Is it Dewsbury or Venice?

David Martin's painting 'Canaletto Veduta?', picture taken by Jason Batley

Based on the work of Italian artist Canaletto whose paintings captured striking views of Venice, David has created his own oil painting highlighting Venetian beauty in the Dewsbury townscape.

The 61-year-old took his inspiration from warehouse buildings in Bradford Road, which he said reminded him of Venetian architecture.

He said: “I have always admired the Italianate facades of the warehouses on Bradford Road and many of the buildings up Bond Street and Wellington Road.

David Martin with his painting 'Canaletto Veduta?'.

“I was looking at a print of Canaletto’s Grand Canal and noticed many of the buildings were very similar to the Dewsbury warehouses. You can see and appreciate the Italianate facades in the warm Yorkshire stone.

“Venice is arguably the most beautiful city in the world and my painting, Canaleto Veduta? is to show that, in my opinion, if Venice was populated or furnished entirely with Dewsbury buildings, it would be just as beautiful.”

“The painting is a veduta landscape view incorporating architectural features either actual or imaginative. It is not a painting of Dewsbury, nor is it a painting of Venice.

“I am simply asking that we look at the town from a new angle.”

The painting, which took two to three months to complete, has had a lot of interest from people in the area after being displayed at an exhibition in Dewsbury Town Hall, and has caught the eye of Kirklees Mayor Coun Martyn Bolt.

“The oil painting has caused a lot more interest than I anticipated and has been very well received,” said David.

“The Mayor saw it at an exhibition in Dewsbury and has actually requested that it be on display in the town hall. I am currently in discussions with Kirklees Council about this possibility.

“A portrait I painted of the 2011-2012 mayor Eric Firth is also hanging on display there, in the Council Chambers.”

David is a retired designer who has been creating oil and watercolour paintings for most of his life.

He has painted a range of Yorkshire landscapes, including scenes from across Dewsbury, and particularly enjoys capturing the beauty of the Yorkshire coastline.

Prints of Canaletto Veduta? are now available to buy at www.yorkshireart.org.