Squero di San Trovaso

 Squero di San Trovaso is one of the places I always return to when I am in Venice. New gondolas are built here and gondolas are repaired and serviced here too. It always has a lot going on...and I love all the bits and pieces that can be found there. 

Sitting by the Canal

 Thud is a fun spot to sketch from. There are always people sitting and watching the activity in the canal. There aren’t a lot of spots where you can sit unless you want to sit at a table and eat or drink. This couple was there for a long time, and left just as I was almost finished painting them. Then I added in all the other details.

Spritz by the Canal

 There is a spot near the Rialto Bridge that has tables outside where you can have drinks and snacks. It overlooks a gondola service area. I was able to get a table up front and ordered a spritz to have while I sketched. The glass had an olive on a skewer that I took out and put on the table. As I was sketching a big seagull landed on the table, snatched the olive, and flew away with it.

Venice 2024 - Part 8 - Arched View, Squero di San Trovaso, Ferrovia

 There are a lot of views hidden at the end of meandering streets like this one.

While I was in Venice I tried my best to post to creativespark.art and do the scavenger hunts. 

This sketch was done for one of the hunts. It is the stove in our apartment and was done on my iPad with Procreate.

The next sketch is one of my favorite places in Venice. It is the Squero di San Trovaso, a landmark 17th century boatyard that builds and services wooden gondolas. There is usually some activity going on that is fun to watch. Of course the gondola I started to sketch first (the prominent one nearly in the center) was finished. The work had been done and they carefully put in into the canal and it was gone! Luckily I had enough of the details and a photo to help me finish that gondola.

A few days before we were leaving I went over to Ferrovia (the train station) to get our tickets for the trip back from Venice to Milan. After booking the tickets I came outside and was attracted to the view across the Grand Canal and the people sitting and standing on the steps of the train station. One lady must have been really tired from her commute. She was leaning against her suitcase resting her head.

Venice 2024 - Part 7 - Basilica delle Frari, Gondolas, More Gondolas, Orange Building

We had another rainy day in Venice. I headed over to the Basilica delle Frari which was about a 15 minute walk from us. The churches provide a lovely, dry place to visit. The Basilica delle Frari is a beautiful church with several lovely altars and off to the side a small room with a chapel and a wall sculpture by Toscano called the "Monumento a Frederico Corner." I used watercolor pencils, graphite, watercolors and ink in this sketch.

Later in the afternoon I went down to the Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge. I sketched this mostly in a continuous line, and then added a bit of watercolor wash.

I like sketching gondolas. Most of the ones that are parked are covered so you really can't see the intricate detail on the inside of the boats where the passengers sit. The uncovered ones usually have passengers and they don't stay put in one spot. I was sitting on one of the aqua alta platforms near the vaporetto stop. It was a little more comfortable than my stool and I had a place to rest my painting supplies.

Another day I went to the Accademia stop on the vaporetto. I headed for the Arcobaleno Pigmenti shop that I have stopped at on several of my trips to Venice. They have beautiful natural pigments that they sell to make paints from. In addition they have journals and sketchbooks, sealing wax, paintbrushes, and assorted other beautiful things. I always feel good when I stop there. I bought a new watercolor brush in a larger size that is the same brand that I bought there last year.

After shopping I walked a bit and found a wide piazza along the canal. I started this painting but only got about halfway done before it started raining again. I put it in my backpack, headed home, and then went back the next day to finish it.

Venice 2024 - Part 3 - Piazza, Near Home, La Salute, Across the Canal

 One morning I found a piazza that I hadn't been to before. They were having some sort of reunion and by the time I finished this sketch there were a lot of people around, many with small children. When I started it was rather quiet.

I didn't have much time for a sketch this particular morning because I was meeting my brother and sister-in-law. They were leaving on a cruise of the Adriatic the following day. I found a spot near the apartment and did a quick, direct watercolor painting in a small sketchbook.

One of my favorite churches in Venice is La Salute, or actually Santa Maria della Salute. It is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located at the Punta della Dogana in the Dorsoduro sestiere. Both last year and this year the exterior is covered for construction work. However the exterior work doesn't diminish the beautiful interior. It was starting to drizzle so I thought I made a wise selection for sketching. I sat on a bench and sketched a portion of the ornate decorations over one of the altars. 

I seem to have timed things right because as I was finishing up services were starting at that altar, so I enjoyed the choir and the prayers for a while.

Another day I returned to the same area. I walked down along the Punta della Dogana and sketched the view across the Grand Canal. In the background of the sketch is the San Marco Basillica. (This way I didn't have to sketch the whole thing. lol) This spot on the canal is busy with a vaporetto stop with boats coming and going, many gondolas taking people for rides, and a few Alilaguna boats that travel in the Venetian lagoon taking people to their hotels or to some of the other islands. I used artistic license to leave out a lot of the activity going on there.

Venice 2024 - Part 2 - Bridge to Cross, Gondolas, Cafe in Campo San Polo, Trattoria Dona Onesta

Sketching in Venice is always fun. There is a new view every time you turn around...like this one. 

The afternoon I painted this was iffy...it had been sprinkling earlier so I wanted to be in a covered area. I found a spot just at the edge of the Rialto Fish Market. It was empty because the fish market closes by 1:00. I was under the structure so all I had to worry about was putting my materials and backpack on the wet ground. There was this wonderful view of these gondolas that actually were near the stop for the traghetti, the gondolas that go straight from one side of the Grand Canal to the other side for a quick way to get across.

This cafe is located in Campo San Polo where our apartment was located. It is a good place to have capuccino in the morning, but these ladies were there for lunch and were having something a bit stronger than coffee. When they were leaving I showed them the sketch and thanked them for being such good models. They loved the sketch and asked if they could take a photo of it.

Sometimes when I'm walking around I pass something so colorful that I have to stop, like this trattoria with all the signs hanging on the wall. My Daniel Smith transparent pyrrol orange paint came in very handy on this trip.

Gondola at Rest

 

Nearby there are always some gondolas at rest on the Grand Canal like this one.

Virtual Sketch from Venice

It was a rainy day so I stayed inside and joined #VirtalSketch to do some sketching along the canals in Venice. Last year at this time I was actually there for the entire month of April. I guess this will have to do. I ended up at Squero San Trovaso, the gondola boatyard along the Rio San Troveso. This was done with a brush pen and watercolors.

I also took part in Sketchbook Revival this month. One of the lessons involved creating Layered Pages. Some people used their pages inside books, but I decided I would use them for covers for a sketchbook (which I will have to work on). Thanks to Kellee Wyneee Conrad for the lessons! Here are the outside and inside covers I made using gesso, acrylic paint, stencils, and collage.

Walls and Boatyards

I am looking through my paintings of Venice for ones that I haven't yet posted. I love the statue on the wall and all the greenery.

There are a few places where they work on gondolas. This was a new one I found. I love the white gondola.