Liaison officers

In 2015, Luxembourg held the Presidency of the European Council during the second half of the year.

In that context, I had the pleasure to act as a liaison officer for several European delegations during the informal meetings. 

I met many different people from all over Europe ; the Czech Republic, the former Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Poland, among others.

However, the best part was working with my fellow liaison officers during those 6 months. People from different professions and parts of Luxembourg, all motivated to make "our" Presidency as successful and pleasant as possible.

All good things come to an end, sadly, but to end this wonderful experience and show my appreciation to my colleagues, I made a series of portraits for as many of them as I could.

Here are a some of my favourites. I will post more in a separate post.

Mariette

Michel

Monique

René

Theresa

Laurent

Alain

Bruno

And yet it moves

Eppur si muove is the title of the exhibition held at the Mudam when we went there for our monthly sketchcrawl with Urban Sketchers Luxembourg.

The exhibition focuses on the links between the fields of the visual arts and technology, as well as the influence that the history of the sciences and technology has exercised on contemporary arts.

It was the ideal place to take refuge on a chilly Sunday afternoon.

I was immediately attracted to an installation with a vespa, showing its different parts and how they fit together. Like an autopsy of sorts. There was something kind of poetic in the way all the parts were hanging from the ceiling.

Unfortunately I forgot to check what the name of this piece was, but here is my attempt at capturing it.

Imagine all the pieces floating in the room

 Most of my fellow sketchers were more interested in a colourful installation by Jean Tinguely called Fatamorgana Méta-Harmonie IV. A button on the floor activated the machine, which then started making various noises.

Each part had a different colour, though

It was a very popular attraction, with many people waiting to see what the machine would do next.

I was surprised at the number of visitors in the museum, to be honest. Excellent occasion to quickly capture people on paper.

A guided tour was taking place. Unfortunately I was too far to hear what was being said

People gazing at the Christmas market

For the last sketchcrawl of the year, the Urban Sketchers Luxembourg decided to aim for the Christmas market in the capital.

This time around we were quite the crowd, with 10 people spreading around the place to sketch the little houses, the people, the surrounding buildings.

I started with the best intentions of capturing a scene of the whole market or at least a portion of it, but somehow only managed to focus on a funny little statue on top of one of the stalls.

The drunk Santa was just irresistible.

Luckily, the weather was quite mild for the season and there was a big crowd, which allowed me to sketch my favourite subject: people.

People being people, though, I did not have many cooperative models and had to be as fast as possible, so I ended up mainly with a collection of hastily jotted squiggles.

 

It's ok, though, for a collection of squiggles always looks better than one squiggle alone :D

After a while it started feeling cold, so we headed to one of our favourite cafés, the Kaale Kaffi.

Everyone was pretty much at the Christmas market, so we were able to sit the whole group at the big table.

Nothing like sipping on a ginger lemon tea while drawing with sketching buddies to finish a lovely afternoon.

Les Rotondes et La Buvette

Last Saturday I met with other sketchers for a sketchcrawl organised by LUCA at La Buvette, the pub at Rotondes in Bonnevoie.

The Rotondes used to be buildings where trains were repaired and stored. They were repurposed a few years ago and have now become this trendy place where various cultural events take place, such as exhibitions, concerts, plays, etc.

Unlike so many places in Luxembourg it is not overly clean and organised. I love the occasional messiness of the place.

Undeterred by the cold, we started out on the outside, where the food truck is. I couldn't resist sketching the trailer and the many seemingly randomly placed cables with their colourful lightbulbs. I'll have to add some colour to this sketch sometime.

Spot the sketcher

I have to say we were quite the troopers out there. The day was pleasant but pretty cold. At some point my hands turned a shade of purple. It got so bad that I didn't even feel the heat emanating from the glass of mulled wine I was holding.

Luckily, the inside of the Rotondes is just as interesting as the outside, and we warmed ourselves up at La Buvette. The servers are very friendly and we enjoyed the cosy afternoon atmosphere.

Isabelle is one of the latest sketchers joining our group

I'll have to go back when the weather is nicer. These round shaped buildings are so interesting, they deserve more attention.

Portrait of Abby - another commission

A few weeks ago I received my second commission for a child portrait.

My new client was referred to me by Kristen, who had asked me to make a portrait of her daughter Bee a while ago. Apparently the portrait was a hit and a friend of hers wanted to have one made of his daughter Abby.

It was a very pleasant surprise, but also a bit of a daunting task. It is one thing to make a drawing for someone you know, quite another to make one for a complete stranger.

The reference photo I received was just adorable and not the type of photo I would usually use, so it was an added challenge.

I decided to add Tentacle Kitty on Abby's shirt, as her father told me it was one of her favourite toys. I had never heard of Tentacle Kitty before, but I think it's super cute.

I'm glad to say that my clients were satisfied with the result, which in turn makes me very happy.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to scan the portrait properly before sending it, so the colours are slightly off on this image, but it gives a pretty good idea of the final result.

In and around the Notre-Dame Cathedral

For the USk Luxembourg sketchcrawl in December, we decided to explore the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg city.

The weather was quite mild for November, so I decided to tackle the exterior of the building, finding my vanishing point, etc. That did not, however, prevent me from sketching a tilted bell tower, hehe.

It is not my first attempt at sketching the cathedral, but it is the first time I take my time doing it. The belltower and spikes are definitely the trickiest parts, but also the loveliest, in my opinion...

... until you actually enter the cathedral. Which is surprisingly big.

Maybe because the cathedral is nestled between other buildings, so it's a bit difficult to evaluate its actual size.

It is very lovely, with colourful stained glass windows, and has just the right amount of ornaments. 

There are many interesting details that might escape your notice if you don't pay attention, like the fact that each column has a different pattern on it.

I didn't have the patience to actually represent those patterns on my sketch, nor did I feel like working on the perspective. I just picked up a few watercolour pencils and started skribbling.

And while the result is probably not a masterpiece, I did enjoy myself immensely and find the sketch more interesting than the other one above. 

InkTober 2015 - part 5

Last part of the challenge. With a bit of delay posting because I was very busy at work.

Anyway: we did it!! I can barely believe it.

These have been fun to do, even if there were some days when I was less than inspired or motivated.

I'm thinking of doing more of these drawings, but not on a daily basis. Maybe once a week or something like that. We'll see.

Anyway, hurray for another successful InkTober month!