Awaiting Adventure in Venice

watercolor on Arches paper

a quick and loose watercolor sketch
copyright © Sophia Khan

My favorite way to 'end' a painting, is with poetry; thoughts, reflections, and wandering a bit more into the subject at hand, this time with pen and paper rather than paints and brushes.

And so today, sharing a new view of Venice, a new part of the city, located along the Grand Canal, that I have been wanting to paint for some time.  I delved into this with some of the new watercolors I purchases, partly as a way to experiment with them.  Afterwards, came the words below:

~

Gondolas & the Art of Choice in Venice

A row of gondolas awaits the arrival of one seeking adventure
Each stands as if a start to its own unique path into the maze that is the city of Venice.
Each pointing towards a different direction, a different choice, a different set of possibilities.

Is it not unlike our everyday lives, then?
This moving forth in the city of Venice.

The only difference being that here
There are no regrets
There is only a moving forward,

For here, even when we are wrong, there is stark truth and beauty to behold

Even when we are lost, we secretly want to be,
And do not fear not finding our way back.

And this difference being what gives the city the spell of undying hope
it forever instills in its visitors.

~

reference travel photograph

~ in my sketchbook ~

You may have gathered from the above watercolor that the 'mood' in my studio these days is one of a tad bit more looseness and playfulness than usual.  Following this a detail view of the Monreale Cathedral in Sicily.  

When I am feeling up for this sort of challenge, fun, and spontaneity, I will paint without an underlying pencil sketch as done in this small study.  As it turns out, I like the results and may go forth doing a more finished larger piece of the subject.

~music inspired by my watercolor~

Another fun bit of news is that I was recently contacted by Australian musician Helen Davey, to be part of her 52 Sound Paintings project.  The song she created, inspired by my watercolor of a home in Ferrandina, in southern Italy, is such a lovely composition.  It can be heard, at the project website here. 

And if you have enjoyed the above poem, some of my other poetry, inspired by my travels, can be viewed here.