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Creating "Venetian Reverie"

 Over the years as I've studied with artists I admire, each has said in different ways that it's important to decide what it is all about before beginning to paint.   Some have called it the motif, others the main idea, or design element that you, as the artist, consider most important.  Is it a shape? - a design element? - a pattern?  a color sequence?  

 

When I began a new painting this time I chose a scene from my husband's home city, Venice, Italy.   It's not something I paint much even though I have so many fond memories of Venice.  It is, after all where I met and married my husband of 55 years, Gastone.  Sadly most of the paintings I've created of Venice are not masterworks.  They really haven't YET conveyed how inspiring the city is.

 

This time I decided to really focus on exactly what I wanted the most important part of the painting to be about.  Not just the overall scene.  Not the ancient time-worn buildings, not the romantic gondolieri, not even the way the shadows and light play on the buildings.   I wanted to focus on the element of water.

 

Venice is the city built on water. 
The earliest Venetians built their city in the middle of a lagoon.   It was built there for protection from outsiders.  They built up the land and then over several hundred years and the labor very clever architects and engineers built the iconic city we all know.

 

Painting Crashing Waves Is Different - Here are some of my idols:
I often paint ocean scenes so have lots of favorite painting idols whose seascapes and ocean scenes inspire me. Here are a few:

                                                                                                        .    Ray Roberts

                                                                                                     Frederick Judd Waugh

                                                                                                                 David C. Gallup

There many wonderful artists who paint water near the coast - beautiful seascapes and coastal scenes I admire.

 

Frits Thaulow
While studying other painters I came across the work of Frits Thaulow who painted rivers and other bodies of water like lakes and lagoons.  Frits Thaulow (20 October 1847 – 5 November 1906) was a Norwegian Impressionist painter renowned for his naturalistic depictions of landscape.   He painted many different landscapes but in my view, his waterscapes were what set him above his peers. 
Here are a few examples:

                                                                                                     Frits Thaulow - Water Mill 1892

                                                                                                  Frits Thaulow - A River 1883
 Isn't that water amazing?  Every time I see one of his water scenes I am mesmerized.  I can only hope that I could paint something with water that is that convincing.

 

It Was About The Water - But Other Elements Count Too
When I decided to paint the Venetian scene, I decided to make it about the water.   I put the other elements of the scene - the gondelier and the building to the side and high in the picture frame.   Even though I was very happy with my water, I did struggle and have to repaint the other elements of the painting several times.   

When I first showed the painting to my husband he pointed out that the water looked like it was going uphill.   @&%$# - My perspective was off.!   Okay... so it may have been about the water, but I still needed to make the rest of the painting believable.    I painted and moved the boats, the gondola, the buildings and the sky over and over and over again until I was satisfied.   I mostly kept the water as I had initially painted it.

 

I titled the painting "Venetian Reverie".  It captures a quiet moment on a Venetian canal, where a gondolier guides his gondola through green-blue water. The buildings rise close beside the canal, their muted earth tones steady against the water’s shifting reflections. 

Venice holds deep personal meaning for me—it’s where I met my husband over 55 years ago. This piece honors that connection and the city’s enduring character.

 

Then I Got Other Comments:

 One of the final critiquers who helped me wrote this:  "One of the greatest strengths of this painting lies in its handling of light and reflection. The rippling greenish-blue water, so skillfully painted, not only suggests motion but also serves as a mirror, softening the harder lines of the canal’s edge and the surrounding architecture. This contrast between the dynamic, almost impressionistic treatment of water and the solid, calming presence of the buildings creates visual interest and a harmonious balance. The gondolier’s bright red and white stripes draw the eye and provide a focal point of warmth and personality, subtly emphasizing the human story within the cityscape.

 

The color palette is thoughtful and evocative—warm, earthy tones for the buildings create a comforting sense of age and history, while the cooler, reflective water introduces movement and vitality."

 

Finally, (and one of the most important critiques). I've decided I really like it!!   Hope you do too.