Catch The Brass Ring On The Last Go Around!

Art Experience Paris 2014

Once again I am studying with my friend Laurie Pessimer

Laurie Pessimer

while staying here in Paris, France. Never let life pass you by without at least giving it a try. Laurie took me to the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in St. German for a session with a live nude model. It is a very old school which was started in l904 and many period artists studied there such as Picasso, Modigliano, Alberto Giacometti, Alexander Calder and so many others it is hard to mention. Thought I would put
Academie de la Grande Chaumiere into wikipedia to let you know other heavies and found my name at the end of the list of artists who have studied there. Can this be true? I am so blessed. Guess the George V was right....the staff was so excited that I was to study there. They made a special plaque for me with madelines and sprinkles abounding...

My announcement from George V

The Ground Floor Atelier

Now, the Academie was definitely stuck in time circa l900. The easels were much too short for me. The place was seedy and seemingly never changed over the years just like you would want it to be. The group was multicultural and ageless. There seemed to be a large constituency of young artists milling around. The atelier was on the ground floor, but the building seemed to have four or five floors of studios. The vibe was terrific. We did a 45 minute study... our model was a French woman about 40...she told us that she was an actress. She also said that she had been married 7 times in seven different countries. Not sure if she was saying 7 different men..because I could not follow the language that quickly. She was a great model since holding that pose for 45 minutes must have been grueling!

Sitting

Reclining

5 minute sketches

a 25 minute one.... a 20 minute sketch and then 3 five minutes sketches...

Somewhat Egyptian

and three 5 minute sketches. Phew. That was a workout. I had a new set of brushes for watercolor that had a bladder. They came in three sizes. My next experience would be at The Louvre, and they do not allow
vessels of water inside nor waterproof pens. Seems that some weird woman had decided to destroy a Delacroix painting with her pen...this all happening in the past year. Why????At any rate, I also bought watercolor crayons which I had never used before. So, not only am I in a whole different world, but I am in a total experiment situation with my tools. At the end of the day we were both tired, and I departed with a very heavy heart as I had to say goodbye to Laurie again. Now, on to The Lourve with Pauline Fraisse who has also been my art protege in Paris.

Pauline Fraisse...French Artist and teacher

I looked forward to the occasion to paint in the Louvre. It is a very special experience as not everyone can do this. We meet up at the information desk down under the Pyramid. I am anxious and arrive too early....there are 5 others meeting here, and they are all new to me but proteges of Pauline. As it turns out they are a daughter and mother from Argentina, a young man from Guatemala, one Parisiennne lady, a British woman and me. Since I had done this before while in Paris last year, Pauline asked me if I would like to go to the Egyptian Gallery for study. I am so excited. We had a very long hike and about 8 series of steps before we got there. The Louvre is such a vast place. We staked our postion in the corner of one of the chambers and pulled out our folding stools. The first exercise was perspective...and I chose a case with antiquities and lots of bits. Why do I always try to do so much with so little time...we are only allowed 20 minutes. And, I want to add color, too.

Ante chamber Egyptian Gallery

Pauline moves us further into the exhibit and this time we are to

Plaque

use of negative space.

make a sketchbook with a series of drawing on one page...










Once again she challenges us as we have 25 minutes to do this. 
Now, after this episode she asks us to pick out some people walking and set them in time and sketch it. 15 minutes. Since we only have a few hours to be in the Louvre...6:30 until 9 we must

Action....walking 

sketch each other. It is our last discipline.
Our time is up and we must collect ourselves and make it through the maze. This time Pauline takes us through the oldest part of the Palace which was found during the excavation of the I M Pei Pyramid.

The Pyramid at The Louvre

We all say goodbye under the glass dome and part ways. I wonder if I will ever see those folks again. Pauline offers me a ride..she has a new Citron car...it is raining so that is a good thing. We walk a few blocks to an underground parking garage. It isn't that far to the hotel and we chat along the way. She has a boyfriend since we last saw each other, and I think they may be moving in together. That made me smile as she is a lovely young woman and deserves companionship. She drops me off on the Champs Elysees a block or so from the hotel. It is another sad goodbye...My art experience in Paris has ended. It was so great!!