Michael Gage

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.