Canal near St. Barnaba in Venice, Italy.

Medium: Watercolour

This is my watercolour rendition of a photograph I came across in the travel section of the LA Times e-paper while doing some research on Italy as a possible vacation destination this year. The photograph instantly captured my imagination…

Here’s why:
This is the first time that I actually thought about Venetians and the fact that this Canal city is what they call Home.

For a city that is so uniquely beautiful, steeped in culture and fascinating history, it sometimes takes on a one dimensional aspect to a foreigner. It begins to look like one of those places that exist just so that we can visit during vacation time.
This picture reminded me that Venice exists outside of tourist season; that there are people going about their lives within these colourful, quaint buildings.

The antennae on the buildings tell me that someone in there is watching cartoons, or a soap opera or a sitcom. And laughing or crying. Or cutting vegetables and yelling at someone to keep the volume down…

The two little boats anchored alongside one of the buildings are sitting there as matter-of-factly as a car would in our parking lots.
The beautiful plants over the balcony railing are being trimmed and groomed and watered by someone who cares to keep them looking beautiful.

The bright light and lack of traffic makes it seem like a lazy Sunday afternoon; or a day that everyone’s home watching Venice’s equivalent of an India- Pakistan one day match.

This is why I love this picture. It may have no people in it. But it is teeming with life.