Paris visit

It's been long since I last updated the blog.. Too many things to share. I went to Paris over christmas last month and it was definitely one of the most memorable trips ever. It was a last minute thing, I booked the tickets at night and flew in the noon. Being my first flight experience alone (Florence- Pisa- Paris), I was really excited and nervous the day I left!

Pisa to Paris

And then I reached this magical city of love and lights! As it was christmas time, everything looked very beautiful as the decorative lights were up in and around the city, creating this lovely holiday-ish mood. And Paris does look very beautiful when it rains :)

Day 1 in Paris

On our way to musee jacque andre 

Sacre Coeur(Very beautiful!)

And the most enriching experience had been visiting the art galleries and museums. We went to Louvre, Orsay, Jacque Andre museum and Petit palais.. and I had had such a great time just seeing the works of old masters. I never really studied art before, and many of the artists whose name I had only heard or read in the books, I saw their works and was totally mesmerized by the beauty and the grandeur of the paintings. Orsay has the most extensive collection of impressionist paintings and it was something so wonderful to have had this experience to see them so close and appreciate the colors and the strokes and the details..

Here are some shaky pictures taken from my phone camera:
Alma Tadema:
The Roses of Heliogabalus(1888)

Portrait of Watelet by Jean Greuze(1763-65):


 Details of drapery:


Details of the hand:

Isn't it beautiful!!! This one was in Louvre. And it was just one of the thousands of paintings I saw. There were such amazing paintings and drawings and sculptures.. Too many to see in one day. I started noting down the names of artists I liked. Filled one page quickly, then another, and another and another and on and on... Then I stopped.

It was overwhelming. I don't want to be overly emotional but sometimes when you see so many amazing works, it is inspiring yet daunting at the same time. Makes me want to do it all and learn it all as quickly as possible.. They say it takes years of hardwork and patience. The training of an artist begins at the age of 8, when they give him a bone and ask to study it. By study, they say, he has to thoroughly understand bone's structure in all the angles, perspectives, so if he has to draw it from the memory, he should be able to draw it. He needs to study all the bones, muscles to understand how the figure is constructed, what is underneath the layer of skin. Then comes the drapery, by understanding the structure and construction of cloth and all that. Then there is composition to study, and the colors, their behaviour with each other, values and whatnot. So basically it all takes years of practice and dedication to be able to draw, paint well.. They say it is important not to get discouraged with the struggle during the initial stages of drawing, construction... So that is one thing to remind myself everyday when I lose patience. 

I will be updating the post soon with watercolors of the places I visited.