Venice Crossroads

Venice Crossroads, 30x30, oil on linen

This painting was in a somewhat completed state last February.  I have sat on it all this time wondering how to finish it. Sometimes one just has to put a painting away until you are ready for it or it is ready for you. This was not an easy painting for me but I was really attracted to the scene for all the repetitive shapes as well as the activity. So many ways to go in and out of the alleys in Venice.

I actually did more work on this than I had thought was needed as once I get going I see more areas that need attention. I started in the shadows leading the viewer in. I darkened it down a notch or two and added more details though still trying to keep it simplified. Just enough to have some interest as you go into the painting and to also lead the eye in to the visual motion I was going for. That made a huge difference. So I went into the interior and deepened some colors and lightened others. I was in a groove so it did not take me that long once I figured out what it was that needed doing. It is such a good feeling when that happens.

This is my second Venice painting from my two days spent there wandering the alleyways. I sure loved every minute of it and hope to go back and explore other areas of the city. We were staying in the area that is called Cannaregio. It is the old Jewish Quarter and is on the outer rim of the city to the northwest. Across the Lagoon from our vaporetta stop is Murano, where the glass factories are. So we stayed pretty much on that side of the Grand Canal.

Venice Laundry blog post. This painting has sold.