Michael Gage

Place Emile Goudeau, Montmartre: On the right, Le Bateau-Lavoir.

Where Picasso had a studio in 1907.

Where Picasso painted Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.

Where modern art was born.


Ink and watercolour, 43 x 13cm.

Sketches using marker pens in black and five shades of grey. Each 21 x 13 cm.

"Alimentation Gle".


Ink, 18 x 13 cm.

On the corner of Chemin du Bastion and Chemin Mont-Louis. There really are street names and "No Entry" signs in the cemetery.



Ink and watercolour, 43 x 13cm. Click to enlarge.

A good place to draw: interesting architecture; benches; and it's quiet. But go informed or take a map: at least three people asked me the way to Jim Morrison.

On the corner of Rue des Envierges and Rue de Transvaal.


Ink and watercolour, 43 x 13cm. Click to enlarge.

Under the bridge, a man was shouting "C'est la guerre" every few minutes.



Ink and watercolour, 42 x 13cm. Click to enlarge.

The rubbish lorry arrived just after I started, and blocked the view down Rue Charlot. They emptied all the bins. I wasn't going to draw the lorry, expecting it to go soon, but was left with a hole in the middle of the picture. So I started to draw it.

Then it went. I had half a lorry in my picture.

Then the lorry came back, and they emptied the bins again. So I finished it.



Ink and watercolour, 42 x 13cm. Click to enlarge.

The van on the left is apparently electric: it was plugged into the boulangerie. It does this a lot.

Round the back of the Musée Picasso. There are banners across some of the windows: "Non de resto-toit", "Zad le perle", "Picasso Silence". They're protesting against the opening of a new restaurant in the area.



Ink and watercolour, 42 x 13 cm. Click to enlarge.

Beaucoup des voitures: Porte Saint-Denis on Boulevard Saint-Denis: one continuous traffic jam. This drawing took two sessions: rain stopped pen on day one; when I came back the next day, I'm sure some of the same cars were still there.



Ink and watercolour, 42 x 13cm. Click to enlarge.

Chats et chiens: It rained a lot today. Fortunately, it stopped long enough in the afternoon for this drawing of Place Edmond Michelet (next to the Pompidou Centre).



Ink and watercolour, 42 x 13 cm. Click to enlarge.

Another escape from the rain, into the church of St Eustache. The narrow, short, nave makes the vault soar.




Ink, 13 x 30 cm.

Il pleut: Heavy rain this afternoon. Took shelter in the courtyard of the Hôtel de Sully.


Ink and watercolour, 13 x 21cm. Click to enlarge.

Later, as the rain continued, I moved to the shelter of the Centre des monuments nationaux bookshop, which was dry and warm, and full of interesting books. (Slightly less full now...)

L'homme qui est resté: In the Place des Vosges. A beautiful square, but perhaps less suitable for sketching, because there were so many people here.


A guideline for including people in sketches: If they arrived before you, they are likely to leave before you can draw them; if they arrive after you, they'll probably stay long enough for you to finish. There was a man already sitting on the centre bench when I arrived, busy checking his phone, so I omitted him, expecting him to go soon. Two hours later, when I'd finished, he was still there, still checking his phone.

Ink and watercolour, 42 x 13cm. Click to enlarge.

Dans le jardin: Hidden down a passageway off a busy tourist street in the Marais, I found this garden and community allotments, which satisfied all the criteria for some peaceful drawing: benches to sit on, and away from the crowds.


Ink and watercolour, 42 x 13cm. Click to enlarge.

Retour à Paris: Last time I was here, the Canal St Martin was empty for cleaning. Today, it's full of water again.


Ink and watercolour, 42 x 13cm. Click to enlarge.

Another day out with the Urban Sketchers London in a new and interesting area, around Smithfield Market.



West Smithfield: Did anyone else see the mendicant squirrels running up to passersby, posing with their paws cupped, begging for food?

Spent two hours here, wondering why there were so many people around here that had Scottish accents... not to mention the Americans in tartan caps. When I'd finished, I realised I'd been sitting next to the William "Braveheart" Wallace memorial.



Newgate Street and Old Bailey: Spent so long drawing determinedly drawing every window that before I knew it, it was 4pm, and I'd missed the end-of-day meetup.

Each: Ink and watercolour in Moleskine watercolour album, 42 x 13cm.

Five minute sketches in ink, pencil and watercolour, each 17 x 17cm.