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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

San Giorgio Maggiore Sunrise & Buildings by the Park




The first painting was done near the Gardini vaporetto stop along the Grand Canal. These buildings overlooked a small park.
The second painting was done from San Marco Square looking towards San Giorgio Maggiore. I started it when it was still fairly dark and worked on it as the sun rose. I was also taking photos of the sunrise, so I would paint a little, and then take a few photos, paint a little, etc.








Sunday, September 26, 2010

Canal Entry and Pellestrina View




Those crumbling builings along the canal were among my favorite things to paint. "Canal Entry" is 4 x 6.
I took a ride by bus to Pellestrina. You get on the bus at Lido and ride to the end of that island. Then the bus drives onto a ferry for a 10 minute ride to the island of Pellestrina. Then the bus will take you all the way through the island of Pellestrina. It was a long ride, and I don't think it was really worth all the time. I somehow missed the scenic part of town. I walked over to the beach which had super clear water. "Pellestrina View" was painted from the beach looking back toward the town.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Venetian Buildings


The first painting is titled "Along the San Trovaso." This is one of the few grassy areas in the center of Venice. The second painting is "Pellestrina View." Pellestrina is an area outside of the center of Venice. I had to take a vaporetto to Lido, a bus to the end of Lido, and then a ferry across to Pellestrina. It had lovely clear water at the beach but I didn't find much open. Apparently the center of the town was a stop or two before I got off. This was the view from where I was sitting on the beach.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Ringwood State Park



Here is a little break from Venice. On Monday my sister and I went to Ringwood State Park in Ringwood, NJ for a plein air day. It was cooler and windier than we expected, so we did small paintings (4 x 6) in case we got too cold. The first one is of the marsh area around the pond, which had lovely colors in the grasses and reeds. The second is of one of the cottages on the grounds.



Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Bridges and Arches



Here are two more of my Venice paintings. I really like the arch in the building on the bottom with the laundry hanging in the middle. I saw that scene many times while passing by on the vaporetto, and finally I decided to stop and paint it. These are 4 x 6.

Monday, September 20, 2010

More Scenes of Venice





This top 4 x 6 painting was done along the Ria della Salute is located. It was just around the corner from La Salute Church. The bottom painting was of Fondamente e Ponte del Albero. Venice has such charming architecture.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Canalside Lovelies

The views along the canals in Venice are all so different. The first painting, "Rio Tera' San Toma" shows one of the rooftop gardens that I saw so often. This is 4 x 6.
If the lighting is right you can sometimes get almost a perfect reflection of the bridges like in the second painting, "Fondamente Contarini." A fondamente
is basically a walkway along the canal. Some of them have them but many of them do not.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Italian Restaurants




There were a lot of very scenic restaurants in Venice, most of which we didn't eat in. I loved the location of the first one (Restaurant Ivo) near the bridge. The second painting is of Antica Tratoria Posto Vecchio. (How is that for a name?) I took photos of it the last time we were in Venice too. I love those red and white striped poles in front.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Recent WDE Paintings







No, I'm not finished posting the paintings of Venice. I know if I don't post these now, I'll forget them. These were done for the WetCanvas Weekend Drawing Events for the last two weekends. It was a big adjustment to do people rather than buildings.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Squero San Trovaso & Gondolas Waiting




Did you ever realize that gondolas have to be constantly serviced...as often as once a month? The first painting is of Squero San Trovaso which is a boatyard that caters to repairing and maintaining gondolas. It is right on the canal and the gondolas are pulled right into the boatyard. It looked os strange, and I thought it looked like it was a set for a movie. The day I painted it was very cloudy and I knew rain was on the way, so I sat in the doorway of a business that was closed for vacation. All was good for a while, but then it started drizzling, and finally pouring. When it started to pour I was afraid that the rain would bounce up to my painting which was in my lap. So I stood up and scrunched back into a corner to continue. Finally it was raining so hard that I couldn't see across the canal, so I packed up, put up my umbrella, and raced to the nearest covered portico. It continued raining hard so I just opened my painting stool, and sat down and finished the painting. I was determined to paint no matter what.
The second painting was done near the Realto bridge. I think it is one of my favorite paintings that I did in Venice. What do you think?

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Lido Restaurant & Shopping in Venice







The first painting was done of a restaurant on the island of Lido, where the film festival takes place each year. That is also where the beach in in Venice. The second paintign is of the souvineer stalls along the water near St. Mark's Square. I had seen a similar painting that someone did in a book of Venice sketches and had to look around to see where to get a good view. It was fun to try to paint a crowd.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Lido Lady




This was painted on the island of Lido in the Venetian lagoon. I was definitely attracted to those canopies over the windows on the terraces.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Venice Architecture




Every corner of Venice is a treat, either lovely colors, flowers, or crumbling buildings. Then there are the gondolas and other boats traveling back and forth. There were so many choices to paint. The bottom painting was done from the other side of the Grand Canal and is of the Hotel Bauer. I only got to see it from the outside.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Enjoying Lido





















In addition to painting, I did find a beach on the island of Lido (where the Venice Film Festival is held). Lido is a barrier island for the Venetian Lagoon. The first two painting are of the vendors who on the beach. One was selling kites and the other was selling drinks and snacks. The last painting is of a stand near the public beach. I had to paint those firey colors. The beach on Lido wasn't very scenic. I am used to dunes as you well know, but the Adriatic Sea is so warm! I spent a lot of time in the water.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Venice Canal Scenes




Ciao!!! I am home from Venice, and can you believe it... I miss the canals and the bridges. You would think I would have had enough after a month and a half. lol I still have many paintings to post, so please keep coming back. I think in total I did about 80 postcard sized paintings, a few tall narrow ones, and a few 7 x 10. It was definitely a productive trip. I hope to be able to catch up on everyone else's blogs shortly.