The City of Venice is one of the tourism capitals of Italy, with a rich history of art, architecture, and engineering feats. Every street you walk contains a story. Along the charming canals one can think about a city built on water where there once was a marshy lagoon (https://venezialines.com/blog/venices-canals-built-city-built-water/). The buildings share distinct architectural styles of Gothic, Byzantine, and Ottoman influences from over a thousand years ago (http://imaginingvenice.com/2013/04/16/venetian-architecture/). The city also contains many tales of folk lore and myth, identified by statues, bridges, and other relics of love, loss, terror, and spirits that remain, to remind us of the city’s rich and sometimes dark history.
Canals of Venice, 11in x 15in, pen+ink with watercolor (2020)
The drawing “Canals of Venice” began as a pencil sketch drawing meant to capture the breathtaking architecture and character of the city streets. As the drawing developed, I began laying on hatches of ink to define and give character to the scene. The image I used as a reference was taken at night, and had an incredible feeling of calm and mystery. The stories of noir and myths of the city encouraged me to incorporate some intentional areas of muted color over the pen and ink drawing, to bring focus to the murky waters of the canal, and bring a sense of contrast between the buildings and the canal.
