Paper and Threads

I am still working on my Venice sketchbook, and decided to upload 3 pages done since I returned home.

We visited Arcobalena, the art supply store that sells pigments.  It is centrally located, and a very quirky place.  Half of the store is a hardware shop, the other half sells pigments - and hand blown glass - and leather aprons - and some art supplies.  We spent lots of time talking to the woman running the shop and learned some of the history.  My friend Sara bought a set of pigments to make pastels when she returned to the US.  And the 4 of us couldn't resist buying a few leather aprons made by the shopkeeper (who is also a glass blower)! 

I collected a few pieces of ephemera - mainly because they appealed to me graphically - and made one collage page of memories.

The gondoliers were everywhere!  And there seemed to be many variations on the standard uniform.  I took photos of many of them and created this page of drawings from my photos.

Posted by Shirley at 7:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I'm taking a rest from my Venice Sketchbook - and posting two paintings done at recent museum visits.

The Jewish Museum in New York has a lovely exhibit of Edouard Vuillard and His Muses (1890-1940).  I knew very little about Vuillard's life, and really enjoyed seeing his paintings put in context.  The museum website has a brief summary of the stages of his career and a wonderful collection of paintings of people in beautiful interiors.

I painted a detail from one of the interiors that I really liked  - in part because of the composition/placement of the two figures.

Last week we visited the new Barnes Mseum in Philadelphia.  Dr. Albert C. Barnes, physician and chemist, began collecting impressionist, post-impressionist, and early modern art in 1902.  The collection was housed in a suburb of Philadelphia, with limited hours, and poor lighting.  Barnes' main goal was to use his collection for education and he developed a school on the premises. 

Barnes arranged the art himself - very symmetrically - on the wall, and without regard for the artists or the chronology.  When he died, his will stipulated that the collection could never be moved, and that all of the art must remain in exactly the same position as the day he died.  There were 24 galleries and the 181 Renoir paintings were placed throughout most of the galleries.  There are also 69 Cezannes, 59 Matisse, and 46 early Picasso paintings - these are the big 4 artists.  But there are many other artists, and even El Greco and Goya!.

The will was challenged, and primarily to save the collection by increasing visibility and revenue, a new Museum on Ben Franklin Parkway, just opened.  It has 24 identically-sized galleries and every piece of art except one is in exactly the same place on each wall. 

Reservations must be made to see the beautiful modern museum and the collection - and it is really worth it.  Those who visited the original location said that the lighting is so superb now that every painting looks like it was cleaned!

If you want to see the holdings for a specific artist, use this link.

Since we were there during opening week, small groups of visitors were taken on tours of the collection - no dawdling allowed!  As in the original location, no sketching and no photos were permitted.  But I was able to buy this postcard to record our visit in my sketchbook that evening.

Posted by Shirley at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

At least one sketch per day was done quickly when I had an opportunity to sketch while we were walking around Venice. 

On Sunday morning, I accompanied my friend Sara to Mass at Basilica San Marco.  It was a great choice, since we had about 45 minutes sitting in one place and could do a pencil sketch of a small part of the beautiful interior.  We were unable to sketch all of the time, but I did try to get some sense of the many vaults and some of the decorations.  I added pen,watercolor, and gold pen and gouache later.

I did a series of very fast sketches, while my husband was checking our email on Venice Direct WiFi (which is available in the major areas of the city).  Before we left for Italy, I bought a brown Tombow marker which was perfect for these times.  I sketched quickly and then added water to two of the sketches to spread the water soluble ink.  

San Giorgio Maggiore from Riva Degli Schiavoni near Giardini Ex-Reali garden.  I wish I drew straight columns!:

Another Tombow sketch, several days later, from the same place - but facing La Salute.  This time I didn't add water:

Interesting architecture in Campo Santa Maria Formosa (Castello) - sketched again while my husband was doing his daily check of our email:

A short break for Cokes, during a very long walk, gave Sara and I another opportunity for a small sketch in Campo Santa Margherita (Dorsoduro).  The sun felt so good that we even had time to add pen and watercolor.

Posted by Shirley at 7:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

I did 16 small Venice paintings before we went on vacation, using photos of Venice from our last trip in 2002.  My primary goal was to practice painting water and bridges, while experimenting with texture on the buildings. 

I didn't realize, at the time, that it would make me much more relaxed about sketching while there.  There was no longer any reason for me to go someplace in the City just to sketch.  Instead I carried my sketchbook everywhere, and enjoyed Venice with my husband and friends.  My goal then became to capture an image from wherever we were. 

My sketches can be divided into several categories - and the ones I'm posting today are the ones I did from the apartment.  I enjoyed sitting in front of the window, watching the boats passing, and sketching and painting over several sittings.  The photos of the intersecting canals that we saw from our window were in the last post.

I also prepared a grid of our Days on Vacation and added something that would remind me of one moment in each day.  Here is the completed Grid.

Posted by Shirley at 4:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

We just returned from a fabulous week in Venice and I'm trying to stay awake for 3 more hours in New York to avoid "returning jet lag."  It is currently 2:45 AM Venice time and I started my day there at 6AM.

We rented a lovely apartment, with friends, and it was perfect.  The building is on a very quiet courtyard, only 5 minutes from Piazza San Marco - and on the intersection of 2 small canals.  This is the view from the living room window.

This is the view from a bedroom window.  I never got tired of watching the gondola traffic on the canals.

I sketched a map of the location of our apartment, Ca' Vecchio Pozzo (San Marco 998), to begin my sketchbook.

This is the first of several posts from my photos and travel sketchbook - including some reflections on my practice sketches from my old photos of Venice. 

Posted by Shirley at 8:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)