This charming book presents illustrator Huck Scarry's impressions, in watercolors, pencil sketches and journal entries, of a Venice most tourists never see. Scarry reveals the hidden charms and subtle moods of this ancient city in more than 120 full-color pages, filled with images ranging from detailed drawings of little-known piazzas and monochrome studies of Venetian cats to panoramic watercolor renderings of the Grand Canal. His illustrations and accompanying texts are a testament to Scarry's love affair with this endlessly fascinating city of water, wind, light, and shadow. With an acute and ironical eye and a light hand, Scarry studies Venice's unique angles, whims, and details: "Whenever I could, I would take my box of paints, my sketchbook, and my folding chair, and go painting through the streets of Venice and at the lagoon. The drawings filled my portfolio and became the beginning of my Venetian diary." His observations of moving and changing colors, atmospheres, and perspectives reflect the wonders of a stay in the city.