Venice - A New Vision

Venice. Use all the adjectives you can and still you will never capture its beauty, mystique and the miraculous colours that play upon this magical place.

I first saw Venice in 1951. Over many subsequent visits, I painted palace façades, gondolas and canals - much as other artists in past centuries. And I was delighted to do so.  

In recent years the focus changed for me. I began to observe closely the lagoon upon which the city was built. Indirectly, I began to paint mirrored reflections in the canal waters. 

As time past, this became altogether too tame a subject. Instead, I saw a distillation through the movement of waters agitated by the activity of the city. That movement, itself, became a part of the picture, if not the whole - a myriad of shapes and colours.

Undulations became swirls and swirls became vortexes. Boats, buildings and people blended and merged into a pattern of elusive colours. 

I spent much time studying this water movement. The thought came to me - could Kandinsky or Miro have been influenced by a similar natural phenomenon?

               Francis Kelly, May 1st, 2008