Morning on the Seine

Mornings were lovely in Paris, but it seems I rarely got out early to sketch, as I was often running to some destination.  This is a quick sketch looking toward the Pont Louis-Philippe, the bridge and buildings are backlit.

Summer morning along the Seine. July 2013

Windy and cold evening at the Louvre in June

This was one of our best evenings in Paris!  Rich and I were waiting for the kids to show up at the Louvre, so I pulled out my sketchbook, found a spot on the stairs out of the wind and cold (yes, cold in June--what a "summer" in Paris) and did this sketch as it was getting dark. 

The Louvre as it was getting dark and cold.  June 2013
The IM Pei pyramid is just to the right of this sketch.

Attempting Notre-Dame de Paris

I've been so busy with work till now, I haven't been able to get back to posting some more sketches from the summer!

I tried to sketch the exterior of Notre Dame many times, as it was literally a five minute walk from the Cité des Arts where I was living. I could hear the bells chime many times throughout the day, and it was one of the greatest pleasures of being in Paris.  The cornerstone of the cathedral was placed in 1163, and there is a medallion in the paving marking kilometre zero, the official center of the city of Paris--very cool.

I never was very successful in capturing the exterior of this building in a sketch.  
For one, the proportions are very difficult to get correct.
For two, there are these darn bleachers for tourists right in front of the building, so you can never stand back far enough to get a good view of the front, western facade.  So I tried slightly different angles from the edges. 
For three, I was sometimes harassed while I was sitting and drawing.  Ah well--the lot of the single female traveling alone!

Here are three different attempts...

My favorite church, Saint Eustache

This was probably my favorite church in Paris--so noble, usually few people inside, and it feels very real somehow.  Saint Eustache is near Les Halles, which is basically a big construction site, so it was hard to get a good view of the exterior.  It was built between 1532-1632 and is a great example of high gothic architecture.  According to Wikipedia, Mozart chose this location for his mother's funeral, Louis XIV had communion here, and Moliere was baptized and married amidst this stone.

I went to sketch it on one of the really HOT days in Paris hoping it would be cool inside, but I happened to get there 10 minutes before closing.  Darn.  I did make it back several days later, as I was determined to do a sketch here before leaving France.

This particular day, I walked in and discovered organ music filling the cavernous space.  It seems there was a woman giving lessons, as several students were lined up waiting for their turn on the giant organ. What a sense of power it must be to press the keys and have that glorious sound fill such a huge church!  It was magical to sit and sketch while listening to this music.

The top of this sketch is literally the pipe organ directly above my head.  The ceiling was particularly hard to draw...I wish my sketch did justice to this magnificent building.

Paris. Saint Eustache...large image so you can see the detail.

Notre Dame from Ile Saint Louis

I had a headache today, but this afternoon, I made myself go out to sketch, as there are only 3 days left in Paris.   Tons of tourists out, but the quai across from Notre Dame was surprisingly empty.  I was also surprised to feel Fall in the air!!  The wind has changed, it's cooler here.  

Notre Dame from Ile Saint Louis. Aug 8

Afternoon heat in the Place des Vosges

Lately I work in my studio apartment at the Cité up until it gets too hot in the afternoon, which is just about now.  Yesterday in the heat, I made my way to the nearby Carnavalet Museum (history of Paris) and then to the Place des Vosges.  
Kids were playing on the equipment under the clipped trees, moms were yelling at the kids (they don't seem to hold back here), and lots of people were sitting on the grass in the shade having picnics.  It was 97 degrees!!

Today I'll have to go somewhere inside, hopefully to Saint Eustache.

Place des Vosges in 97 degree heat. August 1

Hit 97 degrees in Paris Today

...and almost NOTHING is air conditioned.  Not even the Louvre has air conditioning! 

Paris is an oven. 

My apartment at the Cité faces south, with tilt windows that only open about 6 inches, so even with my little fan going full blast, it's really really hot.  I had to escape in the afternoon today and tomorrow too, although I'm not really sure it's any better outside.

Much of Paris is gone in late July and August, but I think all the people that didn't go to the country or the coast were dancing along the Seine last night.  It was really amazing...on the shady side just east of Pont de Sully, tons of people found their favorite music and kicked up their heals in style--Parisian women in their typical tight fitting dresses and heals, and they seem to all be slender too, and the men sort of following along from what I saw.  These folks took their dancing very seriously.

Different spots had different music--I was sketching at the spot for swing music,
but only a few feet away next door were the tango dancers...and Paris Urban Sketchers capturing their every move!  I also heard latin music, and who knows what else.  It really looked like fun, and it is much to hot to be indoors. Tons of people in large and small groups dotted the banks with pretty great looking picnics.

Tomorrow, I'll spend the afternoon sketching at my favorite church, Saint Eustache, where it will hopefully be cool and quiet.

Swing dancing along the Seine, near Pont de Sully and the Ile Saint Louis. July31.
This sketch may be better as two separate halves...hmmm...

Put down the brush!

I'm off to Versailles today for what is likely the last time of this trip.  I have been granted permission to sketch inside (!) and I'll also be meeting one of the staff architects for lunchtime sketching (thank you so much, Ruaidhri!)

But while slurping down my morning muesli, I thought I'd post an older sketch.  My challenges in painting are 1--values, figuring out how to translate a pencil value study into color and 2--which colors to use for shade and shadow in different situations.  Watercolor is SOOOOO hard!

Here you see my dilemma in practice--the photo from the site, then how I overworked the sketch trying to get a value I liked on the Seine wall below the cathedral.  I hope to try this view again and get it right before leaving.  It's only about a 5 minute walk from here...

Hard to know when to stop, especially when trying to figure out values.  I hope to redo this sketch next week~~

I pass this building all the time...

The Cité des Arts where I'm staying is almost right behind the City Hall of Paris-- I pass it all the time, so I had to try and capture it before leaving.  The Hôtel de Ville has been in this location since 1357, according to Wikipedia.  The building is covered with niches occupied by statues of famous frenchmen,
including architect Boulé from one of my first sketches of this trip.

Was a little overwhelming to sketch, sitting on the curb.  Cars and motorcycles would pull up right in front of me, some pretending I wasn't there and others, making funny faces and hoping I'd draw them into the sketch.  Next time I'll take my stool to sit on!

Today I'm off to Vaux le Vicomte this weekend for my Gabriel Prize project--hope to do lots of painting, if the violent thunderstorms we've been having (due to heat) don't pose a problem. Tonight is the amazing Saturday night candle lighting of the château and gardens--it is really beautiful. I'll post a photo here when I'm back on Sunday night.

Paris, I pass the Hôtel de Ville all the time...July25

Same building, my second sketch
of the trip in the rain, from the top
of the BHV department store.

Back to Rue Montorgueil

Posting a sketch I did while waiting for my husband and son to arrive in Paris last month. Now that it's roasting hot here, it's hard to remember that it was rainy and very cold while I sat on some stairs and did this sketch as well as for my first 6 weeks in France.

Rue Montorgueil is just north of Les Halles and is famous for its food shops--it is an amazing pedestrian street.

Rue Montorgueil in the cold and rain, about a month ago...

Notre Dame

Yesterday, it started to rain again while I was walking 
to buy watercolor paper near the Pantheon.  So, I 
made a left turn and joined the long lines to enter 
Notre Dame.  Walked around the entire interior, 
then found a spot to sit.  Listened to mass in 
French while drawing.

I did the complete line drawing in the cathedral, 
but it was too dark to paint it there. And since 
today it poured like cats and dogs, I was able 
to stay inside and work on several sketches, 
including this one.  This is such a big Parisian icon,
I felt some pressure to do a good job...

Click on the image to see it better.

Notre Dame. detail. June 12

Soufflot's Pantheon

Soufflot's Pantheon, Paris. June 12

Today I went to buy watercolor paper, but upon arrival, found the store closed for lunch.
So I went and had lunch at a nearby creperie on rue Soufflot, and while I sat and ate my buckwheat crepe with chese, ham/bacon, and an egg on top for 9 euros, I did a quick sketch of the Pantheon.  

Construction of this building started in 1758 under Louis XV.  It was briefly a church but over the centuries became a mausoleum where the likes of Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Marie Curie, Louis Braille, and Soufflot, the architect, are all buried.

It's still very gray and drizzly out, so I had to make up the sense of shading on the building.

Woke up in Paris Today (someone pinch me)

As I'm traveling alone, I had to pinch myself.  Groggy from jet-lag, I awoke today to a chilly, wet, gray Paris morning, rather like the Seattle I'm used to.  But the similarity stops there...this is no Seattle!  

Yes, it's finally here...the opportunity of a life time to sketch, paint, draw, study and experience the architecture and urbanity of this amazing city, thanks to the incredible generosity of one George Parker Jr. and the jury who saw fit to award this year's Gabriel Prize to moi. To them, I am profoundly humbled and grateful--grateful to my core--and I hope I can honor this legacy by producing some beautiful work over the next three months.

I also awoke to a state of shock...yes, I've left my husband and two kids back in Seattle for a big chunk of time. Yes, I'll be on my own most of the time in Paris (have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit alone in a romantic Parisian cafe?)  And yes, the pressure is ON to find my artistic self at last, draw and paint non-stop, and produce something worthy of this incredibly, unbelievably rare opportunity. I hope I rise to the challenge.

Today in the rain, I made my way to the nearby Jardin du Luxembourg, peppered with young people in romantic poses at one end and with small groups of tourists in the other.  It was raining, but under the canopy of the dense rectangularly-trimmed trees, it was very dry, so quite a few people were huddled together listening to the rain hit the leaves overhead.  It was lovely.

I pulled out sketchbook number one, turned to the first blank page, and plunged in. 

Palais du Luxembourg, Jardin du Luxembourg May 16