Figure Study

A study of Francesco at work during my workshop in Tuscany. This was painted near Chianciano in southern Tuscany late in the afternoon.

Sunset over St Mark's Basin, Venice

From Landscapes

When there is some cloud in the west, the sunsets in Venice can be spectacular. In this small painting I captured the last moments of the sun setting over the lagoon. As it sets the sun changes from yellow to orange, to a fiery red just as it dips below the horizon.

Campo Giovanni e Paolo

From Townscapes

In the morning the Ospedale is in the shadow, but as the morning progresses, the light gradually moves on to the facade of the building. At a certain point the diagonal slanting light creates a very interesting pattern of light on the building that creates a great composition. But you have to work fast to capture the feeling before the whole facade becomes bathed in light.

Venice painting

It is approaching summer now and there are a lot of people on the streets in the Castello region of Venice. Here I am trying to capture the feeling of the street, and the light atmosphere of the sky.

Vegetable Boat

Here is a painting I did recently in Venice. It is of the boat where they sell vegetables near my studio. It was quite difficult finding a place to stand because of the narrow walkways next to this canal, and the number of people with shopping carts buying vegetables! As always this is a challenge to paint outdoors because the people of course are constantly moving, and so you have to capture the gesture very quickly. The other difficulty is after you have planned your composition in a thumbnail sketch (I use notan sketches ), the groupings of people change, and you have to be careful you stick with your original conception of the design.

Still Life

A slideshow of still life paintings by Barry John Raybould.