Monet and Venice

The Church of Giorgio Maggiiore, Claude Monet (1908)

Monet and Venice is coming to the de Young Museum in San Francisco on March 21, 2026 through July 26, 2026. In 1908 Claude Monet and his second wife Alice made their only trip to Venice.The exhibition brings together 20 of the 37 Venice oil on canvas Paintings.

Before visiting Venice, Monet had been focusing on his garden in Giverny. He was unhappy with his progress and canceled his 1907 exhibition Water Lilies. Alice convinced him to take a break with a restorative visit to Venice.

Claude and Alice Monet, Venice (1908)

When they arrived in Venice Monet remarked to Alice that Venice is "too beautiful to be painted," adding that he was "too old to paint such beautiful things." He was 68. He planned to stay a few weeks but ended up staying for two months.

The works from his Venice trip are known for their impressionistic, dreamy quality, focusing on the interaction between water, light on buildings and atmosphere.

Alongside Mone't work, the exhibit will display art of Venice by his predecessors and contemporaries. There are over 100 items in the show including paintings, drawings and pastels.

Find out more about this exhibit and buy tickets at the deYoung website.

 

Selfies: a celebration of a modern-day obsession

Nearly 500 female and female identifying photographers responded to the open call for this exhibit at the Royal Photographic Society.

Selfies as an obsession these days is certainly an understatement. As a photographer I rarely took a self portrait and still rarely take a selfie unless texting friends a picture of my new haircut.

Some of the 50 self-portraits in this exhibit are pretty straight forward some have been manipulated and are more complex. I find nearly all of them interesting. A link to the complete 50 follows my favorites, I posted here.

Do I Sit Well

Dee Robinson

Robinson won second prize for Best Black and White - Peoples' Choice. So simple but so elegant.

Garden Lockdown Selfie

Wendy G. Davies

I love taking photos that are reflections. This selfie in a wine glass is so clever. Going to have to think about how she took it from such a distance without with camera showing. 

Pandemic Ghost

Nina Stangle

Self, 2022

Julie Derbyshire

I often cut up my paintings and re-arrange them as a collage. On my To Do list, cut up a portrait.

Torn Apart

Helena Jones

At first I thought this torn self portrait was framed. Then when I looked closer I saw that it was a selfie screenshot taken on her computer. 

See more of the show here ... https://rps.org/groups/women-in-photography/selfies-gallery/

Origami Doves

I first heard about this art installation of origami birds during the pandemic. It was displayed at the Washington National Cathedral as a symbol of hope. Thousands of white paper birds hung from the 100 foot ceilings.

The exhibit was created by German artist Michael Penury and was replicated all over the world.

I have been thinking that maybe I would start making origami doves and start leaving them places and giving them away with the words "Que la paz sea contigo" Peace be with you. Is this something you might be interested in doing as well? 

Click here for  instructions how to make an origami dove...

Want to make a more elaborate dove? Click here...