I like finding a scene that has a bit of a different view. This was sketched along the Grand Canal past the entrance to St Mark's Square. A small canal juts through between where I was seated and where this restaurant is located. I smiled when I saw the red checkered tablecloths.
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.
This sketch was done over two sessions. I started it on a damp, drizzly day. I was sitting under a fairly well covered area and was doing fine for a while, until it started pouring. Then the ground around me started flooding as the puddles that were already there started growing. I noticed that the bottom of my backpack was actuallysitting in water so I packed up quickly before I had big problems...but the sketch wasn't finished. I went back this week (on a dry day) and finished it. Meanwhile I had to take almost everything out of my backpack so that the backpack and the supplies could dry. Luckily I keep all of the papers I'm using in protective plastic sleeves so they were safe.
I had one small section left in my Hahnemuhle concertina sketchbook and found a great scene to finish the book. There is an area with covered arches near the Rialto Market. One of the arches opens to the Grand Canal. The gondolas kept going down the small river across from it so I was able to to sketch the gondola activity based on a few boats that turned into that canal. I am hoping to take photos of all the paintings in this sketchbook and maybe make an iMovie. If I get it done and don't have major problems with it, I will post it here on the blog.
It is hard to resist sketching the doorways along the canals. The tide was really high and part of the door and the steps are cornered with water (aqua alta).
I went off in search for Campo Santa Margarita in the Dorsoduro section of Venice. It was quite a lively location with a lot of bars and restaurants. There were crowds of young people hanging out all around me. I sat down and started sketching a couple. A few minutes later they decided to change tables so I had to look for new models. I’ not sure if this couple was aware that I was sketching them until another couple walking by noticed and commented rather loudly…”it’s that couple there.” My models did stop by a bit later and loved the sketch. Too bad it was still quite a bit away from being finished. (Rule #1 - start sketching the part of the scene that may move away first.)
I wandered and found a spot I hadn’t been to before. A bridge, a walled garden, a staircase, a flag and a canal all converged in one spot. While I was sketching a woman came along and asked if it would be ok if she sat and sketched there too. It was one of her favorite spots. She was originally from southern CA but has been living in Italy for a few years…first in Rome where she got her masters in something to do with the Italian Renaissance. Now she is living in Venice and loves it. We talked for quite a while. Sketching can be more fun with someone to share it with.
The other day we had rain all morning. Finally it seemed to have stopped. I didn’t want to take a chance on getting wet, so I walked over to the San Silvestro vaporetto stop and sat inside the covered waiting area. There are a few seat and the view was pretty good. My paper and I stayed nice and dry.
Many restaurants that are along the canals here have seating outside. It is a nice way to dine and watch the world go by.
An urban sketcher from Paris, Sandrine Sla, who I met at several of the USk Symposiums was in Venice taking a workshop. She and I got together twice in the late afternoon to sketch. We sat at a cafe on the Zattere and sketched Giudecca across the canal. It was nice to have some sketching company. We chatted as the sun was going down.
This and other sketches are inside a concertina sketchbook I’ve been working on. I will try to post the whole thing all together when it is finished.
While I was sketching the section of the building yesterday, tourists were constantly blocking my view so I sketched them separately.
Daily life in Venice often starts with coffee and then some grocery shopping usually in the other side of at least one bridge.
Near the S. Angelo vaporetto stop there is a hotel entrance from the Grand Canal with these red and white striped poles. What a pretty welcome!
Every once in a while I come across gardens and greenery in Venice. It is a nice contrast to the stone and plaster.
I like roaming around Venice until something catches my eye. The hanging laundry and the bridge did that. The gondola was a bonus!
There are a lot of views hidden at the end of meandering streets like this one.
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.
I love the colors of the doorways in Venice. This one I found in a small courtyard. I just followed the street to see what was there and it appeared in front of me.
