Objects of Desire

A painter’s memoir of obsession, loss and creation during a trip to Venice

Alone in Venice for an artist’s residency, Celia Paul records her daily painting practice. Her days are both charged with and interrupted by the turmoil she feels over the death of her husband, and her more recent obsession with a younger man.

Inspired by the art, literature and atmosphere of the light-filled city around her, Paul’s meditations on love, creation, ageing and belonging are interwoven with fascinating explorations of artists and writers connected to Venice.

An act of profound and deeply personal observation, Objects of Desire reveals more with each reading. This is a window into a life devoted to art, a self-portrait of an artist who longs to look unflinchingly at herself – and invites us to do the same.