French tea bridal shower invites

These bridal shower invitations combine watercolor painting with digital printing to fit the girly, French-inspired theme.  No poodles, pink stripes, or baguettes here.

Monet vs Monet

Since watching Midnight in Paris last week, I've been pretty into all things French.  So just for fun I did this sketch of Claude Monet, based on his wikipedia photo.  In the end, I wound up with 2 sketches after spending too much time on a warmup sketch (left).

Double the beard!

It's been almost a year since I was in Paris and despite being pick-pocketed by thieving Gypsy children, I would love to go back for an extended stay!

Street Art of Paris, Segment 2

These great works of art were all captured in Montmartre.  The most well known icon of this neighborhood, located in hilly area in the north of the city, is the Basilica of the Sacre Coeur.  The area is bustling with tourists and students, tacky souvenirs, 3 card monte scams, and artists aggressively trying to commission a portrait.  Although it sounds overwhelming, it was one of my favorite spots, bursting with energy and creativity.  With that kind of atmosphere, it's no wonder the street art was not your typical graffiti.

A plaster face mounted to a wall with a tribal
design. I like not knowing if it was meant to be
one piece, or if someone else added the  paint.

3 faces stenciled outside a cafe.

A cafe door, which did not look open,
despite what the sign says.

The other side of the door.  

Just a cool mashup of stuff on a stairway wall.

This guy is known as Monsieur Chat

 

Stenciled daisies on a slope along the stairway.

A weathered looking fellow, I love the sketch style
which you don't often see drawn right on the wall.

Looked like a painted canvas, I couldn't get close enough to tell.

Up next, local artists' paintings.

Taken by les mains

Last week I took a much needed vacation in one of the world's most beautiful and artistic cities: Paris!  There is an impeccable attention to detail in every structure of the city.  And it seemed no matter which direction I looked, there was something beautiful begging to be captured.  This shutter-happiness led to my taking 600+ pictures, averaging over 120 a day.  Mon Dieu!

Don't worry, I'll spare you the anecdotes as well as the photos of me looking touristy in front of Parisian landmarks.  This first installment of Taken by the Hand in Paris cover street art, which is everywhere.  There's standard nonsensical graffiti marking up the train tracks, paper sketches glued to cement walls, and much to my surprise and delight, mosaics.  This first set was taken on the streets near the Bastille, La Marais, and St-Germain.

Paper boar

There were lots of these 8-bit style mosaics, created or inspired by Invader

This truimph de l'oeil is a favorite.  It is positioned near trees
of the same height so you really have to do a double take.

I saw several of these Xes, but couldn't get any info on them.
"X Paris graffiti" is a pretty vague google search term.

The first floor rooftop was a very popular spot.

Another paper illustration.

Up next, street art in Montmarte.