Sit-down Saturday

 Sketches for sale at Place du Tertre.

Montmartre Monday

 A portrait artist perched above a bustling café scene below.

 

Sitting Saturday

A portrait artist has left his post to get coffee.

Above: French singer/songwriter/actor Serge Gainsbourg keeps an eye on things

 

Saturday sitting

A portrait artist on Place du Tertre.

 ***

When a gift backfires...

 

Some years back I commissioned an artist on Place du Tertre to do a portrait from a beautiful photo of my mother when she was young. It was to be a surprise, and from the samples of portraits-from-photos displayed at his stand I felt he would be up to the task to do the best job as there was quite a bit of competition around to choose from. 

 

I didn't care about the price (about 300 euros), only the quality, and happily agreed to pay in advance - only to cringe the second I laid eyes on it almost two weeks later. I'd asked him to take his time to do a good job but it looked nothing like her and barely resembled the photo. The first obvious faute was an enlarged chin, just enough to give the face an aspect of a Don Martin drawing from MAD magazine, and no, he wasn't a caricaturist. 

 

 Of course she hated it too, and ever since I tell anyone considering getting their portrait painted in Paris by any of these roving artists to always try to observe them sketching someone live, in person, first. 

 

And should they want a portrait painted from a photo, not to risk it unless convinced of the artist's ability to capture an image precisely, which is difficult to know in advance. Most, like I did, simply take their chances. - BPJ

 

Another day

 

 

 

A street artist prepares for the day atop the butte.

 

 

La place

 Place du Tertre on a black and white day.

Action...!

 

  

Tucked into a corner this café with its portraits and patrons could be mistaken for a film set.

Night stroll

Mid-summer evening walk in Montmartre.

Optimist

 

A portrait artist takes his chances.

Reflective

Woman seated on the métro.

Portrait

Atop the butte man sketches a young girl as her parents wait.

True art

Irving Penn exhibition ends today

Grand Palais 

3 avenue du Général Eisenhower 75008

Above: Portraits

- Pablo Picasso 1957 -

- Salvador Dali 1947 -

8 heures du mat

An elderly woman in a café studies the morning paper.

Portraits

Portrait artists add to the winter street scene around the Beaubourg.

Night portrait

High above the city a portrait artist on Place du Tertre works into the night.

Of hearth and home

Animal portraits and giant golden apples are just some of the unusual decorative touches inside a small hotel near the Odéon theater.

 

 

Drawings

A banner outside a gallery in the Latin Quarter announces figurative American artist H. Craig Hanna.