In 2018, I was lucky enough to go to Venice. I had reached St Marks Basilica around noon, and I was high up looking down on the square outside, when the heavens opened and it poured rain. Thousands of people popped up umbrellas and moved and swirled across the square. It was so beautiful, I spent a hour photographing the swirls of humanity - patterns of people and umbrellas moving en mass and threading their way in different directions. It was quite a beautiful moment. This painting sat unfinished for many years, and just recently I picked up my paints again and pushed it to completion.
The Basilica is the most important religious temple in the city of Venice. It is located in the St. Mark square (Piazza San Marco), next to the Doge's Palace, and has always been the center of the public and religious life in the city. The Basilica is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Europe and around the world. My sense of joy here wasn’t based in the spiritual or historical setting of the Basilica though - I saw joy and beauty in our humanity - and the patterns we make when we act collectively - in this case, moving in the rain.