A close-up look at the beautiful flowers of north-central Italy is ours with Tuscany Holiday, an original  painting by Gail Eckberg of Norfolk, MA.

The painting's title is a perfect fit: The work captures the brilliance of fields of sunflowers as seen while traveling from one medieval, mountaintop town to another.

As a teaching artist who often tries to find new ways of creating traditional art, Gail employed a unique technique to create the piece: "I adhered simple cheesecloth to stretch canvas, then applied acrylic paint."

Having been surrounded by art all her life, Gail teaches art and is an exhibiting member of the Rhode Island Watercolor Society, the Wellesley Society of Artists and the Pastel Painters of Maine. Her award-winning work is available at the Middleboro Art Gallery and the Deer Island (ME) Art Association, as well as at her studio, Galleria of Design in Norfolk.