artists at Angouleme

Here's a view of the River, this is on the walk to the museum...

Pixar artist Ted Mathot signing at the Akileos booth. 2009 was Ted's 2nd visit to Angouleme.

Stuart with French artist Nicolas Keramidas.

Canadian artist Robert Valley signing copies of his "Massive Swerve" books.

more Angouleme images

Here's Stuart on the move.... heading towards more tents. Unlike US conventions, there is no "convention center".... the festival is held inside tents which are set up throughout the town. This gives attendees the opportunity to visit the local cafes and see the town inbetween the tents.

The Angouleme "Halle" is the town marketplace.... it closes at 1PM, so you have to visit early in the day to see these amazing displays. This is the fishmonger... what you can't see here is the tank of live eels and crabs just on the other side

There are several fruit and vegetable stands. Also a cheese vendor and a bakery.

Here's Stuart in front of one of the fruit stands.... in his aloha shirt (in spite of January temps). Of course, all the interior spaces are heated, including the tents for the festival, but I promise you, no one else but Stuart peels off all the layers down to shirtsleeves!

Sculptures at the Musee d'Orsay

This is François Pompon's "Polar Bear", with a view of the grand clock from the train station in the back. This is the coolest bear (no pun intended).... read more here..

http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/sculpture/commentaire_id/polar-bear-2186.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=842&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=729&cHash=cc260927d2

Harder to photograph, but also amazing is this "Seated Lion" by Antoine-Louis Barye

http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/sculpture/commentaire_id/seated-lion-8925.html?tx_commentaire_pi1%5BpidLi%5D=842&tx_commentaire_pi1%5Bfrom%5D=729&cHash=e31cb2ec50

Down one hallway that's inside the wall with the Clock at the d'Orsay is this "must see" step-by-step examination of the different ways scupltures are created....

and it starts with this little Barye "sketch" of a lion...

Paris, Musee d'Orsay

The Musee d'Orsay is an amazing space... the building is a renovated train station. This view is from one of the hallways in the wall with the clock, looking out to the main gallery spaces. Can you see the back of the polar bear on the lower right???

Here's a view of the off-season "crowd" in the Van Gogh room..... you are one of 6 people surrounded by a dozen masterpieces.... (not the 600 people that are in the same room in the summer)

My all time favorite collection of art in Paris is the Impressionist rooms at the Musee d'Orsay. The museum has a terrific website, also available in English.

http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/home.html

Obviously, I'm partial to the Van Goghs. No reproduction I've ever seen does them justice. The intensity of the colors and everything about them can't be replicated.

As with the other sites I've visited, there are always students and artists sketching or painting. It's quite inspiring....Here are some students sketching in front of a case full of Degas sculptures...

You can take pictures of almost anything in the museum as long as you don't use a flash.

Emma Peel at Angouleme 2009

As Stuart mentioned in the recent update to our email list, we were able to catch the Dupuy-Berberian exhibition at the CIBDI. This is my favorite image from the exhibit... part Avengers, part de Chirico. The exhibit had lots of mult-media displays, and included items from their studios and reference libraries.

Q & A and the Daily Brew 2/13/09, 1st pics of Angouleme

From Angouleme 2009....
Stuart and I ran into Pierre Alary several times at Angouleme. Here are Pierre and Stuart at the Soleil booth.... this publisher's booth is set up just like a disco... pitch black with revolving lights, video screens, and loud music. The artists are signing books in this environment, but as Pierre explained to us, he has to tell the fans that he can't really see the colors of his watercolors in this light, so the final drawing will be a surprise. Stuart is pictured above looking at originals from Pierre's portfolio.

We also were able to see the new Pierre Alary Comix Buro sketchbook... it's a beauty, but there is some overlap between this new book and our 2 Alary sketchbooks. We have ordered copies, in addition to a few copies that we were able to bring back with us from France. If you want to pick up a copy at WonderCon, get on the hold list now, as we have a very limited supply until the larger order arrives from France.

Stuart, with his book bag and backpack in tow, on a typical street in the city of Angouleme where the festival was held.

Stuart with part of a directional sign, pointing the way to "King of BD" (ha, ha).

Stuart with Ronnie, Enrico & Jim at Angouleme

The City Hall at Angouleme.... it's the castle-like building on the right. It's called the "Hotel de Ville" but it's not a hotel, it's a government building. The display at the left changes every year and features a different BD character. Last year it was Smurfs. Stuart's in the center of this picture, with a brown jacket and black backpack. Most of my pictures of him at Angouleme are shots of his back walking ahead of me on the street.

Here's a view of a typical Angouleme street, with bars, cafes & shops, and the large banner for the Festival tent at left.

Ronnie del Carmen and Enrico Casarosa at the "top of the hill" we marched up every morning on the way to the main tents.

Stuart (far right) with Ronnie, Enrico, and story board artist Jim Mitchell.