Venice… finding the female

Venetian mask ( photo copyright Paul Campbell)

Venetian mask ( photo copyright Paul Campbell)

My photos, and artworks, are more often than not of places, buildings, sometimes nature…

But on going through photos from our recent second trip to Venice I became aware of different representations of the female form among them.

Inevitably, given that this is Italy, several religious images feature amongst them.

Unfortunately some photos are blurred as they were taken inside churches/in low light without flash. But I wanted to put them into this post anyway… here they are…

Further information on the wonderful collection at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, Venice, can be found here.

Exhibition posters, Venice

Exhibition posters, Venice

Glass figure, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

Glass figure, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

Sculpture garden, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

Sculpture garden, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

Stabat Mater, poster advertising choral event.

Stabat Mater, poster advertising choral event.

Sculpture garden, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

Sculpture garden, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

Evening shoppers, Venice.

Evening shoppers, Venice.

Franciscan nun, Castello, Venice.

Franciscan nun, Castello, Venice.

Lone figure walking, Venice

Lone figure walking, Venice

Madonna & child statue, Venice

Madonna & child statue, Venice

Sculpture, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

Sculpture, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

Plaque outside theatre, Venice

Plaque outside theatre, Venice

Madonna street shrine, Venice

Madonna street shrine, Venice

Wall shrine to saint, Venice

Wall shrine to saint, Venice

Venice… seeing red

I’ve been living with these two canvases of Venice-inspired imagery for weeks now, waiting for the impulse to take them further and ‘finish’ them…

Venice bridge 1. Mari French 2013

Venice bridge 1. Mari French 2013

Venice bridge 2

… but although I know the second one needs a few more touches of paint, I’m inclined to wonder if they might actually stand as they are …

i initially intended the red to act as an under painting, but I like the way it reflects how I see Venice… its passionate past and bloody history.

Both paintings are 40 x 40cm, acrylic/mixed media on canvas.

sun-spangled … wind blasted

Reeds & water, Holme, Norfolk

Reeds & water, Thornham, Norfolk

Wind like a knife against my face, arriving without pause direct from the Urals…

ranks of winter-bleached reeds bending in unison before its force.

Blinding white breakers tear across the bright horizon beyond the marsh and sandbanks…

while, overlooked by twitchers, an avocet on the ebbing sun-spangled creek.

Thornham creek (watercolour sketch) © Mari French 2013

Thornham creek (watercolour sketch) © Mari French 2013

Today was so bitterly cold I could only sketch from the car, through the open window, parked by Thornham Creek. Not the greatest sketch, but I wanted to capture the feel of the scene to store in my head to prompt a painting at a later date.

Muffled up to the eyes in five layers of warm clothes I later ventured out for a rapid one mile walk along the sea defences. Gloriously bright and sunny you’d never imagine the ferocity and iciness of the northeasterly from these photos. (I’ve never seen breakers on this part of the beach before). But it does leave you feeling wildly alive and exhilarated…

… and yes, I did see an avocet.

Thornham marsh & coast, copyright Mari French 2013

Thornham marsh & coast

Thornham creek & saltmarsh, Norfolk

Thornham creek & saltmarsh, Norfolk

Thornham, Norfolk

Thornham, Norfolk