Thursday’s Drawings

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Trudy

I wish I could say I did my best drawings on my last session but I struggled for the first part of the day. Our model was an older fellow and he was a bit fidgety which I found distracting today. I switched over to watercolour washes and quick line drawings during the last few poses and it went better.

Our model in the afternoon brought props, which can be interesting but it can sometimes make drawing more difficult if they hide the neck and shoulder area. She was a great model, no fidgeting or moving about at all.

And finally another set of metro drawings. The last few days the cars have been pretty packed so drawing was sometimes impossible. I had to be content with people watching, and there are always interesting people to watch on the metro, or anywhere in Paris, for that matter.

Saying Goodbye to Académie de la Grande Chaumiére

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Trudy

Today was the last day of drawing at the Académie de la Grande Chaumiére, and I felt quite sad when I left. I really loved the time I spent here, and this week I have had several conversations with some of the artists drawing there. I guess it took a while for me to feel comfortable enough to do so, and today several people came and initiated conversations with me, which was really nice. Here is ‘my spot’ in the studio

I came back for one final look around before heading to the Musee d’Orsay. The stools get stacked at night so the studio is ready for a painting class in the morning.

I am really going to miss being here. This intensive life drawing experience has convinced me that I need to do this more than once a week when I am home. I often didn’t even manage to go every week, but I am determined to change that.

I made my way to the Musée d’Orsay, which used to be an old train station and now is the home to an impressive collection of art, especially the works of the Impressionists and the Post Impressionists.

The museum is open till nine tonight so I have almost two and a half hours, which isn’t all that much time. Two of the floors of the museum were closed for renovations, which in a way was good, as there was less to see! There are a lot of Monet’s paintings here. One of the things I realized as I walked around was the sheer number of paintings these artists produced, and this is just one museum, their works are in so many other museums around the world. It shows that it is essential to actually make art if you want to get good at it. Completing two or three pieces a year just isn’t enough to make a difference in the quality of your work.

Some of the paintings are surprisingly small and then there are those that are vey big! I managed to see most of what I was interested in, but realized I could easily spend at least a couple of days here studying the work more closely and doing some drawings as a way of studying as well.

My focus this trip was life drawing, but I am thinking that I could very easily come back and spend more time in the museums in addition to the life drawing. Maybe one day in the not too distant future….

I discovered that it is possible to go out on the roof of the museum and take some pictures. It was getting dark but they give an idea of the view. Here is the Louvre across the Seine, and Sacre Couer in the distance. You can see that it is definitely on a hill!

I asked someone to take my picture, so here I am with the Louvre behind me.

All too soon it is nine and the museum closes, so I head home. It is late and I am busy drawing on the metro and I miss my stop! I have to go quite a bit further to connect with a line than will take me home and it meant many more flights of stairs and a long walk, probably two blocks at least, through underground tunnels until I got to the station I needed. I counted stairs today and on the trip to the Academié there are over one hundred stairs to climb or go down, and that is just one way! And it is also probably the least number of stairs of all the trips that I make on the metro. No wonder there aren’t many overweight Parisians!

I took this picture in a mirror on a corner, (so people don’t crash into each other? ) and didn’t realize there were lines all over my face till now! It is after midnight, so I will post the last of my drawings at the Académie tomorrow morning when I am not so tired and there will be better light to take the pictures.

Scary Metro Ride Home

Posted on September 30, 2014 by Trudy

Tonight coming home on the metro about 8:00 I had an rather unsettling experience. I could hear someone speaking very loudly and than a series of loud bangs. Soon I see what it is all about, a very large, very upset man is walking through the metro cars yelling and slamming shut all the vents at the top of the windows. He is either drunk or deranged, perhaps a bit of both, to judge from his appearance. He is strangely dressed with all sorts of things tied into his hair and his pants appeared to have not much of a bottom in them, his bottom was quite visible. To make matters worse he stepped into the area between me and the passengers facing me and almost fell on the lady beside me!

I was worried he was going to stay here, but he moved on, slamming more window vents. Everyone looked a bit upset, people were looking at each other with raised eyebrows or other facial expressions that clearly showed they did not like the situation. A few minutes later he is walking back the way he came from, still slamming windows, as some people had opened them after he passed by. This time no one reopened the windows!

He disappeared towards the back of the train and then a whole lot more people got on, so I figured he would not be able to make his way back to where I was sitting. This is honestly the first time in Paris that I have felt uncomfortable, or worried about a situation. In hindsight, I think the best thing to do would have been to get off the train and wait for the next one, but I was rather shocked by the situation and didn’t think of this until after it was all over.

I did do some drawing on the metro today, but wasn’t able to do any after this incident. I actually got a terrible headache, just the stress of it all I guess.

Then when I arrive at the metro station at the end of my street there are a whole lot of metro security and they are in a semi-circle around a man who is wearing an old jacket that says ‘Security’ on the back. He has a very big muscular doberman and it appears that he wants to take the dog on the metro? Not exactly sure, but the dog is wearing a muzzle and he is getting agitated, as is the man, who appears to be trying to explain something to the metro police. The man ties the dog to the exit booth, so the metro people have to open a special gate so people don’t have to go through the booth.

I decide that I need to get home and shut the door on all this! I even checked the internet to see if it is a full moon, but it isn’t, so can’t blame it on that.

There is a soccer match on tonight that Paris is playing in and they appear to be winning as there is a lot of cheering and noise periodically. I couldn’t figure out what all the noise was about but when I went out to get a few groceries I saw a bunch of men standing outside and inside the cafe on the corner. I go see what they are watching on TV, turns put to be soccer, and I ask who is playing. A man tells me, and says Paris was up by two points. That was almost an hour ago and there is still lots of noise every now and then so I assume they are still in the lead.

Anyways… I attended two life drawing sessions today and then went for drinks with my two new friends and met a friend of theirs as well. This gentleman is an American who came to visit Paris with his wife for three months and is still here, more than a decade later. That seems to happen to people when they visit this city!

Here are a few of my drawings from today. The first model was older, probably at least my age, and very thin, so interesting to draw.

I could see bones and musculature very clearly, so I concentrated on trying to sort those things out, especially in the neck and collarbone area, trying to sort out the shapes and shadows in this area. They are over emphasized a bit in these drawings but I was concentrating on a study of bones and muscles. This model was wonderful for that.

Our second model was rather voluptuous, so quite a contrast from the first session.

Sorry for the long rant about the trip home, I think I just needed to talk about it. Thanks for listening.

Parc Des Buttes Chaumont, Organ Recital and the Marais

Posted on September 28, 2014 by Trudy

This morning was slow and relaxed as I was a bit tired after yesterday’s drawing class and the evening at the ballet. I finally got myself out the door after noon and set out to walk to the Parc Des Buttes Chaumont which is a 25 hectare park in the 19th arrondissement. It is a beautiful place, and although it has many man made features this park does not feel as though it is in the city. Most of Paris’ parks are carefully manicured, laid out geometrically and have paved or gravel surfaces with benches or chairs. There are not many parks that actually allow people to walk or sit on the grass, which I found strange at first, but when I once I thought about the density of population in this city and realized how many people use the parks I realized that this is a necessity, or the grass would be trampled and dead.

The Parc des Buttes Chaumont, however, is a park that welcomes people onto its many grassy hills. There were lots of people out enjoying the warm day. I saw everyone from individuals relaxing, sleeping, reading, or playing the guitar, couples having a romantic picnic complete with a bottle of favourite wine, families enjoying the sun with their children to large gatherings of family and friends, sharing a meal and visiting in the sunshine.

Because it was once a quarry there were lots of hills to climb, including one up to a ancient looking little structure on an island which is also the highest point in the park where it’s main attraction can be found, the Temple de la Sibylle, a miniature version of the famous ancient Roman Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, Italy.

Sacré Coeuer is visible in the distance from here and there is quite a good view. If you are interested, Wikipedia has a very interesting write up about the history and construction of the park.

There are also a couple waterfalls, and a swinging bridge that crosses the man made lake to the island, and lots of flower beds which have signs describing what is planted in each bed. I spent a couple very pleasant hours wandering about and then decided that I should go to St Sulpice for an organ concert at 4:00. The organist was from Thomas Dahl, from Hambourg and the music was incredible.

I sat with two Susan’s, one from California and one from Newfoundland who were two friends spending a week together in Paris. They had both been to Edmonton and St. Albert, which was rather surprising.

They were sitting in a special area with comfy red cushions and they made room for me to sit beside them. It was much more comfortable than the chairs that are used for the congregation and guests visiting the church. I was sitting in the raised box at the back of this picture, right in front of where the white statue is located.

The concert was about an hour long and I tried to draw part of the cathedral while I listened to the music, but was not very successful. I think buildings are more difficult to draw than people. At one time you were allowed up the stairs to watch the organist playing but this is no longer allowed due to security measures. A pity…

Next stop was the Marais. This was the area where I had first reserved an apartment, it was behind the red door in this picture, but the reservation was canceled because one of the neighbours was having some ‘mental’ problems and the owner was not comfortable renting her place until things got settled. I actually think that I like the area I am in better. It is further out, but it is a real Parisian neighbourhood.

The Marais has become a tourist attraction, lots of shops and bars and tourists everywhere. I went into one store and the clerk didn’t even look up when I entered. In ‘my neighbourhood’, I am greeted with Bonjour madam, and a smile.

The Marais has also become a centre for gay tourists and residents, which made for some interesting sights.
I made a friend though. This little girl ran away for her mother, whose arms were full of groceries. I stopped her and told her to go back to her mother, and actually did this in french without thinking too much about it at all! She ran back to her mom but turned around to look at me, so I waved to her. We then played peek a boo and waved to each other for several minutes.

I headed home for supper and a FaceTime chat with my son at eight. I must say that I love how easy it is to stay connected with family and friends while travelling.

Drawing In The Dark

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Trudy

Today was a very full day. First I went to a four hour life drawing class at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.

My drawings at the Académie were kind of hard work today. As is often the case when I have a day like this, the quick five minute poses turn out the best. I horribly overworked everything else.

I hurried home after class, and had a half hour to put my feet up, grqb a bite to eat, and get ready for the ballet.

The sun was starting to set when I arrived and the light was catching the golden statues on top of the Opera Building. There are always a lot of people milling about, taking pictures, or just sitting on the steps soaking up the atmosphere. It was pretty neat getting to walk up to the big front doors, gain admittance, and walk up that grand staircase.

It wasn’t all that easy to find my seat. Turns out it is behind a locked door with no door knob, that needs to be opened by an attendant. I am sitting in a beautiful red plush box seat!

That was a surprise. I knew I had a railing in front of me, but I assumed it was just a wooden railing because there would be a walkway in front of it, or something similar. I feel rather regal, I must admit. I wonder who else has sat in that very same seat over the years?

The painted curtain rises to reveal a red velvet looking curtain.

The Opera Garnier, also known as the Palais Garnier, was completed 139 years ago in 1875, and is now the home of the Paris Ballet. It holds about 2,000 people and is pretty much sold out most for every performance. I was very lucky to get such a good seat the day before the show, there were only a few seats left. There are benefits to travelling solo!

The Chagall Mural and crystal chandelier are stunning! Actually the entire place is stunning. The pictures don’t do it justice at all.

I took my pen and sketchbook with me and drew in the dark. I couldn’t see a thing so I had no idea what I was doing until I could take a look when the lights came on at intermission.

The first half of the performance was very traditional so there were often dancers posed in the background for a few seconds, which made it a bit easier. Although I was fairly close to the stage, about a third of the way from the stage, the dancers still looked still fairly small. I am so glad I didn’t get a seat further back. Sometimes during this performance all the dancers were on stage at the same time, quite the spectacle!

The second half of the performance was very contemporary, and the dancers didn’t stop moving for a second! I was pretty sure these drawings were just going to end up as scribbles, but I think they actually still give the feeling of dancers.

It was a great evening, watching the ballet and trying to interpret what I was seeing on paper, in the dark!

The Opera Garnier was very beautiful by night. I think I am going to have to take a bus ride at night just to see the lights of the city.

I also managed to do some more metro drawing today too, but people kept getting up and leaving.

I was a bit nervous about taking the metro home so late and thought for a while about the best route to take, but it was quite all right. I didn’t get home until 10:45, definitely the latest I have been out so far. I may even try going to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night, now that I know I can get myself home after dark!

Three Models Today!

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Trudy

This afternoon was challenging. I had a tough time drawing the first model, she was doing a great job, I wasn’t. It took up till the last couple poses to figure out how to draw her. The same thing happened the other day with the muscular male model, some days drawing comes easier than others. You can see what I mean, the one drawing below didn’t work well at all.

I tried colour washing a page and using some pastel on it but ran out of time. I’ll try it again, and it made me realize how much I miss working with pastels. That will definitely be on my list for when I get home.

The second session was with two models. I like life drawing with two models, their interactions help figure out proportion and limb placement. I don’t know if these two had worked together before or not, but they really didn’t take advantage of that aspect of working together.

There were a couple good poses but many of them were a bit static. I ended up just drawing the male model for a couple of poses, the light was good for seeing muscles in his back, so that was my focus. Backs are hard to draw, they tend to be big rather flat expanses without a lot of detail, the lines and shapes meed to be just right to capture the ‘feel’ of a back. Not always easy to do but I was finally happier with a couple of my drawings.

I drew on the metro again today. It is getting easier to do, some times the person sitting beside me watches, but they don’t say anything and they aren’t really obvious about watching me. I am usually concentrating so hard that I don’t really even notice. I have to be careful though, I almost missed my stop twice when I was drawing!

These lovely tomatoes were at my fruit and veggie store. Hard to decide which ones to buy.

I have had a couple bad nights, I wasn’t able to get to sleep until after 3:00 last night, but at least I didn’t dream about dead people or bones or cemeteries or….

Hope to do better tonight, it isn’t much fun being so tired.

Académie and LaRotonde

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Trudy

Two drawing sessions today, six hours. I decided to use some Derwent Drawing Pencils I brought with me. The are softer than coloured pencils, look like conté a bit, but they don’t smudge like conté.

5 Minutes poses

15 minute poses

20 minute poses. The model had a tummy that made her look like she was pregnant but I’m pretty sure she wasn’t. Nice to draw in any case.

The male model this afternoon had a very muscular build but he was also very tall so he had extremely long legs and arms, broad shoulders and the tiniest waist.

Very beautiful to look at but very difficult to draw. By the end of the three hours I was just beginning to get familiar enough with his body to figure out how to get him on paper.

I met two very nice ladies today, and we went for drinks after class to LaRotunda which had many copies of Modigliani paintings on display, one of my favourite artists. Turns out this is quite a famous cafe, founded in 1911 and frequented by Modigliani, Utrillo, and Picasso, along with Hemmingway, and many other painters and writers. Often when the poor artists couldn’t pay their bills they would pay with a piece of artwork. My pot of mint tea was 5€, about $7.00 Canadian, but worth every cent. It arrived on a tray in a silver looking tea pot, with an additional pot of hot water. Very elegant and we sat and visited for almost two hours. A lovely time.

It was almost dark by the time I headed for home, so had to take photos under artificial light again…sorry, not the best, but better than waiting until tomorrow to get it done.

Balzac and Beautiful Buildings

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Trudy

I went to the noon drawing session at the Académie and then decided I needed to come home afterwards for a bit of rest. The weekend was busy and I have had a couple of restless nights so I didn’t have much energy today. Here’s a 15 minute pose, 3 x5 minutes poses, and then a twenty minute one.

Yet another great model.

I am still feeling my way with the watercolour gestures, some work better than others, I think I’ll keep at it for a bit longer. I am working in a A4 sketchbook which is about 8 1/2″ x 11 1/2″, so the drawings I am posting are done on that size paper.What a treat, a new model every day. Tomorrow I plan on staying for both sessions as there is supposed to be a male model at 3:00. So I will take it easy tonight, get organized for tomorrow, and hopefully get a better night’s sleep.

Here are photos of few buildings along the way to the Eiffel Tower. I love the tops of these buildings, they look so intriguing. I wish I was able to see what the insides of the apartments up there look like.

There was an outdoor exhibit of children’s art alongside a park, near the studio where I was drawing.

This is a view of the Seine River from the Pont Alexander III beside the Eiffel Tower. I do want to take a boat ride on the river before I go home. I think I better start making a list, as I know I am going to run out of time.

And then there is this very famous statue of Balzac by Rodin. It is on the median beside the Vavin Metro station, which is the metro station I use to get to the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. I passed it several times and didn’t even see it until a couple of days ago.

One last photo.

Did you spot the artist? I always notice them but wonder how many other people do?

Drawing Meet Up and Sacŕe Coeur

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Trudy

Another full day. I went to a drawing meet up in Montmartre, in the smallest theater I have ever seen. It has seats for nine audience members and the tiniest stage.

Here is a view of the inside and some of the people who attended, the model is sitting on the stage.

It was at the top of a big flight of stairs. Montmartre has stairs everwhere, as it is built on a hill overlooking Paris. I certainly got lots of exercise today.

We had a nice model, who is an actor an a dancer.

I decided to play with some different media, this is pastel pencil. The light wasn’t very good for photgrphs by the time I got home, but I decided to do the best I could so that I could post pictures tonight.

After our drawing session we all went to a local cafe for refreshments, a visit and a chance to look at each other’s sketchbooks. One of the ladies told me that she came for a visit for a month, five years ago, and she is still here! Hmmmm….

As I was only a couple of blocks from Sacre Coeur, I wandered over for a brief visit. It is certainly a busy place!

I decided to go home, get something to eat and then come back for the six o’clock Vespers, which are sung by the nuns. Bob and I did this the last time we were in Paris and we really enjoyed the experience then and it was just as wonderful today. There was a service right after Vespers so I was there for about two hours, sitting drawing the cathedral and the nuns while I listened to their beautiful voices. It was a wonderful experience.

The notes at the bottom of the page are from the hour or so I sat before the service started. A guy was talking, non stop, to a girl that I don’t think that had known for very long. He expounded at great length on his philosophy of life and religion, and pretty much everything else, including how his birth caused him breathing difficulties his whole life and what he is doing to try to resolve that. Then he said, ” This is the first time in my life that I have ever been 100% honest with anyone”. It seemed that the lady was falling for all of it, but I thought that she should run as fast as she could! He sounded like trouble to me, and he was very full of himself, but it was rather entertaining to listen to it all.

When I left the Cathedral it was raining, and I walked home with my pretty blue umbrella, smiling and thinking “I love Paris in the sunshine, I love Paris in the rain”

Here are a few drawings from the Académie de la Grande Chaumiere yesterday. I decided to try something new, and used a big brush and a watercolour wash with a quick pencil drawing over top while it was still wet. These are five minute drawings, a bit of a challenge, but fun. It certainly made me loosen up a bit.

The male model was a very interesting older man with a great big moustache and a bit of a big belly too! I think he must have been quite a strong muscular man when he was younger.

I am going to an artist’s studio near where I bought my sim card in the 15 arrondissement tomorrow, for another life drawing session. It is quite close to the Eiffel Tower so I may stop there for a visit, we will see how the day goes.

Six Hours of Drawing!

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Trudy

Stools and more stools, all heights from about 15″ to 48″.

I was able to stay for the 3:00 drawing session as well as the 12:00 one today. Six hours of drawing and it went by so quickly. Not noticing the passage of time is a good indicator that a person is in a creative zone or space. That was certainly the case today, it did not feel like I was drawing for six hours, the time flew by and before I knew it we were on the last pose. I didn’t even notice how sore my bottom was until I put down my pencil and brushes! I will post some drawings tomorrow, it was dark by the time I got home and I need daylight to take pictures of drawings.

This interesting cage is in the corner of the little courtyard just outside the studio. No occupants today.

I went to see the Osteopath again today, and I took these two pictures on the Metro going there at 6:30 pm, looking in both directions, before it got so packed that I couldn’t even get my arms up in the air to take another picture. Yes, even more people piled into the train at the next station!

It was almost 9:00 by the time got home so a long day but a very satisfying one.

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