Watercolours, drawings, photos and paintings

the stained glass windows of Dourdan

visionarymarketing — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 06:30:19 +0000

One could think I spent hours on end tweaking that shot but I didn’t. I posted it exactly as I saw it on that sunny November afternoon in Dourdan, 60 km South of Paris. All I did was work on the size reduction and the straightening of the shot a fraction of a degree to the right through Lightroom and that’s not even quite satisfactory by the way. By stepping aside a couple of feet I managed to capture the nice “bokeh” effect of the blue stained glass window in the background.

EXIF data available here

Album 11-dourdan-201111

Christ!

visionarymarketing — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:57:53 +0000

I had to stand on tip toes in order to take this photograph of a stained glass window through the vents in the door of a tomb at the Père Lachaise churchyard in Paris. A difficult shot in low light and low speed (ISO 500 only, 1/30 sec, focal length 300 mm, full Exif data here)

From 11-Picasa-lachaise-121111

red light

visionarymarketing — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 08:42:24 +0000

That was the end of the afternoon on a beautiful and strangely warm autumn day this year in Paris. Coming back home from the public library and I saw that man at his doorstep tip tapping on his smartphone and looking at the passers by. And then there was the red light …

From 11-mouffetard-23102011

A Week End In The Country

visionarymarketing — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:37:10 +0000

A few weeks ago, a sunny day in Jouarre, 70km East of Paris, out in the country. An old house, late 18th century maybe, part of the local Abbey, used for a charity sale with loads of artefacts on display. Amongs those those canvas chairs propped against the wall, in want of clients …

: chaises de jardin à Jouarre

OLD AND NEW BUILDINGS

visionarymarketing — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 08:48:13 +0000

Here is a topic which is very much my leitmotiv these days, both in my paintings and photography (below)

This reminds me of Jacques Tati’s “Mon Oncle”, a 1960’s film in which the film maker was opposing, with much exaggeration, the de-humanized modern day Paris, squeaky clean and globalized, with the old fashioned City, dirty but idiosyncratic, welcoming and unmistakenly French.

But in this case, the old and the new are no longer opposed. One may regret it – and God knows I hear a lot of whinging about that around here – or alternatively, one may grow to like that modern day Paris too, admitting that both of of these can exist side by side and enjoy looking at what’s best in both of these worlds.

Old buildings reflected in a glass building in Port Royal

From artyStuff

The Cathedral in Reims (Eastern France), is reflected in the windows panes of the ultra modern multimedia public library

What I like best is the 2 bats that they stuck on the windows. Will you be able to spot them on the picture ?

From artyStuff

Resuming Work After Two Years : Saint Jacques at night

visionarymarketing — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 07:56:42 +0000

Saint Jacques at Night - 2011

Boy, I feel bad! Such a long time without posting anything on this blog. In a way I’m not surprised as it seems I have done nothing but work, day in day out, for these past 2 years. So here I am this morning adding this new piece and preparing a few others related to my latest drawings and watercolours.

This one is on a recurring theme, a new study of Saint Jacques, my district in Paris, my ‘rear-window’ exercise so to speak, James Stewart’s style, already seen a few times, always the same and at the same time always different.

This topic is an endless source of inspiration though, and it seems I can render the cityscape in a different manner each time, with different colours, different backgrounds, different angles, new characters – real or not it depends – behind their own windows.

This sketch is a 100×100 mm format on French hand-manufactured – Moulin de Larroque – watercolour paper.

a new watercolour slideshow

visionarymarketing — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:00:27 +0000

here’s a new version of my watercolour slideshow, revised and updated with a good many new watercolours which were painted recently. You can download it at this URL: http://antimuseum.online.fr/slideshow/slideshow1.pdf

St Jacques, Paris – 3 different views

visionarymarketing — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:00:17 +0000

1. Saint Jacques at day-break

One day I was looking for new subjects and while browsing my notes I then took a look across the back of our building and then I realised that there was so much happening around us that I might even probably uncover a few dozen subjects in themselves just looking at the buildings around me, the people behind windows, some dressed, some not, having a cup of coffee in the kitchen or watching the TV or even just having a stroll between four walls and possibly talking to themselves in the privacy of their apartments. For those wondering where St Jacques in Paris is, here’s a map courtesy of Google.

That’s how I got started on the St Jacques series, a collection of drawings and watercolours showing the buildings around the area, and catching glimpses of the lives that are unfolding before our very eyes at various moments of the day.

2. Saint Jacques at night

My number 1 watercolour of Saint Jacques was dedicated to mornings, a minute description of what was going on at day-break with people having breaksfast, walking around in their bathrobes or even working from home as I do so often myself.

Number 2 is about the same area at night, only from a different angle and with a different size, a picture in which only a few brightly lit windows are emerging from a huge dark mass of concrete and stone walls, the textures of which at that time of night cannot even be perceived anymore.

Number 3 is a triptych version of an evening in Saint Jacques, not yet so dark as the night one but quite dark though. As it happens, I finalised evening number 2 even before evening number 1 had been started so expect the original to appear later on this blog after its sequel.

3. Saint Jacques - evening no. 2 - Triptych

the rooftops series – Blois, France

visionarymarketing — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:07:32 +0000

As I am getting ready for the Aquarella 2009 exhibition which is due to take place in the West of Paris (Rueil Malmaison to be precise), I have recently produced a new series of rooftop watercolours the idea of which was initiated years ago (see bottom picture). I added a sequel to that rooftop picture by providing another view in the opposite direction taken from nearly the same place, i.e. a stone’s throw from the Blois Cathedral of Blois in the Loire Valley.

Rooftops in Blois - No.2 - final version (click to enlarge)

This is only step two in a series of rooftops watercolours which I will issue as I go along this summer as I am building up my stock for the Aquarella event which will take place on Sept 13 (the poster will be added to the blog soon) .

Should you wish to have a close look at the various stages leading to the final version of rooftops in Blois no. 2, click here to see my Posterous report which pictures of the various steps.

step 1 (2 pictures of the initial sketch)
step 2 (5 pictures)
step 3 (4 pictures)
steps 4&5 (2 pictures)

Below is a reproduction of version 1 of the Rooftops in Blois series.

(click the thumbnail to enlarge Rooftops in Blois – May 2005)

Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire (Great Britain)

visionarymarketing — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 08:36:36 +0000

Blenheim Palace Fountain

Back in the saddle after quite a few months in which I haven’t produced any new pictures. I have just completed this new postcard format watercolour of a fountain at Blenheim Palace.

Blenheim Palace is the “home to 11th Duke of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill” according to the Blenheim Palace website. It is located in Oxfordshire, north-west of Oxford.

The palace, an early 18th century mansion built by the Duke is “set in 2100 acres of beautiful parkland landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown” and it is “surrounded by sweeping lawns, formal gardens and the magnificent Lake”. I have only chosen to reproduce this fountain with its caryatids in this picture, but the main landmark at Blenheim is the bridge and the view of the palace from the river (see the top picture at http://www.blenheimpalace.com/thepalace/untoldstory/)