Category Archives: Life drawing

Metier Museum, Picasso Museum, and Life Drawing

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Day 8.    Sunday, September 7, 2025

We picked up our car this morning, a Ford Hybrid with a nice big trunk.  Driving back from Gare de Lyon to our bnb went well, and our host let us park in his yard for the night which we really appreciated.  There are next to no parking spots on the streets in this neighbourhood.

I left for drawing in Montmartre, which was an hour away.  I arrived just in time for the session, and the organizer, Deni, remembered me from the last time I was here, two years ago!

Aurora, five 2 minute poses, 1 5min pose

Two 5 minute poses, three 10 minute poses

One very challenging foreshortened 25 minute pose.

Before catching the metro home I stop to watch four very muscular handsome young men performing for donations, while I eat a yummy crepe sucré avec banane for my dinner.

There were a lot of steps on this metro trip so I decided to count them on the way home. Including these 104 spiral steps I went up and down 456 steps!!  So, going and coming from drawing I climbed up and down a total of 912 steps. No wonder French people are so healthy!  I was rather proud of myself climbing these spiral steps and passing a group of people much younger than I am huffing and puffing as they rested on one of the landings! 

Short skirts are in fashion…very very short skirts!

While I was at drawing Bob visited two museums.  The Musée des Arts et Métiers is a museum of technological innovation that exhibits over 2,400 inventions.  This is the first battery that was invented in 1799 by Volta.

This first sewing machine was invented in 1830. Dozens of these machines were destroyed by 200 tailors in 1831 who feared for their jobs.

The first steam driven vehicle was invented in 1770.

Leon Gaumont’s Sonophone combines image and sound for the first time in the history of cinema in 1900.

Bob spent a lot of time at the Picasso Museum…he texted me that he wasn’t sure what the exit door looks like!  The very large L’Aubade (1942) painting of two figures symbolized the violence of the war years.  Baiser, or the Kiss was painted in 1969. There was an interesting wall of portraits and a room with many of his sculptures. These are only a few of the 5,000 pieces of art at this museum.

This early Picasso portrait of Gustave Coquot is from 1901.  Picasso’s started painting when he was eight years old and didn’t start cubism until his thirties.

Bob took a photo of this Modigliani just for me, because he knows that I love Modigliani’s paintings. It was in the Picasso museum because both artists were influenced by African art and Picasso admired Modigliani’s work. We drive to Arras tomorrow so tonight we pack and tidy up.  It was great being able to attend three life drawing sessions in three days but it was a bit tiring too.  I don’t think I will find many more life drawing groups for a while.

Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Jardin de Luxembourg and Jardin des Plantes.

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Day 7 Saturday, September 6, 2025

Today I catch the metro about 12:30 to go drawing at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and Bob stays home a bit longer before going exploring on his own. He caught the metro to the Gare du Nord and then walked all the way south to the Jardin de Luxembourg to sit and read for a bit.

Sadly the studios of the Académie are no longer in the same historic building. These three photos are from previous trips and visits to draw in the 121 year old studios where so many artists have been before me.

On the way to the new location which is only a couple of blocks from the old studios I see these flowers that had been placed on a window ledge….I wonder what iis the story behind these roses?

Here is the new studio.  It seems rather sterile and bare, but at least the life drawing sessions are still in operation.  I believe that they are trying to find a better studio but the lady who talked about all this spoke very quickly and I only caught part of what she was saying.  My French has improved, but not enough to understand the whole conversation. You can see my spot in the foreground of the photo, with my sketchbook on the stool and my red bag on the floor.

The model was tall and my drawings weren’t great today, but it is all a learning experience. Four 5 minute poses.

a 10 and a 15 minute pose

A 30n and a 35 minute pose.

After drawing I walked to the Jardin de Luxembourg to meet Bob. Thank heavens for cell phones and texting or I would never have found him.  The gardens were very busy today.The Medici Fountain is a monumental fountain in the Jardin de Luxembourg that was built in 1630.  I really like this fountain.

 In 2006 we saw a giant nose floating in the water as part of an art installation.

We walk toward the Jardin de Plantes, a botanical garden about 45 minutes away. We pass the Pantheon, which is a mausoleum containing the graves of many famous people including Victor Hugo, Marie Curie, Voltaire, Louis Braille, and Alexandre Dumas.  It is closed and I don’t think we will have time to visit this trip…guess we need to return to Paris at least one more time! I do not miss eating out in Paris.  Sitting check by jowl beside smokers is not my idea of fun.  I much prefer the meals we prepare at home in our bnb’s.

As we enter the Jardin des Plantes we see this huge Plantane tree which was planted in 1785 and is now classified as an ‘Arbre Historique et Remarquables’.  It amazes me that someone knows exactly when this tree was planted… 240 years ago!

These little orchids are growing at the base of the tree.  We have the same ones growing back home in Alberta. Sue loved this interesting flower and wanted a closer look.

Another huge old tree.  Can you tell I love trees.

We couldn’t find Sue but then Bob spotted her checking out this rather strange creature.

The Botanical garden was a bit of a disappointment, we had just started to explore some of the more interesting areas when we were told to leave as the park was closing, a half hour before it actually closed.

Everyday on our walk to the metro near our bnb we pass these beautiful Passion flowers.

 We got home about 8:30, another full day.

Eiffel Tower, Bourdelle Museum and Drink and Draw

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Day 6,      Friday, September 5, 2025

 It always takes me awhile to feel comfortable drawing when we are on holidays, and as I hadn’t done any drawing for almost a month before we left, I really had a hard time getting started.  While we were sitting in Notre Dame during Vespers yesterday I finally took the plunge.  

Then riding home the metro I did these quick sketches.Friday we managed to start our day at noon. Soon we were at the Eiffel Tower.  Somehow it doesn’t seem right to be in Paris and not visit this iconic landmark, even though we have visited it several times already including climbing to the second level. We will try and book a visit on our return to Paris at the end of our trip to go all the way to the very top level!  These tickets book up weeks ahead.Two years ago we picnicked on the grass near here, but there were not nearly as many people as there are today.

We found a bench in the shade away from the crowds to eat our lunch and watched as seven military personnel complete with machine guns approach on the path in front of us.  I held up my phone to take photo and the leader signalled towards me with his finger…then one of the men following him came over to tell us that we were not allowed to take photos.  I wonder if they do not want photos of their faces published anywhere…so after they passed and we were walking behind them I snapped this one.  France is on high alert right now, but these are the first fully armed military we have seen this trip.

One more view of the Eiffel Tower, looking towards the bridge across Seine behind it. There are people everywhere, enjoying the sunshine.  The first time we visited we could walk right under the four massive legs but now this area is all closed off behind glass panels and everyone who wants to get close has to go through a security checkpoint which includes bag checks and full body scan, just like at the airports.

It is a 45 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower to the Bourdelle Museum.  On the way we pass the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. You can still see the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

Just a bit further we pass this hotel that has trees and shrubs growing all over it.  I wonder what happens when they outgrow their planters?

There are all sorts of interesting building in Paris.  As we near the museum we pass this car park, completely panelled in brilliant colours.

The museum dedicated to Antoine Bourdelle is free. We first find the cafe and have some tea and cookies.  It felt good to just sit and relax for a while.  Bourdelle was a student of Rodin and after Rodin’s death Bourdelle dominated the field of monumental sculpture.  We see many examples of these monumental sculptures.  The museum is at the site of Bourdelles original  studio. As he became successful he added more rooms and gardens until it appeared much as it does today.  

One of the studios has this huge study for a hand.

Bourdelle was 50 years old when he finally became successful thanks to his Hercules the Archer statue. It represents the Greek hero wielding his bow to shoot down the Stymphalian birds. Copies of this sculpture were created in three versions and are in numerous museums in France and abroad.

There is a room full of magnificent sculptures…

and there are more sculptures in the gardens and courtyards.  Can you see Sue? (short for souris which means mouse in French). Since this little green mouse stowed away in our luggage she insists on coming along with us on our travels.

Sue is very curious and likes to check thing out for herself.

There are two of these huge horse sculptures at the museum.  

Bob sits in one of the gardens to read for a bit and I sketch one of the sculptures close by named Penelope, a larger than life size bronze of one of the wives of Odysseus, who waited faithfully for her husband to return. Bourdelle used the features of two women who loved him, he generous curves of his first wife, Stéphanie Van Parys, and the posture of his student, Cléopâtre Sevastos, the muse who would become his second wife.

After our visit to the museum. I went to a Drink and Draw session nearby and Bob headed for home.  Here are the drawings from my first life drawing session this trip.

2 minute poses and one 5 minute pose…

two more 5 minute poses…

two 5 minute and one 10 minute pose…and a 15, a 10 and a 25 minute pose.  

Ada is our model tonight, and I am sure that I recognize her from a previous life drawing session in Paris. She thinks that she recognizes me too! but we are unable to figure out where I might have drawn her before. I will have to check my other holiday sketchbooks when I get home. I take the metro and get home at 10:00. Bob meets me at our metro stop and carries my art stuff home for me…I am pooped…it was a ten hour 15,000 steps day!

Académie de la Grande Chaumière

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Day 88,  Friday, November 24, 2023.

Rodin’s statue of Balzac is just a couple of blocks from the Académie de la Chaumiere. I wanted to take a photo of this famous statue but I kept forgetting, so I planned on doing it today. Wouldn’t you know it…there are workmen putting scaffolding up and most of the statue is hidden! Guess I’ll have to return one day to take this photo!  I stopped at an art store nearby to get some conté crayons for a friend but they had almost none left!  Darn, there was a good supply when I checked in September.  I guess I should have bought them then.
My favourite spot for drawing, when I get here early enough to claim it, is in the second row on the left side of the room.  You can see the stool I use for a little side table with my blue cup and some of my drawing pencils beside my chair. I also come early so that I can snag one of the two available chairs… they are so much more comfortable than the stools.  Kamelia, the young woman with the long red hair is our lovely model today.These stairs have been worn by countless footsteps, by countless artists over the years since the Académie opened in 1904.  I hope they never renovate and repair these step… I love seeing traces of those who have come before.The bulletin board by the front door lists all the life drawing drop in sessions.  When I was here in 2014 there were more sessions offered, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays there were two sessions back to back…one at noon and one at three o’clock.  I liked attending those days and really enjoyed spending most of the day drawing.  The sessions were also longer, 2 3/4 hours compared to  2 1/2 hours.  The sessions I attend back home are 3 hours long with one 15 minute break…2 1/2 hours flies by very quickly, especially with two 15 minute breaks for the model.  I was told that the hours changed after Covid which is too bad, but hey, I am still drawing in Paris!

Two 10 minute and a 20 minute pose

Three 5 minute poses

A 30 minute pose

And my favourite drawing of the day, the final 30 minute pose.Bob did a bit of exploring today but it was a cool day and he didn’t take very many photos. The Pont Alexandre III is considered the most beautiful bridge in Paris. The glass domed building is the Grand Palais. It was built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition and houses many of Paris’s large scale exhibitions and events.  I haven’t been inside yet, and I don’t suppose we will have time this trip…another trip to Paris is definitely in order!

This sculptural sign is counting down the days until the Paris Olympics…Only 278 more days to go.

We both arrive home about the same time, make dinner and have a quiet evening.  Our trip is coming to its end, we leave for home in just three days!

Académie De La Grande Chaumière and Les Invalides

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Day 86,  Wednesday, November 22, 2023

I have a life drawing session at L’Académie de la Grande Chaumiere and Bob sets off to explore a bit more of Paris.

Today he visits Les Invalides, which was built in 1670 by Louis XIV in order to provide housing and hospital care for wounded soldiers. Today it is a museum, a monument, a mausoleum that contains the tomb of Napoleon and a hospital for war veterans.

This was the tallest building in Paris before the Eiffel Tower was built.  Napoleon’s tomb is located below this golden dome.

Les Invalides is enormous, and was once a city that housed over 4,00 inhabitants.  This arial view gives an idea of its size.

The huge central courtyard, which can be seen in the above photo houses a collection of cannons.This is one of the building entrances that face the central courtyard.  Les Invalides houses huge military museums with thousands of artifacts in its collection.  We visited inside on a previous trip.  It took a whole day to visit the numerous museums dedicated to all things military from ancient to modern times. Today Bob wanders outside, in the gardens and the courtyards.

I spent the afternoon at my beloved Académie de la Chaumiere drawing a lovely model named Inez.  These are five 3 minute poses and one 15 minute.

Three 5 minutes, the portrait was a bit longer but I forgot to mark the time.

Two 20 minute poses

And a 25 minute pose.

I had arranged to meet a friend that I met years ago during my month in Paris.  Ivy met me at the Académie, we drew together and then went for tea at a nearby café. The same café that I visited in 2014!  We had a lovely visit, catching up on the last nine years!
image Finally I headed home where Bob had supper waiting.  Quite a lovely day.

Life Drawing and Bob’s Paris

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Day 84,   Monday November 20, 2023

I want to attend as many life drawing sessions as I can these last few days in Paris.  I am still feeling quite tired after getting Covid the beginning of the month, so most days I am going to life drawing and then coming straight home.  I don’t have the energy for much else.

I am back at the Grande Chaumière again this afternoon.  Bob and I took the same metro.  I got off at the Vavin stop to go drawing and he continued towards the Place de la Concorde on the north side of the Seine River to do some more exploring.

The session is from 2:30 to 5:00 …only 2 1/2 hours, not the 3 hour sessions I am used to at home.  The time goes by much too quickly.  Today we have a wonderful model named Fanny.

Three 3 minute poses

I tried my Derwent Drawing sanguine pencil, but I didn’t like how it felt on the paper in this sketchbook.  Three 5 minute poses.

Fanny’s poses were naturally graceful.  Two 15 minute poses…

a  20 minute pose…

a 15 minute pose……and a final 30 minute pose.  Fanny was such a great model.  It was a good day!

While I was drawing, Bob explored the north shore near the Champs Élysées.  This photo shows the hoarding which looks like a giant trunk during renovation work on a Louis Vuitton building. How clever!  He saw a lot of the highlights in this area of Paris.

Bob checked out the Christmas tree in a Galeries Lafayette store.  I’m not sure I will have time to go see it for myself, so this photo might just have to do.

The 72′ tall golden tipped Luxor Obelisk on the Place de la Concorde was erected in 1829, on the very spot where Louis XVI was beheaded!  It has now become a symbol of peace and harmony.

The Fountain of Rivers is ornately decorated with mermaids and mermen.  

Jean Dubuffet’s Le Bel Costumé caught Bob’s eye in the Jardin des Tuileries.

This is a long street of shops near the Place Vendome…

with very expensive merchandise!

The original Vendôme Column at the centre of the square was erected by Napoleon I.  It was torn down on 16 May 1871, but it was subsequently re-erected and remains a prominent feature on the square today.

Too bad all these people who are lining up to get into the Louvre don’t know about the side door, where there is usually no line up at all!

The Roue de Paris is a 60-metre tall transportable Ferris wheel, originally installed on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, for the 2000 millennium celebrations. Too bad we didn’t have time to ride on it this trip, although it does look a bit scary.

The Pont Alexandre III is a bridge that spans the Seine in Paris.  The bridge is widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in the city.  It has been classified as a French historic monument since 1975.

We both arrive home in time to make dinner and relax.  Our days in Paris are fast drawing to a close.

Life drawing and Exploring Paris

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Day 83,   Sunday November 19, 2023

I have two life drawing sessions planned for today.  One at the Montmartre Life Drawing Studio in the afternoon and another at an artist’s studio from 5 to 7 pm this evening. Bob goes out exploring while I am drawing.  Today there is some sunshine, and no rain!

The Eiffel Tower is visible on the skyline.

This interesting exterior belongs to Stade Jean-Bouin. The 19,904 capacity stadium is used mostly for rugby, but is also used for American football and association football matches.

Pont Mirabeau was built at the very end of the 19th century and  is adorned with four bronze sculptures representing the City of Paris, Commerce, Navigation, and Abundance.

A clever shot through the tree branches.

Can you take too many photos of this iconic structure?  I don’t think so.I attended sessions with the Montmartre Life Drawing group in September so no problem finding their location even though I was coming from a different starting point.  The first thing I see when I leave the metro is this impressive statue in the centre of a traffic circle.

There is a flea market on the median.

There are lots of interesting items but I don’t have time for more than a quick look.

Next I cross a bridge that goes over the top of the Montmartre cemetery rather than cutting it in half… again no time to go exploring.  Life drawing awaits!  I later read that Nijinsky, Degas & Zola lie in this tree-lined burial ground that opened in 1825.

We have a male model for the afternoon, Guiseppé.  We start with five two minute poses

followed by three five minute and a 10 minute poseA 25 minute pose…

and a 15 minute one,

then we end the session with a couple 10 minute poses.  Guiseppé was an excellent model, and fun to draw.

During the break I was checking out Google maps to make sure I could find the second session and I discovered that I had no internet!  Panic!!  A very kind young lady lent me her phone so I could write down some instructions, but I was worried about being able to find the next life drawing location.  Luckily when I was ready to go to the evening session the internet was back!  I was very relieved that I didn’t have to rely on my hastily drawn map.

Life Drawing Montmartre posts on their Instagram page…Here I am!

Screenshot

The second session was at the photographer J R Franco’s studio/apartment.  These two photos are from his instagram site.  You can just barely see part of my knee and sketchbook in the bottom right corner of this one…

and the top of my grey head I this one.  

We started with two 5 and one 10 minute pose of our lovely female model…seems I forgot to note her name.  I like having that information in my sketchbook.

I loved this 13 minute pose, draped over a couch and chair with her torso hanging in the space between them

It was going to be a session with two models but the male model had to cancel at the last minute, so Jean Robert modelled for us. We started with two 5 minute poses. I concentrated on his face…he had an interesting face.

two 3 minute and one 5 minute pose.  Then we drew both models together in a 10 minute pose,

then one more 10 minute pose.

During the break we had goodies upstairs in a loft area and a tour of Franco’s studio which was also his apartment.

It was a wonderful, full day, and I head home in the dark, but the metro is close by and when I get home Bob has supper waiting!

Paris

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Day 81,  Friday, November 17, 2023

We take the rental car back and then take the metro home. The nearest metro station to our bnb is about a 15 minute walk which isn’t too bad. There is artwork on the wall of a building right when we leave the station and… 

More artwork on the wall that runs along the metro line.

Bob decides to stay at home and I head back out to attend a life drawing class at the Academié de la Grande Chaumière.  I change lines at Montparnasse Station and it is very busy!  The metro stations are very well laid out, with lots of signs so they are actually very easy to navigate,

My one disappointment on this trip was how few life drawing sessions I was able to attend in the different cities that we visited.  Covid closed down some of them and they just never opened up again, and sometimes the days that there were sessions didn’t match up with the days that we were in a particular city, or for some reason there just wasn’t a session the  week that we were there.  Now that we are back in Paris I plan to attend as many sessions as I can in the next nine days.

I am a bit out of practice and and a bit tired…today’s drawings weren’t the best but it was still really good to be back at the Grande Chaumière.

Nice, France

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Day 54, Saturday, October 21, 2023

We catch the train to Nice this morning. We are both happy to be sitting on a train instead of driving and navigating.  It is a nice change and Bob can watch the scenery go by instead of concentrating on driving.

I draw on the train. I feel out of practice but it is still nice to be drawing…I haven’t done nearly as much of it as I had hoped to this trip.The Nice train station is really big, clean and airy.

It is a short walk from the train station to the main tourist area by the beach.  We stop at a park for our lunch, and I wonder if the water is from yesterday’s big rain…or if it is a fountain?

A couple minutes later I have my answer.  These two young boys had the best time playing in the water jets.

We laughed at this big dog who jumped and tried to bite every jet of water he passed.  He was having such fun.  There were such neat reflections too.

This very large sea gull was eyeing our lunch, just hoping a few crumbs would fall his way…I’m afraid a few did…who could resist that gaze?

After lunch we visit the Cathedral of Saint Reparata., which is a National Monument.  It is very ornate and in great shape…no peeling paint here.  

The flower market is beautiful and the prices are very reasonable.

We try some socca. It is a thin chickpea bread that is sprinkled with pepper.  We have to wait a few minutes for a fresh pan to arrive (it is brought hot from the ovens in a wheeled cart) and it is delicious! It is also a bargain at just 3€ for a huge slice.  I am going to have to try making this at home.

Even though we have just had lunch, and socca, I am craving a cassis (black current) sorbet from Fenocchio’s, a world famous ice cream shop. They have 94 flavors of  ice creams and 35 of sorbet, but I stick with my favourite.  

After my sorbet we walk towards the beach.  

Nice has a pebble beach, and lots of sun worshippers.  I stay at the beach to draw some of them and Bob goes for a walk and climbs to two viewpoint.  There is one on top of the cream round structure in the distance and another higher up on top of the hill.

I take a photo of someone who I think is Bob…and he takes a photo trying to find me on the beach.  Do we think alike?

This is definitely me, I am sitting right beside the two rinse towers…and I get a light spray every time someone rinses off!  I was settled in by the time this happens the first time so I decide to stay put, in spite of the occasional mist of water that floats my way.

I am happier with my beach drawings.

This fellow was sitting beside me and he was very brown.  He was also wearing black underpants, which appears to be a common thing here.  People are not shy about changing on the beach, women pull off their tops and bras to change into their bathing suits and I saw lots of men just wearing underpants as their bathing suit.  There were a few topless women as well…it is the French Riviera after all.

We do a bit of window shopping, or as they say here, leche-vitrine, which translates to lick the windows!  I have had a couple treats here, but gluten really doesn’t agree with me so I have to content myself with a bit of window licking!  Oh and did you notice the prices?  

We stroll along the boardwalk, people watching and enjoying the sunshine…

but the sun is getting glow in the sky and we head back to catch our train.

Bob notices something strange about this building… Here is a clue.

Yes, the whole side of the building is a giant mural!  We pass this interesting fountain…

and there are seven of these statues high on poles above the street.  Google tells me that they were created by Jaume Plensa, a Spanish artist who specializes in monumental art.

They represent the seven continents and the communication between the different communities of today’s society. They are titled “Conversation à Nice”and they are illuminated every night, with slowly changing colours.  Too bad we won’t see that but it is a long ride home.

We were in Nice over 40 years ago and visited the Matisse Museum.  I was hoping to visit it again today, but it closes during the noon hour, and then we just ran out of time.  I am OK with not visiting so many museums this trip, there are so many other things to do and only so much time.

Le Grand Cours de Nu…The Big Nude Class!

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Day 16,  Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Bob went to the Nature Museum and I had a quiet morning, resting up after yesterday for my art class tonight.  One of the nice things about Rouen Museums is that there are no entrance fees, they are all free. “The Rouen Natural History Museum is the 2nd most important natural history museum of France after the museum of Paris thanks to its collections richness and diversity (ornithology, ethnography, botany).”  ~from Rouen Tourist Information

More than 800 000 items are gathered there and half of them are exhibited.I walk to the Musée de Beaux Arts for my Grands Cours de Nu, or the Big Nude Class.  It takes place in one of the museums exhibition rooms.  35 people attend this class and there is a male and a female model on two separate stands.  We were encouraged to move between the two models whenever we want.  It was interesting and a different format than other life drawing classes I have attended.  There were four instructors who circulated and offered help as needed.  After the break I found five young women gathered around my sketchbook…seems I have fans of my work!  They asked if they could take photos and wanted to know about my drawings.  The instructors were also gave me very positive feedback.  Lots of fun!
The strange line on the back view is part of a tattoo. I usually don’t draw tattoos, but this one followed the contours of the back so I included it.

Bob meets me outside after the class and we sit for awhile to watch people dancing the Tango outside the Museum before heading home.