Category Archives: exhibition notebook

Skyline of Paris seen from the 6th floor at the Centre Pompidou

Skyline of Paris (view of the Eastern part) from the Centre Pompidou in Paris. ink on paper

Same day, I went to see another exhibition, at the Centre Pompidou (Beaubourg) “GERHARD RICHTER”, a contemporary German artist. Intriguing. Huge paintings, like photos, in often somber colors, strong statements too, and also completely abstract works which spoke to me through their bright tones. I couldn’t sketch there, first because Richter’s works did”nt want to be sketched, and second, it’s not an intimate place like the Pinacothèque is. At Centre Pompidou, up there on the 6th floor, you feel very aloft, and exposed and in wide space. Now, PARIS wanted to be sketched, and it’s so relaxing…

4 Comments

Filed under DRAWINGS, exhibition notebook, ILLUSTRATIONS, INSPIRING, PARIS, REPORTAGE, sightseeing notebook

PINACOTHEQUE DE PARIS – la collection Netter – having fun sketching at the exhibition

I offered myself a day at the museum last week, I went to see  and sketch (with an ink pen) a collection of paintings from Modigliani, Chaïm Soutine, Kisling and some other “Montparnasse” painters.

This here is a color study of one of Suzanne Valadon’s paintings.  “Portrait de Maria Lani

Here some more information about Suzanne Valadon, “beautiful and free-spirited”

I loved her color combinations and wrote down every little detail about the color composition.  I did the coloring at home, as the oil pastels can get really messy, and there were so many people there in the exhibition….

Color Study, ink, oilpastel

5 Comments

Filed under exhibition notebook, ILLUSTRATIONS, INSPIRING, OILPASTELS, Paintings, PARIS, REPORTAGE

ARTEMISIA at the MUSEE MAILLOL in Paris, and some more windowshopping

Artemisia Lomi Gentileschi (1593 -1652) ITALIAN BAROQUE PAINTER

NNDB info:

Born: 1593
Birthplace: Rome, Italy
Died: 1642
Location of death: Naples, Italy
Cause of death: unspecifiedGender: Female
Religion: Roman Catholic
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Painter

Nationality: Italy
Executive summary: Italian Baroque painter

Moleskine Sketchbook, ink and pastel

Details about the exhibition on

Weird, those classifiactions on NNDB, don’t you think?

Well, let’s continue our window-shopping!

We still walk on Boulevard Haussmann, and Rue Tronchet towards the “Madeleine”. Shalimar, I always loved this name and the scent, and I like this poetic decoration.

This is one of the famous “Paul” bakeries, once a shop specialized in ivory and scute, (I just learned this word “scute”, I hope it’s correct)  called “THE TURTLES”

This is opposite of the church Madeleine, it’s ERES, very (very) expensive swimming suits and sun dresses

 ”Petit Bateau”, very famous brand for kid’s underwear, expensive and “bon chic bon genre”, meaning a bit bourgeois :)

I liked this decoration in the shoe-shop Rue Tronchet, those shoes are not “bon marché” = cheap

I have still more photos for you in my bag for the next post! Take care and have a wonderful day !

3 Comments

Filed under exhibition notebook, ILLUSTRATIONS, Moleskine Notebook, Paintings, PARIS, PHOTOGRAPHY, sightseeing notebook, Soft Pastel

Christian Lacroix and Quai Branly Museum in Paris: Exhibition “Women in Orient”

Little Girl's dress (around 1200 b.C) - Moleskine Museum Sketch

 

A Bride's Dress - around 1930 - Moleksine Museum Sketch

Dress Coat - around 1930 - Moleskine Museum Sketch

Woman's Dress Coat - Moleskine Museum Sketch

A Bride's Dress (around 1950) - Moleskine Museum Sketch

4 Comments

Filed under exhibition notebook, fashion notebook, ILLUSTRATIONS, INSPIRING, Moleskine Notebook, Textile Art, Watercolor

Exhibition Notebook: HUGO PRATT at the Pinacothèque de Paris – March 2011

Homage to Hugo Pratt, creator of Corto Maltese - exhibition notebook AHdP

Corto Maltese looks like one of those contemporary male models you can see on tv and in magazines, representing luxury perfumes or designer clothes….but I guess he’s tougher !

He is tall, slim and handsome in his uniform of the merchant marine. He carries his head high, has an impressive lower jaw. He looks relaxed and concentrated at the same time. Sometimes he seems to meditate before the action catches up with him again. He is an adventurer. You meet him in Siberia, in Malaysia, in China, in Africa…

The women around Corto are adventurers too, they love their independance and often fight for a cause. They are beautiful, enigmatic, brave, often hard-edged. They can be mysterious and haughty but they always like Corto Maltese, even if sometimes they work against him.

Corto’s women are Russian Countesses, Singaporean fortune tellers, Malaysian pirates, Irish partisans, African queens and Arab desert princesses…

African Queen - exhibition notebook AHdP

The women often wear colorful and artful headdresses, hats, hairdresses, earrings, hair jewelry.

Artful Hairdresses - exhibition !Homage to Hugo Pratt and Corto Maltese - exhibition notebook AHdP

 

They look fearless, they lead dangerous lives. They know that life has a cost anyway: death. The titles of the stories they live in evoke all kind of emotions: “SCORPIONS OF THE DESERT”, or “SAMBA WITH FIXED TARGET”. Please note that these are my sketches of Hugo Pratt’s drawings but  

I don’t want to imitate Hugo Pratt….I just would like to honor him with these drawings, and learn from him how he managed to master the black and white excellence…light and shadow simplified….which is a very complicated thing. And I love the movement he creates in all of his images, there’s always a wind blowing, bringing the image to life.

Homage to Hugo Pratt, creator of Corto Maltese - exhibition notebook AHdP

 I spent more than 2 hours in the exhibition, dreaming away with Corto Maltese, admiring the watercolor paintings. Hugo Pratt said: “I would love to be able to make everything understood with one simple line

Homage to Hugo Pratt and Corto Maltese - exhibition notebook AHdP

In fact, people in the metro, while I drew other people, have said to me several times that my drawings and watercolor sketches remind them those of Hugo Pratt, I had never thought of that before but I sure feel very honoured by those comments and it’s true that I feel very close to his art…

Hugo Pratt was Italian, a cosmopolitan, who travelled a lot and took his inspiration in places all over the world, a globetrotting storytelling cartoonartist:) 

Exhibition “Hugo Pratt’s Imaginary Journey” at the Pinacothèque de Paris http://www.pinacotheque.com/en.html

5 Comments

Filed under exhibition notebook, ILLUSTRATIONS, INSPIRING, Moleskine Notebook, Watercolor

The Old Year Leaving – Moleskine Illustration

The Old Year Leaving - Illustration in my moleskine notebook

The old year, rich in events, colors, shapes, surprises, discoveries….it lingers but at the same time it is slowly taking leave…..soon it will disappear behind the hills on the horizon…..

5 Comments

Filed under exhibition notebook, ILLUSTRATIONS, INSPIRING, Moleskine Notebook

Exhibition “La Fabrique des Images” – The Souls of Animals – Ivory Miniature Inuit Sculptures

Inuit Miniature Ivory Animals - each animal is about 2 to 3 cm - ink and watercolor sketch

8 Comments

Filed under exhibition notebook, ILLUSTRATIONS, Watercolor

Exhibition “la fabrique des images” Museum Quai Branly, Paris

Drawing inspired by Katsina Dolls seen in Museum Quai Branly

It’s interesting to watch how things turn out when you draw something from memory: yesterday’s Katsina-dolls (left) where drawn from memory, in the metro – I tried to reproduce images of what I had seen that day in the museum.

HEREUNDER are the drawings I made standing in front of the REAL dolls, exhibited behind glass in the Musée du Quai Branly. Wow, very different, don’t you think? I didn’t want to color them, as I haven’t taken notes about the REAL colors. I guess I have to go back to the exhibition and do that!

Drawing of Katsina Dolls in Museum Quai Branly

 

Drawing of puppets inspired by Katsina dolls in Museum Quai Branly

And these are three dolls I drew two or three days after my visit of the exhibition, letting my mind go free, just taking the Katsina dolls as an inspiration. Funny how more European those look:)

4 Comments

Filed under exhibition notebook, ILLUSTRATIONS, Watercolor

Exhibition Notebook: Hopi Katsina Dolls

Hopi Katsinam - Exhibition Notebook "la fabrique des images" Museum Quai Branly

This drawing on an ARCHE postcard is inspired by Hopi Katsina dolls.

The Katsinam are approx. 20 to 30 cm high, if I remember well,  and they are’nt toys. They were used by the HOPI tribe  to teach children certain rituals and the meaning of them. I drew these during my visit at the Musée Quai Branly at the beginning of the month. They were exhibited in a special exhibition called: THE FACTORY OF IMAGES.

I also found this interesting site about katsina dolls at the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, in case you are interested to learn more about the katsina.

6 Comments

Filed under exhibition notebook, ILLUSTRATIONS, Moleskine Notebook, Uncategorized, Watercolor

Pictures of the exhibition “Women” – Exposition “FEMMES”

This is a piece of the Textile Art Series “Ancestormasks” which are part of an ongoing collective exhibition “FEMMES”, here in Paris. I just put up pictures of the exhibition, the artists and the vernissage (which took place last Wednesday) on our artists’ federation’s blog  SEIZIEM’ART

I have re-worked this piece here as I thought it was too pink before, and without knowing it, I chose a color which perfectly hamonized with the artwork of the other artists participating in this exhibition!

Now it’s time to relax, have a nice Sunday!

Andrea

7 Comments

Filed under exhibition notebook, Textile Art