Watercolor painting of a narrow Venice canal

I absolutely love traveling to Venice, Italy, and painting with watercolors there; the city is brimming with character, history, and inspiration. For an artist like me who enjoys exploring different textures, every corner offers a potential painting. In fact, a single spot can provide multiple compositions as the light shifts and the weather changes! One such inspiring scene was a narrow canal tucked away in Venice.

During my most recent visit, I spent two full weeks in Venice, which allowed me to really absorb the atmosphere—though of course, not nearly to the depth of the locals. Still, it gave me a much richer understanding of the city compared to my previous brief visit of just a day and a half.

I stayed at Hotel Malibran, a modest but conveniently located hotel just a few minutes’ walk from the Rialto Bridge and a short stroll to St. Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco). This central location made it easy to explore on foot while still allowing me to hop on the vaporetti (Venice’s water buses), which offer a fantastic “hop on, hop off” way to see the main canals and islands. These vaporetti also make excellent spots for photography; many of the platforms are fixed on supports rather than floating, which means they are steady and ideal for capturing clear photos.

I’ve shared a separate article on plein air watercolor painting on this site, where you can see some of the artworks I completed during my stay in Venice.

Over the years, I’ve painted countless Venetian scenes—from iconic landmarks like Santa Maria della Salute and St. Mark’s Square to the enchanting, narrow back canals and alleyways that seem frozen in time, unchanged for centuries—which, historically, they largely are!

Watercolor Materials Used

Paper: Arches 300gsm Rough watercolor paper, approximately 7″ x 22″ (18 cm x 56 cm).

Brushes: Round brushes, sizes 24 and 16 for broad washes; sizes 12, 10, and 8 for smaller areas and detailed work.

Paints: All Winsor & Newton artist-quality watercolors. The colors I used included:

Cobalt Blue

French Ultramarine

Raw Umber

Burnt Sienna

Permanent Alizarin Crimson

Cobalt Turquoise

Cadmium Orange

Other Supplies: Backing board, masking tape, an old towel to manage brush moisture, tissues, and other basic accessories for controlling your work.

This setup allowed me to fully capture the charm and texture of Venice’s narrow canals in watercolor, while experimenting with light, reflection, and architectural detail.