Painting in Venice – Every Artist’s Dream! How did I do?

Venier dei leoni, Venice oil painting

For many years, I have dreamed of painting in Venice. Well I made that dream come true this April.

Venier dei leoni, Venice oil painting
Venier dei leoni, Venice oil painting

I was determined not to study the Venetian paintings of JMW Turner or John Singer Sargent, and to try and find their vantage points, but just to let myself roam and discover views I wanted to paint, almost by accident.

So I listened to other’s, who had painted there recently, and packed my oil painting gear, into one bag, to go in the hold, and my clothes etc into a cabin bag.

My equipment was exactly the same as I use daily, a 10″ x 12″ pochade box containing about 12 tubes of paint, 2 reds, 3 yellows, 3 blues, plus some earth colours, unbleached titanium, burnt sienna, van dyke brown, and titanium white.  A palette knife, about 4 brushes, a small jar for solvent and a brush cleaning pot (empty). Solvent can’t be taken on a plane as it’s flashpoint is too low. Pigments are fine, but I did take the precaution to include data sheets giving their flashpoints, etc. A camera tripod was also included and some kitchen roll in lieu of rags. 12 Daler canvas boards, and my home made wet panel carrier.

Campo S Felice, Venice oil painting
Campo S Felice, Venice oil painting

I chose a simple hotel near to the waterbus (alilaguna) stop at Ospedale, in a quiet part of Venice, about 15 mins walk from San Marco and the Art shop, where I could buy solvent, as soon as they opened the next day.

Thereafter each day I would go out after breakfast find a spot in the shade and start painting. After a stop for lunch, often a slice of freshly made pizza, and a cold drink, when the sun is too hot and there are no shadows, I would look for my next subject.

Luckily, Venice has no shortage of subjects, surprises lurk round almost every corner, so I’d find a spot, again in the shade and with a view hopefully uninterrupted by passing tourists, and my painting afternoon was assured. I find that 2 to 3 hours is ample time to complete each painting and my reward came each evening with a meal under an umbrella and a glass of Soave or Prosecco.

On this trip I managed to complete nine oil paintings and some sketches of the gondoliers, deftly weaving about the narrow canals with their happy customers.

Santa Maria de la Salute, Venice
Santa Maria de la Salute, Venice

Here are some of  my paintings, which can all be seen here  in my online Gallery!

Next time I’ll show you my equipment and oil painting set up!

Till then, enjoy the summer!