Venetian Painting Notes

Venetian Painting Notes

Last month in Venice I was hunting and not just painting. I was hunting empty spots, light effects and non your typical scenes. Mostly I was hunting for the best painting in each of Venice’s distinct neighborhoods called sestiere in local dialect.

Afternoon Light at the End of a Canal, Venice
Oil on Paper (mounted)
12 x 9″
$450 | Available

This was a magical little dead end canal and the perfect place to set up an easel where no one could find you and it was just a few blocks (or should I say canals?) from the Peggy Guggenheim collection.A woman came out of her door to watch for awhile and interrupted to ask why I didn’t go to a few more well known spots nearby where there were much prettier things to paint.To me this was perfect and the Madonna statue perched at the top of the wall delicately covered with her own small roof just spoke to me of Venice.

 

On the Canal Behind Campo Santo Stefano, Venice
Oil on Paper
12 x 9″

SOLD

In this spooky and magical town, one never minds being lost. Navigating my way through the dark canals, eerily silent was like walking back in time. This is and always will be the fascination with Venice.While I only had the chance to paint for a few days, those days were filled with wonder and excitement. The light in Venice is dramatically different from that of Rome. It is soft and reflecting the water all around. There are deep rich darks from the black gondolas, green water and rusty red buildings, colors that I wasn’t used to mixing at all. A challenge and a delight, Venice seems to have been made for painters and I can’t wait to get back in October.