Lady In Red, 2026

Acrylic, cyanotype on linen

It was my last day in Venice, Italy. It was cold, rainy and I was irritable but I decided to go out and explore since my stay was limited there. As I went to my ferry stop to cross the canal, I looked over and saw this woman. Her stare felt soft but intentional, it was something I had experienced often throughout Italy but I didn’t mind it because any human interaction was welcomed as I was alone and often times throughout my journey, incredibly lonely and incapable to communicate due to the language barrier. As I set out into that day I was hopeful I would make some type of a connection, perhaps even a friend. If only I knew what that day had in store. I walked aimlessly as the rain started to pour down on me. I ended up at a cafe where I decided to log onto one of the apps. I was matched with this handsome man. His name was Bohdan. He worked at a gallery in town, so I mentioned to him I was an artist and it was my last day. We met at my favorite wine bar next to one of the canals and immediately hit it off. He was sassy and loved to talk shit about Americans, which I enjoyed. After the one drink we both looked at each other and decided we wanted to continue to hang out, so we walked. He was an art historian and insisted on taking me to all of these hidden spots and gave me in depth art lessons on each. We ended up in hidden coves making out and giggling. We bar hopped, had some tramezinni, walked and walked, talked about art and our life stories, laughed and laughed. It was about 3 am now and he said “let me take you to the farthest spot in Venice” so we walked and ended up at the farthest point possible in a foggy park on a bench. It felt like out of a movie. We smoked one last cigarette and smiled. He walked me back to my ferry stop and as he said goodbye he said, “I am going to write about this night in my journal”. We said goodbye and I went home with only smiles.