This is a view I have painted before, but never taking in such a wide panorama. It was done during a quiet break from my commercial work, in March 2018. I was longing to do something for myself and revisit Venice so I did so in my mind for a few days and produced this studied watercolour.

It is one of the great ‘stage set’ views of the world and one that Canareggio couldn’t resist either. But in this I have tried to capture the scene as I remember it. There was a boat with a team standing and rowing forwards, pausing as a gondola is about to come under the bridge ahead of them. And a man with a camera on a tripod. I don’t know why, I’m just the artist. It may not be completely correct but it’s not a commissioned painting so I’m happy enough to have enjoyed the experience! It can live in my studio and remind me of past travels.

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I promised myself this year that I would submit some paintings into public exhibitions, not just my own. This was partly to make myself try to paint to a higher standard, or at least try harder! So I painted this view of St.Mark’s Square and entered it for the RBSA (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists) Open Summer Exhibition. To my surprise and delight it was accepted!
But why this view? It is one I have tackled before on several occasions, but this interpretation is to capture a flash of sunlight after rain, hence some reflections and a rather abstract feeling of wetness. The figures are shadowy and vague, all is suggested but I am trying to be less literal than usual and concentrate on atmosphere through half-closed eyes. I was quite pleased with the painting. My test before submitting to open exhibitions is “Does it excite me? Have I succeeded technically? Does it tell a story?” If these answers are positive then I have fulfilled my brief. So even if it is not accepted I have pushed myself forwards which is worthwhile. The RBSA exhibition is now over, but I will try others this year.

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I wanted to paint something really bright and sunny again this week as our summer is a long time coming. So I’ve revisited an old favourite haunt in Venice, the square dominated by the Church of Saint Barnabas,  which has found fame in popular culture by being used in the film Indiana Jones and the SomethingorOther, you know, the one with Sean Connery as his Dad. Anyway I found enough photos and drawings from old sketchbooks to put this picture together. But before I start I always do a ‘compositional’ pencil sketch to think a few things out in advance.

In this case it helped me sort out the sunshine and shadows and where to perhaps put figures and maybe a gondola on the canal. After finishing the sketch I liked the rythm of the composition, even though the gondolier is too big. (The pencil sketch is only about 4″ wide).

Unusually I have used masking fluid, a sort of rubber solution, to keep the paint off the white facade of the church whilst doing a nice loose wash of blue across the sky.

Masking tends to give a crisp edge which in this case  helps the atmosphere in the painting which is clear and bright.

I started by painting the (slightly leaning) campanile to give me a benchmark of tone which which to compare the strength of tones and shadows to come. Then I continued area by area ensuring the shadows were related in colour and strength, all the time bearing in mind the feeling I was after of midday light in Venice at this time of year which is SUNGLASSES BRIGHT but don’t we love it!

And here I am having just cut a rather indulgent mount with a small gold fillet inserted within. But Venice is indulgent and this painting is one that may make you hum ‘Just one Cornetto’ afterwards.

Am I pleased with it? Well perhaps the drawing and some of the figures are rather ‘static’, but then the atmosphere is supposed to be that time of day where you just feel like wandering slowly and maybe stopping for a cold beer under a cafe umbrella and watching the world go by. So it gives me back the feeling I wanted and that’s the most important thing for me.

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Yes I know it’s a mouthful as a title, but it explains why this painting looks blustery, wet and cool! I remember going for a run before breakfast on one trip to Venice, in March. It was damp and mouldy, but quite atmospheric. I painted this view in acrylics on board, unusual for me, but as a warm-up sketch for a watercolour. I like it as it is though, and will put it in my Autumn show.

More acrylics on the way I think.

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Busy with artist’s impressions last week, but I managed to get going on this oil painting, which is as yet unfinished.

I love the freedom of oils, and the subtlety of tone and colour, but I’m not very experienced with them.

A mysterious subject such as this is perfect for experimentation, as the painting is all about atmosphere and suggestion. Maybe I’ll finish it next week.

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I finished painting this watercolour today; there’s a bit more fiddling about with the gondolas in the foreground, but it’s finished in the sense that it’s now best left alone! Am I pleased with it? As much as I ever am with a painting. It’s worked for me as a whole, and that’s the most important thing. The light is supposed to be the last sunlight of the day, and I aimed for a very calm atmosphere.

The sea is not easy to paint in watercolour; and the lack of reflection in the water is deliberate. In Venice the lagoon is part of the sea, and it almost never is still enough to make reflections of the buildings. The foreground is busy enough that I wanted to keep simplicity in the water texture.

Should I have made the gondolas darker? Maybe, but I didn’t want to draw too much attention from the main focus of the painting; the shadow across the entrance to the church of San Giorgio Maggiore. So I kept the foreground soft, and put the lamp on the left to balance the tower as part of the composition.

One of the reasons I love painting Venice so much, is that I feel as though I am back there again for much of the time.

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I painted the picture over two days, and used only four colours; yellow ochre, burnt umber, light red and prussian blue. I wanted a ‘simple’ colour scheme that expressed the atmosphere of Venetian architecture. The painting isn’t really about colour; its about composition, light and reflections. I enjoyed doing it, and am reasonably pleased with it. (I don’t always like my paintings when I’m finished).

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