Title : Five strangers go to Venice
link : Five strangers go to Venice
Five strangers go to Venice
“I’ve just returned from an art trip to Venice with four colleagues. All of us were strangers. Nobody knew the others and the first time we met was at the apartment in Venice. There was Alex Hillkurtz, an American and amazing story-boarder from Paris, Gail Anne Howard, a Brit from Amsterdam and founder of the Open Draw, Adina Tudor, an architect from Bucharest, and Urban Sketcher icon Pat Southern-Pearce, from Blackburn. Joining in at times was Daniel Nies, who was giving a seminar in Venice. What a wonderful time we had. Strangers, yes, but our common passion brought us together and we spent all day, every day, drawing the city.”
 |
| Jp Schwarz |
Day 1: We stayed in a splendid Venetian Palace with a red-checked tablecloth kitchen, high ceilings, an enormous chandelier, a squashy sofa and chairs, and hand-blocked wallpaper. The entrance staircase was marble and steep and oh boy, did we know about it at the end of each day, loaded down with bags.
 |
| Adina Tudor |
 |
| Above, and top image: Pat Southern-Pearce |
 |
| Gail Anne Howard |
 |
| Jp Schwarz |
Day 2: Our first full day, and we were off, all five of us together, staying close to home to get a feel for the neighbourhood. We settled around this tiny bridge, just five minutes from home, sheltered, sunny and peaceful. We could scarcely believe that we’d actually made it and now had six days of this magic ahead of us. What a glorious first day that was and so much more to come.
 |
| Pat Southern-Pearce |
By mid afternoon the weather was threatening and we split up, for protection, in different places: Alex and Jp to a busy but sheltered sidestreet and Gail, Adina, Daniel and I to the open corridor of arches that make up the Fish Market.
 |
| Pat Southern-Pearce |
Day 3: Lunches were fun and we ate, sketched and chatted in lots of different restaurants, mostly outside under parasols. Waiters never worried if we lingered; there were so many never-to-be-forgotten food experiences too: swapping prezzies round the kitchen table after eating, a rock-hard pizza that Gail couldn’t get her teeth through and a cooked-to-a-crisp wasp in my chicken. (The replacement meal brought a big smile to Jp, who wolfed it down.)
 |
| Jp Schwarz |
Day 4: Off we trudged together through the crowds to sketch the Basilica from the Academia Bridge in blazing heat. We were lined up along one side, elbow to elbow, on stools, with milling throngs behind us, five deep. Jp swapped stools with me so that I could see through the struts of the bridge, Alex kept a watchful eye on my multitude of gel pens by his feet, and Gail dropped her shoes in the water, retrieved by a gallant boatsman, after much damsel-in-distress waving.
 |
| Alex Hillkurtz |
 |
| Pat Southern-Pearce |
It was fascinating to see how different our sketches were. This was one of the most awesome things about it all: the similarities, the differences, how we organised stuff (or didn’t), how differently we responded to colours and sunlight, how we could look at the same view and focus on the different things that interested us. We were all quite thrown by this and so influenced and inspired by each other that it took a while to settle.
 |
| Alex Hillkurtz |
In the evening we drew the Basilica from the other side, by St Mark’s Square. It had been Alex’s long-held dream to stand where his heroes had stood and paint, and he’d even checked out a spot on one of his early morning walks. He went to his pre-selected spot, Jp and me to sit just outside St Mark’s, by the water’s edge, and Adina and Gail not far away. The St Mark’s Square spot was fated. Along came the police, friendly but determined. We were not allowed to sit and sketch in the St Mark’s area without a permit. Cameras were recording everything. We had to move… no argument… we tried!
 |
| Pat Southern-Pearce |
Being midway through our sketches and needing the same view, we asked if we could sit at the outdoor tables opposite. “Of course!” Out came a white-coated waiter with a silver tray, nibbles and long beers at 15 euros each. We blinked, then relaxed. It was magical, that evening, and we lingered for hours, with Alex joining us later, under the darkening sky, people-watching and sketching, with passers-by like ghosts in slow motion and birds soaring, one of the highlights of the week for me.
 |
| Pat Southern-Pearce |
 |
| Alex Hillkurtz |
Day 5: The Saturday was extra special: a meeting-up day at the Campo San Giovanni e Paolo, with Daniel Nies and his workshop group, and Claudio Borsato, who came to sketch with us and collect the sketches Alex and I had brought for the “Matite in Viaggio” exhibition. What an inspiration it was: open, gloriously sunny and despite it being Saturday, peaceful, with just a sprinkling of interested passers-by. We stayed all day, in the square and by the canal, and the light was continually changing. How glad I was that I’d taken several sketchbooks with me and could respond as the mood took me. A meal that evening with us all together, and a memory of standing on the Rialto Bridge in darkness looking down at the lights shimmering in the water was magical enough to bring tears.
 |
| Jp Schwarz |
 |
| Pat Southern-Pearce |
Day 6: This was the one full day of rain and floods, but still we sketched: indoors, in the apartment, then later, in the Fish Market Arches, muffled up to the ears. It was blustery and rainy but we huddled against walls and went for it.
 |
| Jp Schwarz |
Day 7: The final day, and with cases packed and the last goodbyes imminent, Jp and I leant against walls on this tiny rainswept street just round the corner from the apartment to sketch “our church”, San Sylvestro.
 |
| Adina Tudor |
Soon after, I was leaving, the first one to go, and everyone came with me to the waterbus station to see me off, Alex with the tickets he’d sorted the day before, and Jp trundling my case. There were hugs and more than a hint of sadness. A holiday like no other.
Pat Southern-Pearce is a painter, an artist in schools, art consultant, workshop tutor and in-service provider. You can see more of her work on Facebook and Instagram. Jan Philipp Schwarz is an illustrator for advertising and print, and animation designer: www.schwarzmalerei.com. Alex Hillkurtz is an illustrator and storyboard artist: www.alexhillkurtz.com. Gail Anne Howard is an art maker, organiser, supporter, education promoter: follow her on Twitter. Adina Tudor is an architect and visualiser: www.behance.net/adinatudor.
Thus Article Five strangers go to Venice
That's an article Five strangers go to Venice This time, hopefully can give benefits to all of you. well, see you in posting other articles.
You are now reading the article Five strangers go to Venice with the link address https://capitalstories.blogspot.com/2018/03/five-strangers-go-to-venice.html
0 Response to "Five strangers go to Venice"
Post a Comment