I painted this in Venice behind the State Archive, just by the Frari church.
Tag Archives: venice
Doorway in Venice
An old door in Venice. Unearthed in my studio archaeological dig.
Nightfall in Venice
From my trip to Venice last year. Excavated it today in my semi-successful studio cleanup effort.
Campo in Venice
Here we are on Mardi Gras- no plans to do anything, but in Venice, Carnavale is in full swing. Here’s one from my trip there I hadn’t posted yet.
Rialto at Night
Venice at night, just as a light autumn rain began to fall. Several monuments were under construction including the Rialto bridge, whose scaffolding was wrapped in a Guess ad.
Canalscape
A secret garden on a quiet canal in Venice.
San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice
Seen from the Molo across the water. Ah, Venice. This is my last picture from the trip, except two from Rome that I’m iffy about. To celebrate, I’m going to replicate a supper we ate there- pasta alla norma followed by chicken milanese (basically a breaded chicken cutlet.) And plot my next trip!
Il Redentore
Palladio’s famous church on La Giudecca. This is one of the views I especially wanted to paint in Venice, because I wanted to feel the connection to art history and the veduta tradition that originated here.
On a Dock, Venice
Piazza San Marco, Venice
I was absolutely fascinated by the acqua alta, or high water in the lower streets in Venice. It laid out for me the engineering feat that building this city was- and the ongoing challenges as well. Not sure how to express this sentiment but I’ll try- even though it’s surpassingly beautiful, the sheer will, determination, and stubbornness of the long ago Venetians to build a city in the water impresses me even more.
St Mark’s, Venice
There’s a lot of history in St Mark’s, a lot of birds, and a lot of tourists!
In old paintings of Venice, Piazza San Marco is full of promenading aristocrats. Now, of course, there are selfie sticks and Indian men selling light up helicopter things.
Even though Venice is seriously threatened by rising sea levels, it struck me that the crowds of people are a lot more ephemeral. Most of them are just here for a few days- St Mark’s Basilica has been here 1000 years. And still, as you can see, under construction.
Acqua Alta, Piazza San Marco
I just got back from a 2 week painting trip to Italy, which was beautiful. There was a lot of weather, which is a nice change coming from sunny California- though there’s only so much painting anyone can do in pouring rain.
I was really taken with the acqua alta or high water in Venice, especially in Piazza San Marco. Hardy souls with galoshes or wet feet splashed through it, but my goal was to keep my feet dry. That was not an easy task, because some of the streets were flooded too.
Here’s Piazza San Marco, flooded in sun. I also saw it flooded in rain and with puddles at night- as well as dry in all kinds of weather.
And yes- it’s not a very accurate drawing. I shortened the campanile to fit on the panel, among other things.