Venice Barges Small Side Canal

Sunlight in Venice is best painted plein air as it cascades over building and canal surfaces. I found a doorway niche away from the crowds, set-up and painted this Venice canal scene while the sun shone on the buildings on the left. Traces of my painted line drawing can still be scene from the block-in. I used a limited palette, brush marks and shape to capture the complexity of brick, stucco and clay building facades in light and shadow. I used value and contrast to capture the sunlit barge bathed in "Venetian atmosphere".