• About
  • Contact Me
  • Disclosure

accentBritain

~ a romance with art and all things British

accentBritain

Tag Archives: musicians

Paris Street Music

07 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by pat in Art, paintings, sketching, Travel, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

La Comedie Francaise, musicians, Paris

Only in Paris…classical musicians hawk their wares (or CDs) outside La Comedie Francaise, just a few short blocks from The Louvre Art Museum.

Image 3

As I walked back to my hotel after visiting the Louvre, I heard the uplifting sound of strings in a nearby plaza. Edged by grand arched buildings sheltering cafes, people were sitting outside in the cool spring air listening to the musicians.  It was lovely.

Image 5I have had the photo of this scene taped up on my studio wall for over a year, and would often study it.  I loved the graphic pattern of the musicians against the red, gray and white backdrop.

Image

But even more, I loved the individuality of the musicians, sitting or standing amongst their cases and bags, concentrating on the music with looks of serene joy. There is nothing like an artist practicing their craft.

Image 2

Each musician had such a distinct personality. I found as I worked on them, I got to know each one, and made up nicknames for each.

Image 4

As I worked from left to right filling in the details, I got to know each one and their precious instruments.  I had never sketched or painted musical instruments before.  It was a struggle, but also an education…the different shapes, the different shades of wood.  And each player had their own stance that did suit the personalities I had conjured up.

Image 1

I wanted to create a rhythm and a visual movement to match the music I could hear in my head reminiscent of when I had actually been with them on that Paris street.

Image 6

With the unfathomable violence this past year in Paris, it made this scene even more serene and poignant in my memory.

Image 4

Each figure had a certain wistfulness.  Were they lost in the music or their own private musings?

Image

I would never really know for sure.

But it is rather like my paintings.  Each viewer will put their own story to it, create their own scenario surrounding the particular scene and figures.  Reality is always in the eye of the beholder.  If only that interpretation could always be peaceful.

Image_2

Like the “violet girl”, the details would build our understanding of the individual until they become more real, if only in our own mind.

Image 7

This painting took a very long time to paint for me.  It was two months of almost daily work.  Many hours were spent studying the figures and deciding how they worked alone and together, before completing the background.

Image - Version 2

Finally, like a good orchestra, it all worked together in harmony.

Image

Paris Street Music, 36 x 24″, oil on linen.

 

♣ Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 27 other subscribers

♣ Archives

  • September 2022
  • May 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • August 2021
  • May 2021
  • January 2021
  • September 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • March 2020
  • December 2019
  • October 2019
  • July 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • August 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • July 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • July 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • January 2016
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011

♣ Recent Posts

  • Autumn Stroll on the C&O Canal
  • A Winter’s Project
  • A Walk In The Park
  • An Adirondack Pond
  • Golden

♣ Categories

  • Art
  • Art Museums & Exhibitions
  • Bath
  • Books
  • British Virgin Islands
  • Burnham-on-Crouch
  • cars
  • Cornwall
  • Cornwall
  • England
  • entertainment
  • Fashion
  • Food
  • Gardens
  • Grasmere
  • Guana Island
  • History
  • Lake District
  • Lake District
  • London
  • movies
  • Music
  • National Trust
  • Olympics
  • paintings
  • Peak District
  • Sailing
  • Scotland
  • Shopping
  • sketching
  • The New Forest
  • The Royal Family
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • United Kingdom

♣ my button

accentbritain.com
<a href="http://accentbritain.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://accentbritain.com/accentBritainbutton.jpeg" alt="accentBritain.com" width="125" height="125" /></a>
Copyright 2011 accentBritain LLC. All rights reserved. All original photos, text and art is copyright protected.

Proudly powered by WordPress Theme: Chateau by Ignacio Ricci.

 

Loading Comments...