2015 Venice memories

Various memories from my 2015 Venice trip!  I'm conducting another sketching workshop in Venice in May 2016.  Are you coming?

This is how Venetians transport supplies.  Sometimes you'll see young men laying on top of the boxes, grabbing a catnap before they get to their next stop!

This was our 2015 apartment location.  That section above me was our kitchen!

SO many beautiful, peaceful churches.

A refreshing break!

Families really take advantage of their local campos!

Rowing practice...Venice periodically holds rowing competitions and you wouldn't want to fall out of shape.

www.helenKbeacham.com

www.helenkbeacham.blogspot.com

Come paint with me! 

In 2016, we're going to Venice again.

Sept 2015 classes have been added to my website!

Check it out HERE.

Italy doesn't need that kind of fixing.

We just want Italy to be Italy, don't we?  Why try to "fix" it when it ain't broke?  But it is broke, in a way.  And organizers don't always do what's best for the locals.

Here's a blog I follow...Jane Cryan gives us insight into what it's like to live as a local when a festival with blaring speakers, masses of visitors and "perfumed" air hits her little square.

http://50yearsinitaly.blogspot.com/2015/07/italys-summer-festival-delimma.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+50YearsInItaly+%2850+Years+In+Italy%29

Come paint with me! 

In 2016, we're going to Venice again.

Sept 2015 classes have also been added to my website!

Check it out HERE.

And visit my blog about my Art HERE.

Santa arrives by Gondola

Not much longer to wait for Father Christmas!

No chimney?  No problem!

In Murano (which is an island just off Venice, where they make the most treasured Venetian glass), the gondola is the preferred method of arrival by Santa.  Over there, he's known as Babbo Natale.

Photo credit:  Lauren Fiebert, East Carolina University Fine Art Student

Buon Natale!
Helen

www.helenKbeacham.com

Come paint with me! 

In 2015, we're going to Venice, Niagara Falls, Montreal and so on!!!  
Find details HERE.

Who is Aldus?

Lucky us!  In time for our painting trip to Venice in May 2015, the Gallerie dell'Accademia will be showing 300 never-before-seen paintings in 5 new rooms!  All this will be at a cost of 600,000 Euros (currently around $750,000).

While most of the paintings will be from the 14th to 17th centuries, they'll also host temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary art...the first 2 will be Willem de Kooning and Aldus (whom I don't know and just tried to look up in vain...does anyone know him?  Of course, I'm "assuming" it's a man...why do I assume that?!).

Photo courtesy of www.virtualtourist.com

Helen K. Beacham
www.helenKbeacham.com

Come paint with me! 

In 2015, we're going to Venice, Niagara Falls, Montreal and so on!!!  
Find details HERE.

See my latest blog post HERE.

Rome to Venice - Easy Peasy

Good news for those traveling to Italy...starting Sunday, you can take one of 2 daily round trip, high speed trains from Rome to Venice, and make the trip in 4 hours!  

You can also get from Rome to Florence, Bologna or Padua in 2-4 hours. 

A quick search on TrenItalia's website shows fares to be 40-60 Euros ($60-75 one way).

Info courtesy of:   https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/italy-rome-airport-florence-venice-train-215215402--finance.html

www.helenKbeacham.com

Come paint with me! 

In 2015, we're going to Venice, Niagara Falls, Montreal and so on!!!  
Find details HERE.

See my latest blog post HERE.

Heading Back to Venice!

Although I haven't posted to this blog in a long time, I'm back....because I'm headed back to Venice in May 2015 with painting students again!  I do have one spot left if you'd like to snag it!

Meanwhile, you can read about my painting escapades on my Art blog (www.helenKbeacham.blogspot.com).  It's where I offer painting tippettes and other insightful perusings.  And my paintings can be seen at:  www.helenkbeacham.com.

Sign up to receive my posts via email (see column on the right) or contact me directly to have you added (helenKbeacham@gmail.com).

Gondolas moored in Venice.  Photo by Helen K. Beacham Fine Art.

Virtual Venice

With Google's Street View Trekker technology, we can now see Venice finally! Electronic maps of all kinds have never worked right in Venice.  It was so unhandy when I taught an 8-day watercolor workshop in Venice this October. I'm so happy it's finally about to get easier to check things out online!

Click HERE for Google's blog post and announcement.

Photo courtesy of www.googleblog.blogspot.com

To see my artwork, please visit:  www.helenKbeacham.com

Depp - Another reason to visit Venice!

Reportedly, Johnny Depp just spent $13.8 million on the purchase of this 17th century Venetian "fixer upper" after spending time in Venice, filming "The Tourist" with Angelina Jolie.  The man has great taste!

Palazzo Donà Sangiantoffetti - recently purchased by Johnny Depp
It's located in the Santa Croce area, overlooking the Grand Canal.
Photo courtesy of:  http://venicewiki.org/wiki/Palazzo_Don%C3%A0_Sangiantoffetti

                         Please see my artwork at www.helenKbeacham.com

                  Will feature Venice paintings upon my return from there 

at the end of October 2013!!!

Culinary Trip for 2 to Venice, Italy

Want a chance to win a World Market food lover's dream trip to Venice, Italy for two!??  Of course you do!  So do I!  

Click HERE for sweepstakes rules and guidelines.

Contest ends October 18, 2013.

Please see my artwork at www.helenKbeacham.com

See my latest post HERE.

Venice Snippets

Image courtesy of: www.aviewoncities.com
and of: http://www.cellartours.com/italy/italian-wine-maps/

Snippets of info about Venice, our host city for our October 8-day painting workshop.  Venice is located in the Veneto region, where some of the finest vineyards are located.  If you can add on a few days to the tail end of the workshop, why not visit the countryside?

Map courtesy of: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cellartours.com/italy/italian-wine-maps/images/veneto-wine-map.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cellartours.com/italy/italian-wine-maps/veneto-wine-map.html&h=769&w=575&sz=106&tbnid=UhFIYHfkv-jTfM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=67&zoom=1&usg=__IKsNTyCnuFuzsZvBNkkCPT_5dlU=&docid=9-jGYShsIrE6VM&sa=X&ei=RIvmUb2hEJiy4AOjyIDoCw&ved=0CDsQ9QEwAg&dur=443

The historic part of Venice, which consists of 6 sestieri, is home to 60,000 people (as of the 2009 Census), while the town of Venice proper houses 270,000 as of 2008's numbers.  That's actually gone down from 1991 when it was 310,000.  

The Venice city area is 177 sq. miles.  According to Rick Steves, "you can walk across it, from head to tail, in about an hour."  

See my latest post HERE.

Google Street View hits Venice!

Photo courtesy of Google and/or www.dailymail.co.uk

At the end of July, lovers of Venice will be able to "see it" virtually, thanks to the dynamics of Google!  They have sent out their crew with 33 lb cameras strapped to their backs...they walk the canals and side streets of Venice, capturing images for Google Street View.  Google usually sends out cars with the camera strapped to it, but that's obviously impossible to do in Venice!  Can't wait for the next 2 weeks to hurry by!

You may read more about this HERE.

Good riddance, Skyscraper!

Photo courtesy of : www.dezeen.com

I can't possibly imagine that it would take 2 years for the Italian public and the government to ax Pierre Cardin's plan to erect this skyscraper IN VENICE!  Classic case of "what were they thinking!?"  You may read more HERE.

Read my latest post HERE.

www.helenKbeacham.com

Watchful eyes on Prosecco!

Bars and enotecas found to be ripping off their customers will be liable to fines ranging
from €2,000 to a hefty €20,000 (£17,400). Photo: ALAMY

Prosecco producers in northern Italy felt the need for a "hall monitor" of sorts, to ensure that lovers of the sparkling wine are getting what they think they're buying.  Two main reasons stand out:

1.  They want to ensure that the bubbly wine is served straight from the bottle and not on tap or in carafes in restaurants.  The infraction will result in heavy fines.

2.  They want Croatia, who just recently joined the EU, to stop selling a product called "prosek" which, in no shape or form, is prosecco.  However, if it were sitting on the shelf next to prosecco, it could end up disappointing the unwary buyer and cause irreparable damage to the well-established reputation of prosecco vintners.

I personally love my prosecco, and can appreciate where these vintners are coming from. Which is YOUR favorite brand?

You may read more about it HERE.

Read my latest post HERE.

Home of the Gondolas

My Italian painting partner (Kelly Medford, who lives in Rome) took a short visit up to Venice last week...(Kelly, I'm so jealous that you can just hop on a train and visit Venice!)

While she was there, she had the opportunity to visit a gondola shop (!) where she painted this unique spot.

The Gondola Yard, Squero di San Trovaso

9x12"

oil on paper

©Kelly Medford

Kelly wrote about this experience on her own blog (which you should check out and sign up to receive her great posts).  When Kelly paints a particular spot, you get the added pleasure of reading all about the history and insights that she gleans from the people that live and work wherever she's chosen to paint for the day.  Kelly wrote this about the Gondola Yard:

If you have not seen this place, it's such an odd jewel on the corner of a canal next to the church in San Trovaso. It's odd because it is built entirely of wood and looks like something straight out of the Dolomites.

 That's because it is.

Traditionally the workers came from the Dolomite region of the Alps and the structure is Tyrolean in style.

This gondola shop was built in the 17th century and is the oldest of the 3 shops of its kind left in the city. Mostly they just repair gondolas rather than make them anymore. There are on average just 350 gondolas on the canals of the city today compared with the 10,000 in the past.

Making a new gondola is a feat and requires 8 different kinds of wood: mahogany, cherry, fir, walnut, oak, elm, larch and lime.

And if you are wondering about the color black, that became...read more by clicking HERE.

Come with me (Helen K. Beacham) and Kelly Medford to paint Venice this October...

Click HERE for details!

Read my latest post HERE.

Where am I?

All photos courtesy of http://www.kimwaltonphotography.co.uk

When we think of BURANO (an island in the northern Venetian lagoon), we think of colorful houses, lined up in rows (and we think of pretty lace!).  But from the eyes of a master photographer like KIM WALTON, we see the other Burano.  Fishermen go about their daily lives and chores, giving us painters another reason to linger a bit longer!  Check these out!

This scene very much reminds me of our Lowcountry marsh scenes.

Quiet spot to contemplate the beauty we've just seen in Burano.

All photos courtesy of http://www.kimwaltonphotography.co.uk/burano/

Read my latest post HERE.

Don't leave home w/o your App for Italy's provinces

Photo courtesy of www.technorati.com

To bring Italy into the 21st century, yet keep the traditions of the past has been a problem that savvy tourism entrepreneurs in Umbria (who live there) have embraced by establishing/creating apps which promote the finest aspects of their regional culture: food, wine, museums, antiquities, wineries, restaurants, recipes. Who better than a native to introduce you to the best of the best in the region.

One noted app, Umbria Slow reveals the undiscovered region of central Italy, taking you off the well known city journeys in Venice, Florence and Rome. Other apps of Umbria offer maps and guides.

The best app of Umbria to date is...read more HERE.
(article courtesy of www.technorati.com)

Read my latest post HERE.

Nestled

Tuscany offers a bazillion opportunities for artists to capture in paint.  I remember flying over the ocean, thinking "what if I get there, and it's not as great as I hope it will be?".  Man, oh, man.  Every turn in the road was a picture.  The simplicity of it all is what makes it so great!

"Nestled II" (watercolor by Helen K Beacham)
Framed size:  18 x 21 (Image size:  8 x 11) $595.

Come with Helen K. Beacham and Kelly Medford to paint Venice this October...

click HERE for details!

See my latest post HERE.

Small turf, large ideas for gardens.

Photo courtesy of: www.50yearsinItaly.blogspot.com

Luckily  most citizens (in Italy) do not wait for official recognition nor annual festivals, for they look after their spontaneous gardens all year round.  See more photos of special, personal gardens HERE.  

Read my latest post HERE.

Don't feed the pigeons????

(Photo: Gene Sloan, USA TODAY)

It is illegal to:

1. Feed pigeons in St. Mark's Square in Venice, Italy. The practice was outlawed in 2008, much to the dismay of seed vendors there, because the historical buildings (and many sightseers) were bearing the brunt of the byproduct.

See another 9 weird foreign rules...HERE!

psst...come feed the pigeons with us!  and come paint Venice 

with Helen K. Beacham and Kelly Medford this October...

Two Spots Left!  Click HERE for details!

Read my latest post HERE.

Eye Candy near Venice, Italy

Courtesy of www.gizmodo.com

"Behind the Edge" is an eye-popping series by photographer Luigui Bonaventura, who shoots the brightly-hued balconies of hotels in Jesolo Beach, a small coastal town outside of Venice, Italy. The pastel facades look like meticulously arranged boxes of salt water taffy....read more (and see more images!) HERE.

READ MY LATEST POST HERE.

Venice Card Benefits

Cost:  40 Euros (approx. $52).

What it offers

Venice Card is the official City Card of Venice, valid 7 days from the first use. free entrance to: Doge’s Palace and the other 10 Musei Civici di Venezia, free entrance to 15 Chorus Churches, free entrance to Querini Stampalia Foundation and Jewish Museum, reduced admissions to: Temporary Exhibitions on Musei Civici Veneziani and Palazzo Fortuny, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, La Biennale di Venezia, Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation, many other Museums, Foundations, and temporary exhibitions. Shopping and leisure time: many discounts and facilities are available in shops displaying the Venice Card decalcomania, Free! A welcome kit with a handy Venice map-guide. (Courtesy of http://www.hellovenezia.com) Come with Helen K. Beacham and Kelly Medford to paint Venice this October... Two Spots Left!  Click HERE for details! READ MY LATEST POST HERE.

Venice hosts 13th annual cooking competition

Business Wire - S.Pellegrino announced Chef Paul Qui of Austin, TX will represent the U.S. in the 13th Annual S.Pellegrino Cooking Cup. The unique event, taking place June 14-15 in Venice, Italy, is a combination of cooking competition and regatta, challenging sailors, skippers and the most talented young chefs from around the world to prepare a meal while sailing from Malamocco to San Giorgio Island.  Photo courtesy of www.FortMillTimes.com.

...13^th Annual S.Pellegrino Cooking Cup...

This exclusive cooking competition and regatta, organized in collaboration with the historic Venetian yacht club Compagnia della Vela, brings together ten of the world’s most talented young chefs, international sailors, skippers and fine dining lovers for one unique weekend in Venice, Italy.

Each chef, representing a different country, will take part in the competition to be held June 14-15, 2013. The boats will sail from Malamocco to San Giorgio Island, and will each have on board the chefs as well as seasoned crews. While sailors and skippers are busy on deck maneuvering through the waters, the chefs will execute a dish which will be judged by...read more HERE.

Come with Helen K. Beacham and Kelly Medford 

to paint Venice this October...Two Spots Left!

click HERE for details!

www.helenKbeacham.com

READ MY LATEST POST HERE.

Delta Air Lines to Resume Venice – Atlanta Summer Service

Airline offering over 2,500 additional weekly seats between Venice and United States

VENICE,  7 May 2013 – Delta Air Lines seasonal nonstop service between Venice’s Marco Polo and Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International airport will recommence on 2 June, 2013.

The flight will operate up to six times weekly throughout the peak summer season using a Boeing 767-300 aircraft with 209 seats in conjunction with Delta’s joint venture partner Alitalia.

"Italy is a very important market for Delta and Venice a key destination for both business and leisure travelers."....read more HERE.

Come with Helen K. Beacham and Kelly Medford 

to paint Venice this October...Two Spots Left!

click HERE for details!

www.helenKbeacham.com

READ MY LATEST POST HERE.

Why Burano's colors???

Photo courtesy of http://www.wetooktheroadlesstraveled.com/

One blogger writes:  "Back in the day, families here used to paint their homes bright colors to designate where one family's quarters ended and another's began. The colors also helped fisherman find their homes late at night after a long day at sea. The painting tradition has since stuck and become one of the most defining characteristics of this charming sea town."   ...read more HERE.

Another blogger adds to the "colorful" intrigue:  "But I loved it for the rows of brightly colored homes, lining small channels. Each one is painted a different vibrant color, but all have the same dark green shutters." (now my words: we, here in Charleston, SC, know ALL about dark green shutters, don't we?...back to our guest blogger...)  "If an owner wishes to repaint, they have to request it through the government, who then tells them what colors are permitted for their lot. Talk about Homeowners Association!"  ...read more HERE.

READ MY LATEST POST HERE.

Italy's Unusual May Festivals

Serpari festival, Cocullo, Abruzzo  (Pro loco Cocullo)
The snake charmer.
Courtesy: www.50yearsinitaly.blogspot.com

May is  the best time to visit central Italy especially if you are an anthropologist. Here there are many unusual festivals  that include the marriage of two trees,  a race  honoring a horse man and   a procession of snake charmers. 

The  period between Easter  and the month of May  abounds with festivals having  a fertility  significance such as  the Wedding of the Trees  held in...read more HERE.

Read my latest post HERE.

Silvia’s Fennel and Red Onion Gratin

Silvia's Fennel and Red Onion Gratin: Photo by Ryan Bartley; Recipe by Silvia Nacamulli

Ingredients

• 3 large red onions
• 3 heads fennel
• Garlic powder, to taste
• 4 tbsp freshly minced flat parsley
• 4-5 tbsp breadcrumbs or panko
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat the fan (convection) oven to 375 F and line 2 large sheet trays with parchment paper.

Peel the onions and wash the fennel, eliminating the choke.

Cut the fennel in half thorugh its root and boil it in salted water for 10-15 minutes. Drain and cut again lengthwise: you will have 4 long slices for each head of fennel*.

Cut the onions crosswise into 1 inch-thick slices.

Arrange the fennel and onion on the baking sheet as a single layer.

Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder on top of each onion and fennel slice. Cover with breadcrumbs and parsley, and drizzle with the olive oil.

Bake for about 45 min or until golden. .

*If the fennel is large, cut it into more slices.

Distribute the onions and fennel slices

_________________________________________________________

...see more HERE about the Italian chef, Silvia Nacamulli, and more!

Come with Helen K. Beacham and Kelly Medford to paint Venice this October...

Two Spots Left!

click HERE for details!

www.helenKbeacham.com

Read my latest post HERE.