Showing posts with label gondola. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gondola. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Painting of Venice Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

In the constant tug-of-war between land and sea, Venice, Italy, can be glorious. I have only been there twice, but each time was a different experience. The watery city is full of wonky mathematics that I find abundantly charming. Nothing seems quite right, the city itself is in motion.

The persistent struggle with the sea is opposite of the seemingly carefree life that most visitors see. I watched the gondoliers steer their gondole among canals that twist and turn and connect most everything. The gentile curves of these Italian boats remind me of the many bridges, turned upside down.

I created this painting “Shadows of Venice” to share with you the yin-yang of the Venetian play of light. In addition, the line following the curve of the gondola silhouette and moving into the curve of the bridge in front of it reminds me of a sine wave.

I hope you like the slightly loose brush strokes in the art, the drama of the shadows against a bright sunny day, and the tranquillity of this scene. Imagine yourself coasting along in the gondola and feel relaxed.

This original oil painting of Venice, Italy, is painted on primed wood and measures 18 x 24 cm (approximately 9.5 x 7 inches). Her price is $250 with free shipping from Florence, Italy, to you wherever you are. Payment plans and checks are also accepted if you prefer those to using the PayPal clickable button here.








I also wanted to thank those who wrote to me about the loss of my bicycle seat (which Doria told me is called a sella (‘saddle’ as if a bike were a horse) and then Luca corrected to sellino, which means ‘little saddle.’). I returned to Dario who runs the bicycle shop at Via Dei Macci, 63r. He set me up quite rapidly, changed out the lever mechanism to deter theft, and afterwards I bought a small lock to give extra protection from future thefts.

This is the third time I have been to Dario’s shop. He came recommended by my friend Elisabeth. One time I helped my friend Skye bring her bike in after she had an accident with a motorcycle the night before. She was OK, but her back tire was crunched horribly. Dario was thorough and fast and Skye was happy with the price. I am happy to have found him because I was not amused with the business tactics of the first bike repair shop I gave my money to.

Buonasera!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Original Oil Painting Mario The Naked Gondolier


Cari Amici,
Back in November, I did a sketch in a white pencil on a dark charcoal paper of an Italian model named Mario. Another “light emerging from darkness” image of a fairly classical style standing pose of a nude male figure.

I liked the shapes so much that I decided to make this study of Mario into one of my Naked Gondoliers painting series. (Mario is actually the first one completed in this painting series.) And so, I have painted this lovely male figure in oil on canvas in my favorite sepia tones: Mario, The Naked Gondolier. I wanted just a hint of Venice in the image, so there is a dark curve of a bridge behind Mario’s head and a gondola under his feet. There is a slight hint of light rippling in dark water to the right. I love the mysterious qualities of this image and may keep exploring these ideas.

Mario measures 45 cm x 30 cm (approximately 17.5 x 12 inches). This oilo sul tela (oil on canvas) will sell for $600, plus shipping and insurance from Italia $25.
I take PayPal here or I can send you an invoice via e-mail.

















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And for those who are drawn to the original pencil drawing of the standing male figure, “Study for Mario The Naked Gondolier” is also available. The figure is about 42 centimeters (just over 16 inches) tall. I drew in the light shapes only with a white pencil on a dark charcoal grey Canson paper.

The paper for framing purposes is around 47 x 30 cm, not counting what would be under the mat and frame. The drawing is signed and dated 7 November 2007.

The original drawing of Mario sells for $200, plus $20 shipping and handling.

















And again, thank for your making the dream possible.