St Marks 1

These paintings are part of a series I created after standing on the balcony of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, looking back at the church façade. I was struck by the silent presence of the sculpted figures nestled high above the crowd—tucked into arches, leaning back against stone, as if listening or dreaming. They’re easy to miss from the square below, but up close, they each have such character—resting, watching, holding up the weight of time itself.

I painted them as I saw them that day: not just as historical artifacts, but as living personalities frozen in ornate mosaic frames. Each figure, carved in stone, appears so human—tired or amused, maybe even bored—and the intimacy of that feeling really stayed with me. I wanted to capture that tension between the grand scale of the architecture and the quiet individuality of each sculpture.

The textures are layered and thick, just like the history of the building itself. I let the colours bleed and swirl to reflect both the age of the structure and the vibrancy of Venice. Golds and blues dominate—echoes of the mosaics and the sky—and the arches around the figures feel like a protective frame, part theatre, part sanctuary.

For me, this series is about overlooked beauty—the small, expressive details that sit quietly in the corners of great monuments. It’s also about memory, awe, and the human spirit tucked into stone.