If you are following the Tour de France you are probably watching a live stream from the Champs Elysees in Paris right now. When I was there drawing the crowds and waiting for the cyclists, it was thrilling to be so near the Arc de Triomphe in a city that is so beautiful, watching and […]
View post →The Tour de France is back. I was there to witness the final stage in 2006. Here is a reportage drawing from that day on the Champs-Élysées. ©Greg Betza 2014
View post →I made this thumbnail in Paris. I could never decide if it’s the road ahead, or if it’s a view of looking back on the road just traveled. ~Despina
View post →As the weather is starting to get colder here in New York, I felt like putting a little sunshine up on our blog. This mixed media drawing/painting was made at Monet’s garden in Giverny this past June, while I was visiting with my family. Monet had quite a set-up! Get up every morning, coffee and […]
View post →We were going to see the lavender. When I think of Provence, in southern France, I think of large waving fields of lavender, ablaze in purple glory. I imagine myself sauntering through the fields, running my hands lightly over the violet blossoms, blissfully soaking in the Provencal sunshine and the intoxicating aroma. I would be […]
View post →The drawing above of a field was made in Arles, France. Where Van Gogh lived and worked. I can see why he drew so many of these fields…marks and marks and marks, as far as the eye can see. And so beautiful. What a pleasure to see what he saw. – posted by Veronica
View post →Just some fun playing around with pastels…and pencil. ©2013 Greg Betza
View post →I think that was the last time I just forgot about it all, and yet it was all right there. The hardest part is losing yourself when you are surrounded by so much.—Dominick
View post →The Chartres Cathedral is probably the finest example of French Gothic architecture and said by some to be the most beautiful cathedral in France. Upon a trip to Paris a few years back I had the privilege to visit this sacred destination. I still think about it all the time. It’s unique spacial sensibility was such a […]
View post →A painting/drawing made in Paris. ©2012 Greg Betza
View post →I’ve always loved working with watercolor. Here is a reportage painting made while sitting in the gardens at the Palace of Versailles in France. It’s an amazing place. ©2012 Greg Betza
View post →DID YOU KNOW?….nicknamed “La dame de fer” (the iron lady) when built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle (World Fair), the Tour Eiffel faced massive opposition from Paris’ artistic and literary elite. The ‘metal asparagus’, as some Parisians snidely called it, was almost torn down in 1909 but was spared because it proved an ideal platform […]
View post →This is the drawing I made thinking about the Luxemburg Gardens. My mother always talks about this place when the topic of Paris comes up because she spent the day there by herself while I was in school. So in a way, I drew HER favorite memory this time. ~Despina
View post →Picture making 101…lines, marks, texture, emotion and wonder. Could there have been a more beautiful environment available for the Impressionists than the gardens of France? Drawing by Michele, medium: watercolor, pen and ink, water-soluble crayon Location:Â The Tuileries is Paris’ oldest and most lavish garden. Its royal roots stretch to the 16th century, when Marie de […]
View post →The Tour De France concluded on Sunday in Paris, and as I watched the coverage and the amazing shots of the city, I fell in love with Paris…again. A few of my good friends were there drawing the race and I couldn’t help but think of the time I spent drawing in Paris in 2006. […]
View post →Remembering my last trip to France. The Hall of Mirrors was under construction at the time, but that didn’t prevent it from being magnificent. -Despina In response to the earthquake in Haiti, myself and the other seven illustrators of Studio 1482 have each donated art to raise money on behalf of the victims in an […]
View post →A few months back I wrote and posted a drawing I did while standing on what’s been called the most expensive strip of real estate in Europe, La plus belle avenue du monde (â€The most beautiful avenue in the worldâ€) also known as the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, France. It got me thinking about […]
View post →My sister celebrated a very big birthday this week and as a gift, my brother, wife and I are sending her to Paris (she’s already in London) for a whirlwind tour of the city TODAY. Hoping she’ll have an amazing time I thought I’d share a drawing made while I was in Paris a few […]
View post →This is one of over a hundred drawings I made in Paris. I fell in love with Paris. This drawing in particular was produced inside the Chartres Cathedral. It caught my absolute attention. The sculpture just captures the perfect picture of what life in the spirit could be. The Cathedral itself was enormous, I think […]
View post →A few years ago I found myself on a train in France, on my way to Chartres. I knew nothing of where I was headed. I brought a little reading with me to get familiar and have something to connect with when I arrived. One of the passages I read mentioned fields of gold and […]
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