view.

A Sunny Winter Day, oil painting by Valentina Teghillo, showing grass, trees and a hill beneath the open sky.

149.
A Sunny Winter Day
Oil on wooden panel
9.4 × 7 in / 24 × 18 cm
25th November 2025

I began the painting using brushes, but then switched to a palette knife, which I used for the remainder of the work.

I really loved the rare sunny afternoon up on the hill. The colours of nature were vivid and varied, and the temperature was very mild.

Phtot showing A Sunny Winter Day, oil painting by Valentina Teghillo, on the easel in front of the landscape on location

Photo taken at the end of the painting session.

Winter Land

When it isn’t pouring with rain, it’s the perfect moment to head outdoors and capture the landscape where I live.

This piece is a study painted in Ystradfawr Nature Reserve. By standing on higher ground, I was able to take in a wider view — from the walking path below to the clouds drifting across the sky.

Oil painting featuring the landscape in Ystradfawr Nature Reserve

148.

Winter land
10 × 7 in / 25.5 × 17.8 cm
Oil on wooden panel
24th November 2025

As the sun began to set, the sky started to display soft pink hues.

Photo showing the finished painting on the easel on location

Photo taken on location

I loved being out there, witnessing the magic of nature.

Returning to the Garden

This time, I have done something completely new for me: a commission based on a painting I made over the summer.

It features the garden pot on the steps that lead from the patio to the lawn in our garden, encapsulating the joy and happiness that our first few months of gardening have brought us.

Working from a previous plein air piece of mine as a reference, and noticing how different the approach was, was truly a new adventure for me. It is, in fact, a reinterpretation of something I have already experienced, but with a fresh, updated twist, allowing me the freedom to alter and adjust it according to my current perspective.

I really enjoyed the process and learnt so much from it.

Oil painting by Valentina Teghillo featuring a garden pot and some stone steps

147.
Returning to the Garden
29.7 x 21 cm / 11.7 x 8.3 in
Oil on wooden panel
12th November 2025

Below, you can see the painting process divided into three stages: drawing, blocking in, and refined painting.

Photo showing the first drawing stage of the painting.

Stage 1

Photo showing the phase where I blocked in every area of the painting

Stage 2

Photo showing the finished painting next to the one I used as a reference

Stage 3

Autumn on the Moors

Autumn on the Moors is a small plein-air painting capturing the wild character of the higher ground, where wind, sun, clouds, and marsh grass create the atmosphere of untouched beauty.

It was painted on a glorious autumnal day in the Ystradgynlais area, in an alla prima style.

I was drawn to the spot because I wanted to enjoy the good weather after many days of rain.

Autumn on the Moors is an oil landscape painting by Valentina Teghillo

145.
Autumn on the Moors
6.1 × 7.7 in / 15.5 × 19.5 cm
Oil on wooden panel
8th November 2025

Here you can get a glimpse of the environment I was working in.

Photo taken at the end of the painting session on the Moors in Ystradfawr Nature Reserve. It shows the painting on the easel in front of the wild nature.

It is a landscape painting with a focus on the clouds above the land.

The two people in the photo really were there — quite an unusual sight up there.

THREE AUTUMNAL PEARS

I decided to paint this still life for a few reasons:

It’s been raining for some time, and the weather outdoors is awful.
I fancied eating some pears, and they inspired me when I saw them in Tesco.
I thought they’d make a good painting subject.

So, I used my last available painting surface — a canvas board that had been lying around for a few months.

I normally paint on wooden panels, as I prefer them to canvas for plein air painting, but in this case it worked well for a still life.

Oil painting by Valentina Teghillo featuring three pears on a blue plate and pink table

144.
Three Autumnal Pears
11.8 x 11.8 in / 30 x 30 cm
Oil on canvas panel
26th October 2025

This is the painting on the easel in my studio where the still life was arranged.

Photo taken at the end of the painting session with the artwork on the easel in front of the still life in the studio

It is now available in my shop.

The Country Lane

The Country Lane is an oil painting depicting a lane I discovered a few days ago behind Callwen Church, in the Upper Tawe Valley.

I was drawn to its rural atmosphere and the gentle, meandering course of the little road winding through this peaceful countryside.

The country lane, oil painting by Valentina Teghillo

143.
The Country Lane
10 x 8 in / 25.5 x 20.5 cm
Oil on panel
19th October 2025

I like it when the colours reflect those found in real life.

Photo at the end of the painting session on location

Trees and sunlight

Trees and Sunlight is an oil painting that was started on location and completed in the studio.

It depicts a group of trees bordering a field in Ystradfawr Nature Reserve, captured in the afternoon when the sun was shining brightly on their foliage and the surrounding grass.

This strong backlighting created an atmospheric glow behind the trees in the foreground. As I was painting contre-jour, I found it difficult to see my panel clearly, so I worked en plein air as much as possible before finishing the piece in the studio, relying on my visual memory.

I particularly enjoyed the warm sunshine and loved capturing the light as it touched the still-green leaves and grass.

142.
Trees and sunlight
8 x 10 in / 20.5 x 25.5 cm
Oil on panel
13th October 2025

Photo taken on location.

SEPTEMBER STRADA EASEL CHALLENGE

September has quite literally been a challenge, as I took part in the Strada Easel Challenge.

It meant creating one painting from life every single day throughout the month — and I ended up with a full collection of 30 artworks.

I took on this challenge to push myself through an intensive painting practice, to keep learning and growing, and ultimately to create a brand-new collection of paintings that I hope you’ll enjoy.

30 paintings created during the Strada Easel September 2025 Challenge by Valentina Teghillo.
© Valentina Teghillo

You can view and purchase them on my website via this link.

SUMMER GARDEN

Summer Garden represents the peak of our first year of gardening, when the plants and flowers we planted earlier in the year reveal their full summer beauty.

In this alla prima oil painting, I wanted to capture what I think is the nicest part of the garden (for now), thanks to the slightly curved stone steps that lead from the patio to the lawn.

The corner they form with the short back wall is the perfect spot for this terracotta-coloured pot. Its delicate, slightly pinkish flowers are pretty little bursts of colour that bring joy to the viewer.

The cast shadows and the brightly sunlit parts of the wall added that extra touch of interest and gave me the inspiration to capture the scene as quickly as possible.

Summer garden is an oil painting by Valentina Teghillo featuring a garden pot on some stone steps.

146.
Summer Garden
29.7 x 21 cm / 11.7 x 8.3 in
Oil on wooden panel
31st August 2025

Here are a few photos taken at the end of the painting session.

In this monochrome photo of the painting in situ, you can see the different values of colours composi

A monochrome photo of the painting

Finished painting on the easel in front of the subject

Photo taken at the end of the painting session.

Porcelain English Springer Spaniel

Porcelain English Springer Spaniel is a small still life featuring a little dog figurine of an English Springer Spaniel.

111
Porcelain English Springer Spaniel
3.9 x 6.5 in / 10 x 16.5 cm
oil on panel
27th August 2025

I loved the fact it represents a dog dear to me and a precious object, plus its colours and reflections.

The painting next to the figurine

In the shade of the old Oak tree

In the shade of the old Oak tree is another oil painting from Ystradfawr Nature Reserve. I really liked the big Oak tree with its lush green colour and the shade it offered.

110.
In the shade of the old Oak tree
8 x 10 in / 20.5 x 25.5 cm
oil on panel
25th August 2025

Photo showing the finished painting in front of the tree

Down the valley, Ystradgynlais

Down the valley, Ystradgynlais is a landscape oil painting featuring Ystradgynlais from above.

109.
Down the valley, Ystradgynlais
6.7 x 8.5 in / 16.9 x 21.5 cm
oil on panel
24th August 2025

Photo at the end of the day with the painting on the easel

Looking down Swansea Valley

Looking down Swansea Valley is the result of walking up the hill and discovering a stunning view.

108
Looking down Swansea Valley
8.3 x 11.7 in / 29.7 x 21.1 cm
oil on panel
22nd August 2025

It features two hills: Mynydd Allt y Grug on the right and Varteg on the left.

Photo at the end of the painting session

Fresh water

Inspired by the water, I decided to paint it again in this sunny day.

107.
Fresh water
11.7 x 8.3 in / 29.7 x 21.1 cm
oil on panel
21st August 2025

Finished painting on the easel next to the subject

The water stream

The water stream is an alla prima painting that tries to capture the water stream movement and reflections during a dull afternoon in Ystradfawr Nature Reserve.

106.
The water stream
20.4 x 25.4 cm
oil on panel
20th August 2025

This is the first attempt to paint water in movement and I like it.

Real stream next to the painting

Towards the Brecon Beacons

Towards the Brecon Beacons is an oil painting featuring a field in the farming grounds of Ystradfawr Nature Reserve. It is a field that attracted be for its being surrounded by trees and looking towards the mountains of the Brecon Beacons.

105.
Towards Brecon Beacons
6.1 x 13.1 in / 15.5 x 33.3 cm
oil on panel
19th August 2025

Photo taken of the finished painting in situ

The old tree

The old tree features a majestic beautiful tree in Ystradfawr Nature Reserve near the gate at the end of a farming field.

I was intrigued by the play of light and reflections on the ground and on the tree trunk.

104.
The old tree
11.7 x 8.3 in / 29.7 x 21.1 cm
oil on panel
17th August 2025

Photo taken at the end of the painting session

Evening fluttering clothes

Evening fluttering clothes is another oil painting inspired by the summer windy evening when my clothes were drying in the garden. I loved their free movement and I tried to capture it with paint.