I was lucky enough to be on my own in Paris with no distractions and glorious sunny weather. Sitting in the Jardins de Luxembourg with a brand new watercolour set. Each lozenge of colour was still in it's wrapper looking like little chocolates. I sat in the dusty sunshine seeking out people to paint, however after the unwrapping and preparation of water and necessary arrangements the potential sitters had disappeared. Blanche de Castille was serene and posing adjacent to where I sat, it seemed like an opportunity. My work was interrupted for the first time by a local drinker who fancied himself as a bit of an artist and was fairly keen to pass on his advice. This included some criticism of my execution of the hands. He was also horrified that I was unaware of who Blanche de Castille was, I protested that I was in fact English but this was no excuse. He rolled off in disgust muttering about Saint Louis.
Whilst painting the second nymph I was joined by a more perky, youthful inebriate wearing tracksuit bottoms one leg of which was rolled up to the thigh. He was most keen for me to watch his stretching exercises which if carried out correctly could lead one to experience the sensation of flying. Since I was trying to paint and not paying sufficient attention he became rather irritated and kept shouting to me "Madame! You're not watching!"
When this clearly was not getting the required reaction he got out a rather archaic looking mobile phone and started to have an imaginary conversation with "my love, whats that my love? You are not loving me, my love.But my love,my love. I was too far into the painting to move on so we shared the bench for some time until he was distracted by a passing gendarme to whom he became attached with the introductory gambit "hey Monsieur, vous etes un gendarme" (this was a statement not a question). I love Paris.

Awkward moment

Over a period of time I have had business to sit in one of the cafes in Battersea square for an hour every week of the school term waiting for Pearl to finish her dance class. For the main part I have always had the pleasure of good company and the opportunity to have interesting discussions with friends or simply gossip with acquaintances. On the rare occasions when I am alone in the cafe I resort to the company of my sketchbook. This particular drawing was made during a snatched moment whilst I waited for my friend to join me. The duration of the drawing process lasted the exact time it took her to make the journey from her 9th floor flat around the corner. The man in the drawing was on the phone and was sitting in a way that seemed to draw itself onto the page at an awkward angle, which emphasized the tension of the phone call he is making. He was trying hard to make a point which appeared to be a fruitless endeavour since from where I sat the receiver of his call was not listening to him.

Composure

The two women were both composed in a relaxed and serene manner. The first is in a brasserie in Battersea having a coffee and reading the Telegraph in a sunny corner. The second is drifting in and out of sleep as she keeps one eye out for her stop on the tube.
The man has just had a confrontation with the management of the Lake Cafe in Battersea Park after his hot chocolate was removed from his lake side table during his temporary absence from it. The staff were fairly apologetic but this man was bristling with anger and this sketch was made during his calming down period. I felt quite tense drawing him as he was quite close and exuding fury but it had to be done.