A few weeks ago, I posted to the blog a painting of the gondolas in the Grand Canal of Venice, inspired by a photo that I took from the vaporetto on the day of our arrival in the magic city.

If you’re interested in art, yourself, you might enjoy the backstory in the process of transforming the inspiration into a final product.

So, here are three images that tell the tale.

Firstly, the original photo snapped from the vaporetto as we floated our way towards our hotel.

Secondly, the pencil values sketch in black and white and shades of grey that I used to rough out a more edited composition and to work out the relative values of the darks and lights.

Thirdly, the final product – which of course contains a few surprises and diversions that unfolded as the paint went on the paper.