Paris: A favorite Market

Everybody loves French markets - all that color, fresh bright produce and flowers, gorgeous cheeses and breads, fresh meats and melt in your mouth chickens - how could you not? Paris markets sometimes seemed curated by some superstar food stylist, but that's just the way they are. Most Paris neighborhoods have markets three times a week but there are several daily markets, including this favorite in the 12th arr., the Marche d'Aligre. Especially famous for it's cultural mix and down-to-earth atmosphere, it is a sensory overload dream.

I visited on a busy Sunday morning (when there is also a brocante - flea market), walked through reveling in the sights, smells and sounds, snagged a perfectly placed table, ordered a cafe, and did my sketch. (rare good luck - chairs in the right place are hard to find.) The cafe was right across from the flower seller, so what serendipity to be able to feature that bounteous display!
The backdrop of Paris's creamy buildings, here in a working class neighborhood of simple apartment houses, provides a nice contrast to the riotous color and abundance of the market.

I've included several stages of my scene, beginning with the original ink drawing in my sketchbook. I worked my way through this fairly complicated scene by staging the background with neutral colors first, then having the fun of free-hand painting the market stalls and people. My color process is digital, but it is truly painting - all freehand, with an unlimited range of colors and tones.
This scene will join my International Series of prints soon at www.macgregor-art and my other sites, and should also be available before long at Slow Galerie in Paris, where prints of my Paris scenes are sold.
Let me know what you think!

If you'd like to know more about the market, here's David Lebovitz on the Marche d'Aligre https://www.davidlebovitz.com/marche-daligre-aligre-outdoor-market-paris/