Striking New Venetian Inspired Painting
Jason and Zorro, Venice
Unframed
45 x 46 cm / 18" x 18"
Framed
67 x 68 cm / 26” x 26"
Oil on board
2019
Signed lower right
In this most recent painting, bright sunlight illuminates the foreground against a moody sky in a dramatic and unmistakably Venetian setting, which captivated the artist when he visited Italy in 2011.
Proudly standing in the foreground a jock-strap clad man gently cradles a regal looking dog in front of a small cruising boat between mooring poles. Flanked either side of the painting are more elaborate yellow and white candy-striped poles instantly placing the subjects in Venice.
The fox terrier looks out, fixated on something in the distance. Perhaps he has seen one of Venice's ubiquitous pigeons or a curious local looking down from a balcony. Further intrigue is added to the composition by leaving the viewer to decide what might be covered by the curtain-like canvas inside the boat.
The purity and brightness of the dog's white fur and the jock strap dramatically off sets the models skin tone, and is complimented by the equally dominant cadmium yellow in this very fine painting, which overall exhibits a relatively restrained colour palette.
This most recent painting features the artist’s second depiction of Jason Phoenix, who is a close friend of the artist, holding the older of Watson’s fox terriers, Zorro.
