"Rialto Market, After Hours" - My Latest Painting

I'm excitedly looking forward to:

a) Teaching my upcoming Venice workshop, which is only about 10 weeks away now!

and

b) Painting more Venice paintings (from my 2013 workshop).  I just love that city to bits. 

After my last trip, I came home with 3600 photos and I've pulled out about 30 that have real good potential for paintings.  Some scenes include the cute little gardens that are tucked away, others are of the well-known areas like St. Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge, and then some are of the quiet campos where families, young and old, gather every Sunday afternoon.  I often wondered whether they (the old people) minded us sitting on their park benches as we sketched their churches, or whether EVERY Sunday there are some other painters that sit on them anyway.  Are we just fixtures to them?

Below I'll show you a step-by-step of how I painted "Rialto Market, After Hours" (which took me 12 days to draw and paint).  We arrived at the market in the morning, after all the vendors were already set up.  There were all kinds of strange fruits & vegetables to be had, like these:

Produce at the Rialto Market
Any idea what that is?
  

The fish vendors were also out, with seagulls close by, ever vigilant.

After the Rialto Market closes down (sometime after lunch), the vendors hose down the cobblestones and wash away all evidence of the morning's business.  

As my group headed home to our Venetian apartment after our day of painting, I turned to my right and saw this scene before me!  The reflection in the wet cobblestones was a sight to behold!  Here's how I painted what I saw before me (note that there were LOTS of steps in between...to see more of these steps, please visit my Facebook page.)

"Rialto Market, After Hours"
Watercolor on watercolor canvas, by Helen K. Beacham Fine Art
24" x 18", $1900
Available after Feb 11, 2015 through the Mary Martin Gallery of Fine Art

www.helenKbeacham.com

Come paint with me! 

In 2015, we're going to Venice, Niagara Falls, Montreal and so on!!!  
Find details HERE.

Campo Sant' Angelo

On the first day of our Venice painting workshop (in Oct 2013), Kelly Medford and I took our students to Campo Sant' Angelo, just a short walk West from the Piazza San Marco.  There, we set up camp for the day.  In between guiding students, I managed to quickly sketch a scene and added a touch of watercolor for interest.  Today, I pulled out that plein air sketch in my studio and gave it some final touches!  Feels so good to call it done!

    

"Campo Sant' Angelo" by Helen K. Beacham Fine Art
Image size:  12"x9" (Available unframed for $550)
www.helenKbeacham.com

Below is a picture of the Campo where you can see the leaning tower at the far end.  There are many leaning towers in Venice although none are as bad as the one in Pisa!  On the left, you can see the other side of the building that I sketched (and do you see the tree?).  

Campo Sant' Angelo
Photo courtesy of http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Venezia_flickr01.jpg

www.helenKbeacham.com

Come paint Venice, Montreal, Maine, Charleston, and Magnolia Plantation with me!

Find details HERE.

SEE MY LATEST POST HERE.

Venice Behind Me

Back from 2 fab weeks in Venice with my painting students.  As if being a painter isn't already a lot of hard work, now I have to put on my geeky hat and try to figure out the best way to to download 10gb of photos from my camera.  For you non-nerds, that's about 2500 photos.  I already downloaded 867 from my new S4 phone today!  

Next task (after my nap today) is to narrow down my photo selections and choose my top 10 or 12 (!!! can you say "impossible"????)  so that I can start on some studio paintings!

Here are a few teaser photos...wish I could have posted daily to my blog but it was hit or miss with WIFI over there. You might want to sign up (in the right hand column of this blog) to receive my posts automatically via email. I'm looking forward to sharing my trip with you!

Side canals feel so "personal".

Several of my students are kayakers...so, when we saw this unrelated group appear under the bridge, that was pretty darned special for us all!  What a neat way to see Venice!

Peace and quiet...away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist areas.  Which side of Venice do YOU prefer?

Part of the Grand Canal, in all her glory!

I had so many fabulous pastries in Venice...this picture reminds me to step on the scale this morning and see what damage I've done.  Maybe all that walking actually negates the calories ingested!????

How many "laundry" paintings will I end up painting???  I can't tell you how many great shots I have!  Look at the shadows created on the right side of the building!

A Grand Canal gem.  The first few days were cloudy and rainy...as artists, we can take these types of shots and convert them to sunny, happy paintings!  Or, not!

This is how I felt the whole time I walked around this magical city.  She happened to be dancing in front of a hotel on Lido, an island to the right of Venice.

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll post more pics and my thoughts about my 2 week Venice trip in the upcoming days.  Have you been to Venice?  Why not share your experiences with us too? I invite you to leave me a comment!

www.helenKbeacham.com

See my latest post HERE.

Venice, here I come!

2.5 weeks till I head to Venice, Italy!!!  And 3.5 weeks till my students arrive for 8 days of painting bliss! 

Time to pin down the final details...pare down what you want to pack, order those Euros, bring enough memory chips for your camera!  

Intimate side canals offer painting opportunities around every corner.

The weather's in the 70's for the next 10 days and 55-60's at night.  But a lot can happen in the next three weeks so come prepared for cooler weather too!  
I'd love to know....what's your favorite Venice experience!???

Come with me (Helen K. Beacham) and Kelly Medford to paint Venice this October...

Just 2 Oil Painting spots left in the workshop.

Click HERE for details!

See my latest post HERE.

Dreaming!

Starting to think ahead to my Venice painting workshop (slated for October) and the side trip to Burano (an island in the northern Venetian lagoon).  On my "Love Affair with Italy" blog, I share with you that Burano is  not just about pretty colored houses.  There's the rough and tumble fishing village aspect to it too.  Why not visit my Italy blog (click HERE) and sign up to receive my posts via email (fill in the box on the right hand side of that blog with your email address).

Photo courtesy of www.kimwaltonphotography.co.uk/burano/

Come with me (Helen K. Beacham) and Kelly Medford to paint Venice this October...

Click HERE for details!

See my latest post HERE.

The Aftermath

Piccolo Spoleto (a 17-day art festival in Charleston, SC) is over.  Now I need a week to decompress.  But even THAT has to wait.  Today I must:

- empty the truck and carry every box into the house
- unload every box (wash the glass, wipe down the frames, restock the studio, wash the tent inside & out, reorganize the bins of supplies, wash the curtains and tablecloths that I use as pretty props on my pretend tables, add the non-perishable food and drinks back to the pantry...)
- fulfill my orders (ship out prepaid paintings to my new collectors, get pricing to those asking for commissions and have them sign the contract, start painting the commissions)
- add email addresses to my list if my visitors wanted to receive my future Newsletters
- reorder business cards since I am running low from handing them out, and so on.

I know there's more to do, but I'm making myself tired thinking about it.  There's also the fact that I had pushed back many "things to do" for later this week because of dealing with Spoleto.  So I'll have to pull out the calendar and hop on those as well.  

All in all, it was a very successful show for me and I should stop complaining!  After this week, I'll start thinking about Venice again...my painting workshop is coming up in October and I still have a spot for you in it!  

Come with Helen K. Beacham and Kelly Medford to paint Venice this October...

Click HERE for details!

See my latest post HERE.

Italian Villa for Sale

The "Under the Tuscan Sun" house, in Cortona, Italy, is for sale!  The village of Cortona is where my watercolor workshop will take place in April 2012.  Email me for details!

Click on:  Bramasole for Sale  to view the house's quaint offerings.

Thinking Italian!

Dreaming about my upcoming workshop in Italy next April!  Here's a recipe to give you the urge to join us!  (Thanks to Linda Doeser's "Food of the World: ITALY")

VENETIAN SEAFOOD STEW IN SAFFRON SAUCE  (Serves 4)

8 oz live clams
8 oz live mussels

Scrub the clams and mussels under cold running water and debeard the mussels.  Discard any damaged or broken shellfish and those that do not shut immediately when sharply tapped.  Set aside.

2 T. olive oil
1 onion, sliced
pinch of saffron threads
1 T. chopped fresh thyme
salt
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely

Heat the olive oil in a large, flameproof casserole.  Add the onion, saffron, thyme, and a pinch of salt.  Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until the onion has softened.  Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

28 oz canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
3/4 c. dry white wine
salt and pepper

Add the tomatoes and pour in the wine and stock.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 15 minutes.

12 red snapper fillets, cut into bite-size chunks
16 oz angler fish fillet, cut into bite-size chunks (note:  monkfish or another meaty fish may be substituted)
8 oz squid rings
2 T. shredded fresh basil leaves
Fresh bread!

Add the snapper and angler fish and let simmer for 3 minutes.  Add the clams, mussels, and squid rings and let simmer for about 5 minutes, until the shellfish have opened.  Discard any clams or mussels that remain shut.  Stir in the basil and serve immediately with plenty of fresh bread to mop up the delicious broth.

Happy Cooking! (This might even make a great painting before you devour it!)
All meals will be provided during our 6 day watercolor workshop in Cortona, Italy!  One evening, during our workshop, a local Cortona chef will teach us to cook our own Italian meal!  Bravissimo!!!
http://toscanaamericana.com/helenbeachamwatercolor.html