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February took me to Venice for a couple of weeks, a painters paradise which left me feeling excited and inspired despite the rainy weather. Venice has a charm to it that never really fades for me; the light in Venice is unique, and having not been before in February I discovered that I really loved the challenge of capturing the rainy reflections and muted colours. On one of my first days there I was lucky to find a spot to paint under the arches in Piazza San Marco. Here I had a wonderful view of the Palace and was particularly drawn to the geometry of the subject and muted greys and pinks that lay before me. The painting is shown below.

In April I spent a couple of weeks in the magical city of Florence where I started my career as a painter. I painted a head study alongside a friend of mine whilst there as well as painting some of the stunning Italian landscape in and around the city. I enjoyed painting in the Boboli Gardens especially and was really taken by the light that flooded on to the Viottoloni Avenue one afternoon as I was walking around deciding where to pitch my easel. The sun was soon overridden by some large clouds and it began to rain. The rain came and went and I was thankfully able to finish my painting! While I was in Florence I set up my easel above the city in Pian Dei Giullari where I used to go when I was studying there to escape the hot and crowded city for some fresh countryside air. Although a steep climb up the hill, the views are extraordinary; rolling tuscan hills and olive groves seem to go on for miles! I painted up there on a couple of occassions.