As we headed out for our third morning in Paris, having just had our classic Parisian breakfast of Café au Lait and croissant at Le Metro Café, we decided to begin our adventure by exploring the neighborhood we were staying in. Walking past the almost iconic patisseries, boulangeries, boucheries, and fromageries in the Montparnasse neighborhood with no particular destination in mind, I glanced down a narrow street, barely bigger than an alley. I was met with a beautiful smattering of green lush plants and vines that were trailing from one side to the other across cables and power lines. We meandered down this Rue, my companion and I, both appreciating the natural beauty it offered on that sunny but crisp fall day. What a thing of wonder to have such a beautiful garden in the midst of this busy city. An Eden amongst the cobblestones. There, I happened upon a curbside flower garden with a beautiful fuchsia plant, commonly known as dancing ladies.This was one of my favorite flowers growing up and I remember my mother telling me about it as a child. My imagination ran with images of swirling ball gowns dancing to Mozart and Chopin. It was not a native or perennial in our hometown of St. Louis and so we did not have them at our house though I always wanted them. Although this French version looked slightly different, it's quite the beauty nonetheless.
I found out later that this Rue des Thermopyles is quite well known in Paris. As it was not very crowded when we were there, I felt that we had just "discovered" a hidden gem while on our casual stroll. The most beautiful things happen when you just poke around.
The snapshot below is of
my latest work and is one of the most detailed paintings I have attempted thus far. I hope you enjoy it.
Title: Fuschia on Rue des Thermopyles ©
Prismacolor Premier Pencil on blue Mi-Tientes paper
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