AMOUR

                           "What word would you think of when you think of Paris?"

I wanted to explore and capture the essence of the city so I posted the question on my Instagram account to involve others and I got a few suggestions.
 

I also had other suggestions from a friend of mine who was born and raised in France: Fabuleux, Merveilleux, Fantastique. While they were all good suggestions, I had yet to find one that resounded with me. Then one night, while at a café with a good friend of mine, I mentioned this project to him and what he said next immediately struck a chord. I saw images on my sketch. What they looked like and where it was going to be. The funny thing was, what he said wasn't even French nor was it just one word. They were two:                                                      French Kiss.


The most passionate of all kisses where it starts with the lips touching and the...well, you know the rest.


                          There was something about "French Kiss" that clicked.

                    It wasn't so much the act of French Kissing, but what was behind it.

Two people, sharing a wonderful moment, on a bridge, stopping time, somewhere out there in a city called Paris. This was what I saw.

It represented my trip to Paris, all the trial and errors,  all the risks taken to make the first version work, the positive feedback and encouraging words I got from the spectators and the vision that pushed me to do another one with a more personal touch.  This was what I felt.

                                    It is Amour. That was what resonated with me.

WATERCOLOR SKETCH

This was an experiment on values vs. color. The reference photo I used was a black and white so there was no way I could be influenced by hues. I came up with my own color palette and focused on targeting the different values that I saw. I was using a different watercolor paper as well, so, this exercise was totally out of my comfort zone. It was one of my off the cuff studies that turned out quite well.