Update January 2009

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, an optical puzzle.

Painted by so many artists through the centuries, I aspired to my new focus on the ever-changing dance of canal waters stirred by Venetian vessels.

Francis Kelly  

“In May this year I reached the age of 80. I reflected on my 59 years as an artist, but the new images are not a finality, but a new beginning. During the past decade, I have had several strokes, but I have not let them impede my painting. For many decades, Venice has been an inspiration to me. I evolved a different form of expression than the usual representation of that unique city. I began to observe water movements and reflections. Many of the new paintings on the site are a distillation of the varied patterns and abstract forms by the swirl of agitated waters.”

We have just published some of Kelly’s latest works (below) so please let us know what you think? Plus we have added this news page to keep you updated with the studio and also cover of some of Kelly’s history and techniques. There may even be a video or two, so be sure to stay posted!