Paper and Threads

We had a beautiful view from our apartment balcony, and could even see a portion of the Grand Canal.  I went out for a morning look and quick photo each day, and finally sketched the scene.  I've never painted red tile roofs close-up before, however, and after finding a excellent online tutorial, I waited until we came home to finish the painting.  The tiles really looked that varied and were so many colors.

View of Window on the Side Wall of Ca' Rezzonico Museum from Our Apartment:

Here are two additional sketchbook pages from the final days in Venice - one drawn while drinking wine in the late afternoon and the other at our last dinner before departure.  These are more examples of just drawing what was in front of me.

Side wall of Chiesa Zanipoli (Castello Sestiere) as we sipped wine in an outdoor restaurant:  

My view from dinner in the garden at Corte Sconta Restaurant- a favorite of ours from a prior visit. 

Posted by Shirley at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We just returned from Venice - 9 nights in a lovely apartment in Dorsoduro sestiere.  It is a wonderful section of Venice - and it felt like being in a small town.  I love keeping a travel sketchbook and was able to fill 20 pages with watercolor paintings while we were there.  My mantra - just draw what is in front of you!  Thank you Sketchbook Skool for that sage advice.

When I travel with my husband we either stop for coffee late morning or a glass of wine late afternoon - and walk enormous distances each day.  I sketched buildings when sitting in Campos, enjoying the view and people while drawing.

Here are some of the sketches done while sitting over coffee and relaxing.  In most instances I sketched, took a photo for colors, and then painted them later.  I buy my husband a book of NY Times Crossword Puzzles before we leave for vacation, and he is happy doing one while we drink our coffee!

On Novo Strata in Cannaregio  

In Campo Santa Margherita: 

In Camp San Barnaba: 

We were having coffee on Giudecca island, talking to another couple from the UK, and I sketched the church across the Giudecca canal.  That really helps to simplify an image! 

I also sketched people - a tour guide, opera performers, and a chamber orchestra cellist while they were moving constantly.  I'll include those in my next blog post. 

Posted by Shirley at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Painting some Venice scenes from my photos from an earlier visit helped me fill my sketchbook during my 2012 visit.  I don't know why I had such a "fear of failure" before our visit, perhaps my love of the city would make it hard for me to even paint the first page.  Instead I concentrated on just capturing our visit by painting what was in front of me, as a visual memory, instead of looking for the iconic Venice sketches (like Basilica San Marco).

Here are a few of my sketchbook pages from that visit - reposted.

View from our rental apartment living room: 

Campo Santa Margherita where we stopped one afternoon for a glass of wine:

Gondolier Fashions sketched over several days:

One of many gorgeous masks in a lit store window as we were returning late one evening from dinner:

A 7AM trip to the Rialto Market to buy fish for dinner:

An early morning walk and a quick sketch of "Salute," leaning on a garden wall on the opposite side of the Grand Canal: 

Posted by Shirley at 3:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We love Venice and celebrate some wedding anniversaries there.  This month we are going again and I decided to post my previous Venice sketchbook "anticipation pages." Artist Laure Ferlita describes them here in her blog.

http://paintedthoughtsblog.blogspot.com/2017/04/training-to-overcome-fear-of-sketching.html 

I wasn't sketching or keeping a visual journal during my earliest Venice visits, so before our visit in 2012 I slowly painted from my earlier photos to "practice" and then made myself a book from the finished paintings.  This blog post details my process- binding previously painted folios into a hard cover book:

http://www.paperandthreads.com/2012/07/making_a_second_venice_sketchb.php

And here are a few of the pages from that book. 

Posted by Shirley at 1:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I love to make watercolor sketchbooks and I frequently recycle an old book for travel sketchbooks - usually one that costs only $2 on the outside carts at The Strand bookstore in NYC.

I made a travel sketchbook that I loved for our 2012 Venice trip.  The entire process is explained in photographs at this link. 

http://www.paperandthreads.com/2012/01/making_a_watercolor_sketchbook.php

I searched for 6 months for another book to recycle for an upcoming Venice visit and finally settled on this one.  It is a Kate Spade book on "Occasions" and I was able to save two folios about celebrating Anniversaries to incorporate into my new book.  I finally chose it because of the price ($2), size, the condition of the cover, and my approaching vacation deadline.  I think I will always love my "Italian Dreams" Venice sketchbook more, but look forward to using this one too!

The Cover: 

The End Papers - which make me think of Venice's Carnivale: 

There are 36 140lb Fabriano Artistico Soft Press pages inside.  This is a Maurice Sendak Illustration I painted from Mickey in the Night Kitchen which I like to have on the title page with my name, address, and contact information in case my sketchbook gets lost.

I also try to include a few of the folios from the original book I'm recycling.  Here is one part of each of the original Folios that I incorporated into the sketchbook: 

Anniversary Gifts: We've been married so long that our anniversary gift is on the bottom of the other half of this page!

Wine is Devine:  In anticipation of many lovely afternoons sitting on a canal or in a campo in Venice.

Posted by Shirley at 3:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)