Dusky Pinks

I sometimes gather together photos which have a common colour. Lately I seem to have been taking photographs where dusky orangey pinks predominate: at sundown I find apricot coloured glowing walls and and bruised peach skies, during the day I find rose coloured flowers and pink street art. It hasn't been a deliberate search, it's just turned out that way. 

Here is my peach-pink-apricot-orange collection.

I went for a walk with my daughter the other evening, as we walked behind La Butte de Montmartre we saw the Sacré-Coeur dome, grey against a pink-peach-mauve sky. The colours are probably enhanced by the pollution, but let's not think about that!

A few years ago, more dusky pink skies, this time at sunrise. Morning blush.

Here is a rose that has a similar colour palate.

Ditto, giant poppies.

The same poppies taken two years previously at a different time of day.

A glowing wall, at sundown.

Pink and peach chalk as used by two Montmartroise after school clubs (Mont-Cenis and Houdon primary schools).

Evening sun lights up the Roman Amphitheatre in Arles.

Some original wall paper dating from the 1970s seems to favour peachy-pink for some of its flowers.

As do some Montmartroise street artists.

De l'Art, ou du cochon? That is the question. 

Warm Winter Colours

At the moment my Instagram feed looks mostly monochrome with pale greys and off-whites if I've taken the photos during the day, or rich reds, yellows and oranges if I've taken the photos at sunrise or sunset. I thought I'd gather together the warm brightly coloured photos I've taken recently to help us through these bleak winter days.

Here we have Paris and the Eiffel Tower, viewed from the road in front of the Sacré-Coeur. What I like most in this photo is the way the lamppost glows despite not being lit up yet.

The Eiffel Tower looks so good at sunset.

And with some winter lace thrown in for good measure it looks even better.

A flock of chimneys.

A lamppost shadow is cast in the low evening sun.

No sun involved here, sometimes you just have to make your own. Tulips and a red wall. 

This glazed facade of an office building in the 15th arrondissement caught my eye. I would be interested to see what it's like being inside this building. 

The grey concrete ceiling in one of UNESCO's main auditoriums was glowing yellow in the artificial light.

And then of course there's always blue-o-clock once the sun has gone down.

I post photographs daily to my Instagram feed here if you're interested in seeing more photos of Paris.

Southern Shutter Swatches.

I've written about Arles shutters before (here). I love pretty much everything about them, their colour, their weathered texture, with cracks and peeling paint that show the passage of time. During our holiday in Arles this summer I took some close up photos of a selection of these moveable window covers. Shutter swatches.

And here are some shutters in situ, looking wonderful against the creamy Arlesienne stone.



Previous Arles posts:

A Room With a View.

Round and About in Arles.

Felice Varini at La Villette

Born in 1952, Felice Varini is a Swiss artist based in Paris. He is known for his geometric perspective-localised paintings on buildings, streets, rooms and other architectural spaces. He uses projectors and stencils to achieve these amazing works. He has an exhibition at La Villette at he moment. Three of the pieces are in the Paul-Delouvrier gallery. Entry is free. When we was there last Wednesday afternoon there were very few people and we were able to spend time finding the 'right spot' to see the completed forms. 

This is the first one you see when you first enter the Paul-Delouvrier gallery. Fragmented.

Complete.



Blue picture frames. Fragmented.



Complete (well almost ... ahem).



Fragmented.



Complete.

I was with my 10 year old son and he really enjoyed finding the right place to stand, though he was a little short to get it spot on all the time. For this one in the arcade of the east gallery of La Grande Halle, however, he was able to. Maybe the huge scale if it allowed a bit of 'give'.

So clever! 

The exhibition runs until 13th September 2015. More information on the exhibition can be found here.

Rusty Tones

We went to the Marché aux Puces the other day and in a back street car-park I noticed this corrugated iron wall. It was the colours that caught my eye, the various tones of rust combined with bluey grey. 

I started to look out for rusty tones as we meandered through the market. 

Here is a fine rusty bull.

This was the most intense rust colour I saw.

But not quite as intense as this rusty corrugated iron I spotted in Donegal a few summers ago. 

I love the texture that comes with the rust.

Here, rather oddly, is some rust I saw in a Parisian gutter.

Here is some rust colour without the rust, a copper pot in the Musée Nissim Camondo, Paris 8th.

And here are some edible rusty morsels.

If you ever wondered what the Marché aux Puces, St Ouen looked like on an 'off' day, you can find out here.