This exhibition is composed of more than 70 portraits of the Grand Canal in Venice. Each picture portrays a specific building or series of buildings, and all are fronted by the waters of the canal.

This is a rich, substantial and painstakingly executed body of work, which took over 12 years to complete. Each piece possesses the formality and precision of an architectural drawing, while at the same time providing a hauntingly romantic picture of every house, church or building that flanks the canal of this much loved city.

Avery works in watercolour, but not in watercolour as it is so often used today.

Harking back to an 18th- century technique, she builds each stone, facade, tower, spire, and bridge out of minute blocks of colour. This enables her to capture the most delicate details of the built environment, and to give every building sharp definitive edges, which sets them in contrast to the softness of the sky and the mercurial colours of the canal itself.

In Punte de la Dogana Santa Maria della Salute the familiar and iconic rounded dome stands firm and strong, a pale ethereal grey, while the once solid body of water of the canal dissipates into eddies and currents on entering the wider waters of the lagoon.

Ponte de Rialto (pictured) invites one to rethink the famous bridge, fronted here by a calm expanse of duck egg blue water, it looks almost ghostly, stripped bare of its customary hustle and bustle, and void of any people save for a lone gondolier.

While each picture on show stands well on its own, bringing them together in this way offers a unique opportunity to journey the length of the Grand Canal via the complete series of portraits.

The exhibition is at Art Jericho, 6 King Street, Oxford, and continues until April 5. The gallery is open between 10am and 5 pm Wednesday to Saturday and noon to 5pm on Sundays.