The Challenge of Venice

There are so many drawbacks to painting in Venice, the most painted city on earth. The streets are narrow and it is difficult to stand back to view some of the most beautiful buildings. And you step back at your peril because most of the thoroughfares are full of water. There are an estimated 100,000 visitors to the city each day and the chances are that most of them will be walking on the same narrow bit of pavement where you have chosen to paint. But by far the most daunting of all drawbacks for me was the fact that so many of the views have become so familiar. For centuries legions of artists have gone before.

So when I went to paint in Venice in October 2008 I was full of anxious foreboding. In an attempt to get a grip I set myself a few parameters:  I would not paint water; I would not paint bridges; I would not paint St Mark’s, the Grand Canal or the Salute; I would avoid at all costs painting gondolas. From the accompanying illustrations you will see that I succumbed on a couple of counts and of course, like everyone else, I fell in love with Venice. I became completely fascinated by it, and couldn’t wait to return the following year.

As an artist working outside in Venice you are taken for granted. There are so many of us, perched on stools or peering round easels, people hardly ever stop to look and it is possible to overcome the difficulties. I sought out ordinary places where Venetians go about their business and into which the crowds rarely stray. Away from the main attractions there are lovely ‘campos’ where there is plenty of space and normal activities go on. Even within a stones throw of St Mark’s it was tranquil and empty early in the morning.

So, having avoided Venice for the last twenty years I find it has become a favourite painting place for me after all, as it has for so many others for so many hundreds of years.

Lucy Willis    March 2010

Lucy Willis trained at the Ruskin School of Art and since then has travelled widely, taking inspiration from many places to fuel her painting. She has tutored many painting groups in various countries across the world and written two books on the subject of watercolour painting. Exhibitions include many solo exhibitions and group exhibitions all across the UK.

She won the BP Portrait Award for portraits of Shepton Mallet Prison inmates, following her artist residency there. She was elected a member of the RWA in 1993