Paris is all I need

This Japanese girl was incredibly elegant. It was one of the first beautiful people of Paris I saw during this little holiday, Friday night in the Marais

The Marais, my parisian biggest love

Inside "Merci" shop

She had a classic Vanessa Bruno bag that I've always liked and these very nice fringed Oxfords

Centre Pompidou... It seems I have some kind of destiny with orange bikes

(I was listening to this song while drawing):

I don't want to speak too much today, you already had the words-flood yesterday and that's enough!

It would be great if you could breath the same atmosphere that I felt in Paris through these images, but I know it's almost impossible (I would need a better camera... and better drawings! ahah)

Sometimes I would like to be a street-style photographer to catch all the styles, the nice people, and the situations I see around me, but I am too shy to ask people to take a pic of them... I try to draw once home but inevitably the result is a bit diluted compared to the "original"... But I still hope that in this way I manage to convey at least the 0,01% of what I see...

Good night all of you!

Al 

The places I love... Tokyo

The second post about the places I love. 

After Paris, Tokyo!

Tokyo, August 2009

I love EVERYTHING about Tokyo and Japan, bust since I decided that my collages of the "places I love" series (can I call it like that?? Can I?? Please! It sounds so cool...) should contain just a few things, and mainly shallow or frivolous ones, here's my pick.

(I don't even mention Japanese art or literature: it would be impossible to choose just one image!)

From upper left, clockwise:

- Tokyo street-style n° 1 (from streetsofjapan.tumblr.com)

- Tokyo food - Tonkotsu ramen (this is the best I've ever tasted, it was a small and old place in Chiba)

- Mangas and animes (in the pic: Ai Yazawa's Paradise Kiss)

- Japanese actors Ueno Juri and Eita

- Tokyo street-style n°2 (from streetsofjapan.tumblr.com)

- In the center: Japanese fashion, Yohji Yamamoto

Everytime I use or look the pictures I took in Japan (end even when I see Japan pictures and posts in other blogs!) I feel so much nostalgy... I want to go back *sad Al*

Now I'm off to cook something, have a very nice week-end all of you and I'll be back soon! (with some new drawings I hope!)

Al

The places I love... Paris

Yesterday I was randomly going through some of my pics, and suddenly I picked up some photos of my favorite cities.

There are some very shallow things that come to my mind immediately when I think about those places, not only the memories of the beauty, art and history of that city itself: I think about the flavour of the food for example. The style of the people in the streets. The iconic women that I love that come from that city or country. 

So I would like to show you all the photos that gave me this feelings and what they brought to my mind.

I will start with Paris.

From Montmartre, March 2008

From upper left, clockwise:

- Le Marais, place des Vosges (took May 2010)

- Ladurée macarons

- Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette

- French girls I love: Charlotte Gainsbourg and Garance Doré

- In the center: Mademoiselle Coco Chanel

- The representation of Paris clubs, bars and showgirls by Toulouse-Lautrec 

And Air's music

I guess all of these are quite typical things to love of Paris (and France), but actually I have tons more (I just don't have enough space to put them all!)

And you? What do you love of Paris?

For the next city I still have to choose... Tokyo, Kyoto, Florence or London?

Al

In a cold winter sunday afternoon

Today was one of those grey and cold sundays in which it seems just about to snow.

We decided to go out after lunch, because I love this winter atmosphere just before the Christmas period begins: everything is in preparation for the big rush to shopping and parties but it hasn't started yet.

Patershol, the most ancient district of Ghent, is extremely beautiful in these kind of days so I decided to take some pics. Unfortunately the battery of my camera ran out after a few takes, how smart of me.

Anyway, here are just a couple:

Light shop & art gallery

A nice shop which sells umbrellas, hats, gloves and scarves

I think that next Saturday I'll go around to search for some christmas gifts and I also want to take pictures of some shops... I just feel that Ghent (and its little streets, the nice shops, the many cafes and tea rooms... ahhh...) is so underestimated as a touristic destination that I really want to show what it has to offer... at least to my friends!

And now some hot tea... I'm cold!!!

Al

First attempts with photoshop pt.2

At the B&B
(Tara's London B&B, highly recommended)

Temptations at Harrods...

At the Tate Modern
(He's not an art piece, he was real!)

Life in Technicolor

Life in Technicolor pt. 2
(it was the entrance of an amazing shop in a side street of Sloan st... but I don't remember which one, sorry!)

First attempts with photoshop