France was a beautiful blend of architecture, food, and language all coming together on the fabricated canvas of history. I LOVE history. And to know that almost every street, every home, every building was rooted in hundreds of years of civilization was to step into history itself. France was incredible and inspired a good deal of artistic creation. While I was there I sketched a number of sketchbook pages, people, and had a lot of inspiration from the artwork I saw.
One of the museums we went to in Paris was Musee d'Orsay. In the museum's main hall was a huge collection of roman statues or statues replications. The detailed marble was gorgeous, and I was enthralled by the detail and accuracy to the human form. Musee d'Orsay was located inside an old train station. The old steel and glass of a past Paris was the perfect frame to thousands of years in the history of art. Every piece felt like it belonged on the timeline. A history of art in the hollow halls of Musee d'Orsay.
The statues I saw in this museum inspired me to draw a nude piece, really trying to study the details and subtitles of the female form and the shape of the body.
While I was in France, there was two portions to my trip. One half was spent with the class while we traversed Paris, the other half was spent with a host family. I had a very rare opportunity. I stayed in the countryside of Bordeaux at a winery. My host family was very kind, and appreciated my desire to draw and paint during the trip. My host family took me to a spot atop a nearby hill, overlooking rivers and forest and long rows of grape stalks.
This incredible scenery inspired a small watercolor drawing in my sketchbook, capturing the rolling hills and bubbling river forever.
France was also marked by a sort of shared comradery throughout the group. We all knew each other before, but I feel like we all grew closer when we were in a foreign land and were the only familiarity to each other. All of the seniors (previously juniors) on the trip now have a strong memory of the boat ride along Paris, the tiny hotel elevator, and the bizarre snacks that we found on this trip. It was an amazing and memorable chapter in my life that I won't soon forget.