Monthly Archives: August 2018

Café des Arts

Café des Arts    coloured pencils      35 x 32 cm

“Café des Arts” is a true story.

I saw these two couples (one painted and one real) at the Café des Arts, 3 place de la Contrescarpe, near Panthéon.  I had to surreptitiously acquire my source photo by pretending to focus somewhere else and then quickly swing my lens to the desired spot.

I wonder if the absinthe drinkers in the painting “Dans un Café” were aware of being watched back in 1875?  (The painting by Edgar Degas hangs in the Musée d’Orsay.)  My human couple remained oblivious to me.

Artists have to break rules in the quest for a good visual story whether the year is 1875 or 2018. Life imitates art.  Art imitates life.  And sometimes they both end up in the same picture.

Here is the source photo for “Café des Arts”.  If you look closely, you’ll see that I made a few simplifications by reducing details.

 

 

 

Boulevard

“Boulevard”  19.5 x 25.5 cm.  Coloured pencils on Arches Aquarelle smooth.

Bright lights and shadowy figures marching across the boulevard merge to create a lively kaleidoscope at Place Blanche.  This is the final drawing (I mean it this time) for the “Remember Paris” exhibition opening in five weeks’ time.

To view the catalogue of 30 drawings for the exhibition, click here.