With this pandemic, we have taken a detour on the blog. Come along with me as we make our way through all this together and I take this blog in a slightly more personal direction while we are finding our way.
With 'stay-at-home' orders extending, I thought why not linger a little longer in Paris!... virtually. It is a good time to soak up more of their beautiful art and architecture.
PS - For any of you taking my online painting class right now, I included some specific paintings for you with strong compositions and value patterns. After all, composition and value was our lesson this week. Please look for those elements - and enjoy the 'reinforcement'. ;)
The magic of Paris...
If you follow through this blogging detour on our "Art & Architecture" trip to Europe, you will see an underlying "Leonardo da Vinci theme". What an incredible artist throughout his entire life. I wanted to learn more about him while I was on his home turf. So follow along as he pops up throughout the next few blogs.
Here, we see Leonardo da Vinci's most famous painting - Mona Lisa - behind glass at the Louvre getting a lot of attention!
And of course the Eiffel Tower - an architectural icon of Paris...
I love the sheer number of museums in Paris. So. Many. To. See. For me, the Musee D'Orsay is a highlight. We'd have to take a really BIG detour to show you all the great art in just that one spectacular museum... which we may do in the future, but... for now, just put this museum 'on your list'.
This painting at the Musee D'Orsay has both a strong composition and strong value pattern. A trick - squint a little if you need to, to see the strong light and dark patterns. What a beautiful design underlying the painting!
(My current students - With value as one of our topics this week, this painting is a good illustration of what we discussed. Notice what a strong composition it has along with the strong value pattern. See how the value pattern lends mostly to the darker side and those few lights are reserved to add drama and capture your attention?)
For you fellow 'art geeks' out there, I have included the information displayed beside the painting at the Museum. You can get the basics even if you don't read French ;)
Kids just 'gotta have fun' with Art...
Evenings in Paris take on a whole different magical feeling,
when the architecture comes alive in a new way...
The vast amount of gorgeous paintings in Paris is truly astounding! Here are a couple that have 'stuck with me over the years', a sign of a good painting... AND they have very strong compositions and value patterns for my current students to study ;)
The architecture throughout the entire city is a 'feast' for the eyes - day and night. We walked many many miles (my teenagers will attest to that) and found outstanding art and architecture all along the way.
Oh, how easy it is for me to linger in Paris and enjoy the art and architecture. Eye candy everywhere for an artist! But we must move on - in this pandemic as well as this blog...
Next up, Loire Valley and beyond!
