"Canal At Twilight"
28 x 40
By Alexei Butirskiy

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“Canal at Twilight”

One of the ever-present canals in Amsterdam with boats and barges moored along its edges, the romantic little floating homes take my breath away! The main feature in this painting is the perspective, with a waterway that extends far into the distance. The light seems to arise from far away; it brightens the water and structures in the foreground. Life is everywhere in this city - on the ground, permeating the air, and floating on the water. (Quite a few creatures live in the water as well!) I love to take a motorboat ride past the houseboats, and marvel how the people live on the waterways. I peek through the curtainless windows and easily see one person is reclining, one is stretching, one is cooking, and one is reading - all are at home and at ease in their floating palaces. You can feel the openness, though I do not show actual people in my paintings out of respect for their privacy.