Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Yesterday afternoon I walked into a store and it was raining, I walked out and everything was wonderful again in Venice.  So I raced home and painted the canal from the pier,  first to the east (this is not the first time) and then St. Lucy to the west.   I don't dare paint today because if I do then I'll never go home,  and I'm attempting to go home tomorrow.      lesley

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

More rain,  more working boats

Monday, October 25, 2010

Rain, wind and cold,  painted from the window of the apartamento.  Unfortunately,  the paintings capture the rain, wind and cold and don't present well.   So,  here is an earlier painting of the Canal Grande from one of my windows.....

and another quick color study from another window  .......

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Venice Marathon today. 

They build a floating  bridge overnight between the Dogana and San Marco.  Boat traffic is extremely restricted because it creates a lot of wobbley movement on the bridge.

In the men's race,  Kenya won,  Ethiopia came in 2nd.  In the women's race,  Ethiopia won,  Kenya came in second. 

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Now it really is getting cold.   Went to Burano early today,  needed to replace the Moretti cookies I bought to take home to Keith.  I love them.  I ate them.  So now I have more..... ... 
While I was there

  ......

Friday, October 22, 2010

One more visit to the fish market,  this time from the pier off Calle de Traghetto

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Wow,  I'll be flying home by this time next week.    But today,  San Barnaba

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

I forced myself to get out of bed early this morning.  It's been cold,  and so I have avoided the 5 am. flirtation with Venice,  but this morning I got back on the 5:15 a.m. vaporetto to San Marco.  I love the experience of going out early in the morning and I wanted to see if the same time and same place would get me different results.  There is a great similarity of course,  same place,  same four gondolas in the foreground,  I wanted to stage the similarity,  but there were fast moving low clouds and that changed the colors to violets and pinks.

And I met the "Official Measurer".  He came on a bicycle,  his crew walked,  and he had "Official Measurer" printed in big letters on his jacket.  He also had a tape measure.   He is in charge of telling his crew where to locate the risers for acqua alta every day that it is necessary to place them..   And apparently the crew reinstalls the risers twice a day,  and then dismantles them twice a day,  every day during acqua alta.  And they bring in the wood for planks by boat every day,  twice a day,  and they take the wood away again,  by boat.    It's a process..   This morning I was painting when they came,  and I was exactly in their planned path,  I didn't realize it,  but they did.  So the Official Measurer rerouted the risers and ordered more risers and more planks (after taking out his tape measure and measuring) so that  they would not obstruct my view or cause me to move.  The resulting riser path slithered around in a backward S like the Grand Canal for 12 feet so that I would not need to move.   It was something.   

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Was going to San Barnaba and stopped at the market.  I had looked at this before and couldn't find a proper painting,  but today it was ready to be painted.

Monday, October 18, 2010

I thought,  why not a study of working boats in Venice,  so here's the beginning of my working boat study series .... includes an ambulanza (parked),  a UPS boat,  a police boat and a garbage boat.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

The rain came today,  and with the rain,  the wind,  the cold and the high water.  Perhaps it is just a
temporary condition.    For now,  a small interior,  looking at the Canal Grande from my kitchen.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

To be able to return again to the same spot,  so again Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo

Friday, October 15, 2010

back to Burano

Thursday, October 14, 2010

San Giovanni et Paolo

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Finally,  a painting of my apartamento painting from the Riva di Biasio across the Grand Canal.  The apartamento is in the farthest building on the right (for the viewer) and then look to the  four windows on the top floor.

Monday, October 11, 2010

San Marco .... despite flooding,  billboards and construction,  still a painting

Sunday, October 10, 2010

the fish market

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Burano

Friday, October 8, 2010

Vegetable market...campo San Leonardo.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Cloudy day at the Rialto bridge ....

                        

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Early morning at San Marco series,  looking towards San Giorgio Maggiore.  Every morning happens differently.  On October 6, 2010,  this is how it looked as the sun came up.

                                                        

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

the Cannaregio canal

Monday, October 4, 2010

Went to Barry and Jacqui's old neighborhood.  Actually I was in search of the Alessandra Rosetti house,   found it and then wandered over to the market on via Garibaldi

.                                     

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Not much time to paint,  going to la Fenice today to hear La Traviata.  They tell me I have the cheap seats and
seeing is probably a non-event.    Last night I painted from my private pier on the Grand Canal.

                                                      

Saturday, October 2, 2010

October 2 was my mother's birthday,  so three elderly ladies sitting in the Campo de la Maddelena


                                                              

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Just a quick color study at 6 am from the Accademia bridge looking towards Salute.

                
    and  earlier that morning

          

                

Wednesday, september 29

Here is a view from the terrazza abitabile panoramica,  yes,  mine for the next 30 days,  an exquisite terrazza   on the Grand Canal,  wonderful for painting unless it is aqua alta,  then painting is prohibitive.   

                         

september 28, in a palazzo on the Grand Canal

It was a beautiful day,  however,  now I can't remember how to upload an image or even how to post to this blog.   If this continues this will remain a very dull blog spot.    Lesley

preparing for Venice

Thinking about painting and drawing and about drawing and painting gondolas and traghettos.

Prompted by Sherrie Levine

Don't know yet how this will work,  but in less than two weeks I'm off to Venice again.  Staying

until October 28,  the second part of that time I'll be in an apartment in a palazzo on the Grand Canal   ....

so maybe a blog is in order.    Or maybe this will be the first and last posting if my postcards that never get mailed are any indication.