In preparation for my trip to Paris, I purchased a copy of this book. It was absolutely adorable. The pictures, advice, and suggestions were very helpful to me! The best thing about this book is the artist's perspective. I really enjoy sketching while I am traveling especially during my last trip to Europe during August of '09. I sketched a little here and there, but with a couple of art classes under my belt, I've really flourished in my style and confidence.
These are supplies that I picked up at Le Bon Marche - very close to the metro stop and very, very fancy and high end. It was really fun exploring the supplies, paper, and journals. It was hard not to pick up a bunch of things, but since I was trying to be mobile and cost-effective, I just settled on some basics.
On my first night in Paris, I braved the cool, cool windy weather and walked along the Seine to the Musee D'Orsay. This area is very arty because the Ecole des Beaux Arts and various art galleries are nearby, too. Luckily, the museum happened to be open late on Thursday evening. The museum has a lot of more recent artwork from mid 1800s to early 1900s. But, there were a couple of statues that caught my eye. The first one was the one of Jean d'Arc which I sketched. And, the other one was Degas' "Small Dancer Aged 14" which I really took a liking to. I enjoy Degas unfinished style in his ballerina paintings, and I think I can relate to the quickly and fast sketch style that he has.
On a Saturday morning, I went to Centre Pompidu and explored the Le Marais neighborhood. Again another cold and sunny day in Paris and as I shivered I decided to capture the crazy and whimsical statues in the nearby Stravinsky Fountain. It was a nice contrast to the classical statues I was looking at in the M'Orsay and even when I was in Florence and we were examining Michelangelo's David. The fountain was inspired by Stravinksy's song "Rite of Spring." It gave me fond memories of listening to that piece when I was a teenager. I also loved the "Firebird Suite" by the same composer and ended up doing a painting in college inspired by the song. So, I found it rather funny that there is real and respected public art in the world that is inspired by musicians.
After walking through the plaza, I went to the top, top, top floor of Centre Pompidou and caught an amazing view of the city. I could see everything up top: Sacre Cour on top of Montmartre, the Eiffel Tower, the typical Parisian rooftops, and the spires of Notre Dame. It was so beautiful.
I really enjoyed the sculptures in Centre Pompidou. It was nice to practice sketching forms and shading. I made an attempt to draw "Deux Negresse" and a woman lounging. (I'm not really sure if Matisse did the lounging woman because it could have been Picasso. I forgot to make note.)So those are a few special pieces that I thought I'd share on artfullyluxe. I hope you enjoyed reading about my creative adventure. I have a few more that I'd like to share. So, be on the lookout for part deux sooon!
