Paris Sketches

Drawing sketches of a place really helps you to learn about it in a way that is so different from photography. In the case of this view of Notre Dame, I spent so many times re-sketching this scene, that I feel like I have the gothic contours of this Paris emblem permanently embedded in my brain. This final sketch, in Micron pen and Copic marker, is the effect I intended.

A sketch of The Rue de Richelieu, one of the longest, and historically most enchanting streets in Paris. Today, signs of cheap tourism - stands selling cheap toys and mementos, litter in the streets and throngs of noisy tourists hide the beautiful facades. But a sketch of these classic French buildings helps you see behind it all.

The Luxembourg Palace, home of the French Senate, and one of the most compelling buildings in Paris. I used black Micron pens and Copic sketch markers. Sketching this massive building was my personal lesson in how to draw Paris.

The Institut de France houses five French Academies. One of them, the Académie Française, is charged with the task of protecting the integrity of the French language. Its forty members, known as The Immortals, attempt to keep the French language free from the pollution of foreign words. To, maintain the qualities of the language that makes it "pure, eloquent, and capable of dealing with art and science."

The Institut de France building was built in 1670 and was originally named Collège des Quatre-Nations; a college for students from territories that had just become a part of France.

Paris' City Hall, sketched with sepia micron pen and warm Copic sketch markers. I used warm tone grays on the building.

Two Parisians talk about cheese outside the Barthélemy Cheese Shop. Sketched with watercolors and sepia micron pen.

The Pont Louis-Philippe crosses the Seine River, connecting Île Saint-Louis with the Right Bank. Sketched with a black Micron 03 pen and copic markers.

The Le Boul'mich Cafe in the Odéon Theatre District, drawn with 03 and 005 Micron Pigma liner pens.

The ubiquitous Citroën 2CV is a lovely classic car seen everywhere in Paris.

Drawing of the narrow pedestrian street, Rue Mouffetard, near the Square Saint-Médard.

The Seine in the Southern outskirts of Paris. As you leave the center of the city, more modern buildings mix in with the older brick and stone apartments.

Line drawing of a street in Saint-Germain-des-Prés district. I can't help but to try to draw these Paris city streets without the cars, trucks and numerous street signs which take away from the classic lines of the city. Subconsciously, when I walk through Paris, I imagine the city without cars, and with simple beige-colored gravel streets.

Drawing of a classic Mini found in a back alley in Paris.

This view of Paris' third oldest bridge - the Pont Royal Bridge, with the Louvre Palace in the background, is one of my favorite settings in the city. As there are many tourists in this area, we experienced the famous gypsy gold ring scam, in which men, women or children will toss a cheap gold-looking ring in front of you, pick it back up as if it were not them dropping it, and ask if you dropped it. The scam is an ancient one, possibly dating back to Roman times in Europe. And although there are variations of the scam, the goal is often to get you into a conversation about whether the ring might be yours as a precursor to pickpocketing you.

In the first attempt, a pair of women threw a gold ring directly in front of us and came in for the kill. Of course, we're well aware of the scam as should be anybody visiting a large European city.

But after two thousand years, there are stil enough suckers out there to make the gold ring scam work again and again. I used a micron 03 liner pen and copic sketch markers for this drawing.

Classic Fiat Cinquecentos and other diminutive European cars are everpresent on smaller Parisian streets. Jane and I spent several hours just looking for, photographing and sketching old cars in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés arrondissement. This bright red model was my favorite. I used an 03 micron liner pen and watercolors for this drawing.

In Paris, everybody seems comfortable with the idea of dressing in big, bright solid colors - more than the architecture and stone, this style seems to carry the look of the city. And its not just women; men have no problem wearing red pants with a blue shirt.

This tiny Italian car is a 1960's Autobianchi which was parked on the street near our hotel in St. Germaine for several days.. Thanks to 1MorePhotographer for the help in identifying this gem. I used an 03 Micron liner pen and watercolors for this drawing.