Venice - Sunday 8th May 2005

This is the day I spent taking nearly 70 photos of Venice - so lots of photos and only one drawing I'm afraid. But it was sunny all day!

I was up and out of our hotel near the Ca D'Or in Cannaregio just after 6.30am and walked down to St Marks Square, and got there just as the bells were chiming 7 o'clock. This is a photo I took in the next few minutes with the early morning light just touching the basilica. One of a few possible/probable reference shots for future paintings - I like the fact you can actually see the building without all hordes of people who are there just a couple of hours later. Bit of a challenge for the use of muted neutrals!

I then found one of the places where you can take one of the all time classic shots of Venice - the gondolas near the Dogana, looking across to San Georgio Maggiore - the monastery island. I've got a possible crop in mind for this one - the trick will be finding a new way with an established view - which is one of the challenges of painting in Venice.

A little while later the Sensa passed the same spot. This is the ceremony of Venice's marriage with the sea - and involves a lot of boats rowing out to the Lido! Here are some of them. This is not unlike the Vogalonga which happens a week later. Then a trip out to the Lido on the vaporetto and here is just one(!) of the photos of the entrance to the Grand Canal coming back. I'm still trying to work out which view of the Salute (left of the picture) I like the best.



Then new painting buddie and I went for lunch at Harry's Bar and I did a rather bad sketch of the Dogana (custom house at the entrance to the Gran Canal) in pen and ink while trying out the obligatory Bellini. The Dogana is just in front of the Salute (the dome shaped building in adjacent photos). The really interesting bits of this are what I had to eat (bottom left - veal ravioli and John Dory) and the rain spatters (which don't seem to be showing up too well) - of which more later!

Then we walked off lunch and window shopped! And ended up at the Accademia bridge. And looked at the Salute from the other way on!

And then we wended our way slowly back to our hotel - No 1 vaporetto (the slow one which stops at all the stops) up the Grand Canal.

And then on Monday.........the weather changed!

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Venice