Post No 2 - 2012 Trip - Italy again.......

We journeyed off from Nice with Rita tucked in the back seat (by now we'd bought a very long windsurfer mast, which was lying down the middle along the length of the car!)

and our first night was spent in Desenzano on Lake Garda, another one of our favourite stops.










It's a nice lakeside town with a relaxed feel - not too pretentious despite the rather large and expensive cocktails we had once we settled in!
 This year Desenzano just happened to be where the Mille Migla (1,000 miles) Classic Car Race was due to start the morning we left, so we unfortunately we just missed it. Our plan was to keep a beady eye on the weather forecast for Switzerland and decide we should whether  straight up to Lucerne in Switzerland, or drive across to the eastern coast of Italy and spend a day in Venice.  Venice it was, which in hindsight probably wasn't such a good choice!

Venice, of course, was as beautiful as always. The Grand Canal lined with its gracious Venetian buildings, and cluttered with all manner of vessels;  crowded ferries, DHL, ambulances, fire 'boats', hotel linen deliveries, refrigerated yoghurt boats, and of course gondalas;  the many many smaller canals around every corner - yet another photo when you've promised yourself 'no more'! All those smaller canals shooting off in every direction, with their beautiful shadows and reflections, and gondalas with tourists sitting back looking smug and the gondalier either singing furiously, shouting loudly to other gondaliers, or probably more likely chatting on their mobile phones. This is Venice and long may it reign! This rambling description may not be eloquently put, but it personifies Venice..... 

This little painting features elsewhere in my blog, but hopefully will be the first of a series of 'lolling gondolas'!

From a 'painterly' point of view, Venice is just perfect, with its narrow canals and shadows, the verticals and horizontals of the buildings, the amazing Venetian windows and awnings, and the wonderful vertical mooring pools sticking up everywhere, not to forget, of course the reflections.. (far too many adjectives there, but it does have that effect on me!)

After an exhausting day exploring, we drove back to the Lake, taking a short sidetrip through the small town of Soave, of wine fame, and then with Peter screeching to a halt on a roundabout when a large field of poppies appeared in front of us... the perfect end to a wonderful day.

A Painting a Week No 107 - Quattro Gondola, Venice

For Sale - 1st August 2012
Quattro Gondola, Venice
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

As I'm sure I've said before, one of the things I love to photograph when we're in Venice are the gondolas, particularly when I come upon groups of them 'floating idly', with their beautiful pointy ends splaying out in all directions (not a very nautical description I know!) This could well be the start of a new series of paintings from our visit to Venice in May - they just seemed to be there waiting for me around every corner!

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my  Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.