Painting in Paris 1998 part 1

 In Paris you can walk around aimlessly and happen upon some of the most famous buildings. This scene caught my eye, and there was a decent block to sit on as I recall. It is the Invalides building with its famous dome, once a hospital or military building. To paint the dome I applied the golden yellow wash first, with a drop of water to create the reflection, then carefully overlaid the navy blue. I must have made the navy blue with French ultramarine (appropriate under the circumstances) with some alizarin (PR83) and winsor green (PG7). What I find remarkable in retrospect was that I could create the brick colour which is raw sienna, using a complex mix of paints probably based on aureolin yellow (PY40).

Hotel de France Invalides, watercolour 5 x 7" hot press, 1998 (No. 0835)

 

 

This half car was in the hostel courtyard where I was staying (The Three Ducks), along with several kegs and cases of beer. Most of the bricks and plaster in the region were pigmented with yellow ochre and raw sienna, colours that I would not have had in palette until 2020! None the less, I made a range of earth yellows that did the trick. I met people from Bolton Ontario while staying here, what a small world.

Three Ducks, Half Car, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, 1998 (No. 831)

Some of the painting were 8 inches because if you cut 5 x 7 inch pieces out of a 22 x 30", you get an extra inch on a few pieces. I would save the 5 x 8" for subjects that needed more height or width. In this case I would have needed a much taller piece of paper indeed. What do I remember about this location? The smell of dog excrement. But that was all part of the charm.

Eiffel Tower, watercolour 5 x 8" cold press, 1998 (No. 0840)

Back then you could walk freely around and under the Eiffel tower, as compared to now it is surrounded by a gated security barrier due to the threat of attack. It was a different world back then. The composition of this painting was very innovative and daring. I remember walking around for some time trying to find an angle and figure out how to capture the scene in a more original fashion that the touristy painting that I made earlier. It was also an early example where I put lots of little people in the scene to give you a sense of the amount of tourists. In the distance you can see the École Militaire with the French flag, and a modern sky scraper.

Under the Eiffel Tower, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, 1998 (No. 0834)

 

Just a bit further was the impressive École Militaire which I tried to do justice to with this small painting. There was a lot of detail to convey including the flag, the elaborate roof and facade, the statue of the horse. Prior to this trip I had not encountered such challenging architecture, and I remember at the end of my time in France I never wanted to paint another monument, cathedral, or fancy building ever again! As the trip progressed though my abilities grew. For example the Cathedral in Toledo painted several weeks later was memorable.

 École Militaire, watercolour 5 x 7" hot press, 1998 (No. 0833)