A stroll in Paris

This image was featured in and A Place for Creation's 2015 Showoff Calendar (November).

When I think of Paris, I think of a lot of things - mostly great (the art, the food, the drink...). What struck me the most when I was there was how there is such outwardly expression of people in love. That's one of the things I liked best about the city at the time of my visit there.

A stroll in Paris ~~ © Patricia Pinsk

When I was thinking of a concept for this editorial illustration I wanted to incorporate that feeling of love. There are of course the other familiar elements such as the cobblestone streets, the western façade of the Notre Dame Cathedral, and a foot bridge. I used shadows rather than drawings of people to add a sense of mystery. I wanted to take the drawing off the page so to speak, and make the viewer question who these people are. Could it be you?

As for technique, I used about 30 digital painting layers. The clouds in the background are a photo that I adjusted the hue to bring out more sepia tones. The drawn elements began in ink with a water wash. Colour and texture were digitally added. The image of the Cathedral is from an image that I took - it also is digitally adjusted to suit this illustration.

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