ATELIER LUTÉCE
5’ 8” x 3’ 9”
PEN + MARKER
PAPER + CARDBOARD
2 WEEKS
In November 2023, Bethel had announced they would be hosting the Annual Art Show in January 2023. It was an open submission to all the complexes until the end of the month. Immediately I knew I wanted to submit something, but the question that plagued me was “What?”
Since the pandemic, I’ve really grown to love the minimalism of pen and ink drawings. They are reminiscent of architectural sketches, while still retaining this beautiful art form. I like the idea of accomplishing an entire artwork with all of its shading and values using a single pen. So my first thought was to make one of my notebook sketches.
But of course, art is a process, and it’s something I want to get better at. So I also knew that whatever the new sketch was, it would need to be a creative challenge. I thought, ‘Why not do an architecture sketch but at a large scale?’ Not only would this be a challenge, it would also be very practical since they allow you to keep the artwork once it was completed. The idea was to create something that would take up an entire wall in my room.
For something that’s going to be hung up and a constant reminder, the subject needed to be special. At the time, and even now, I was imagining when I’d be able to visit Paris. The streets, the culture, the light… I was feeling this sort of future nostalgia. So the artwork that I submitted was a sketch of Paris - a manifestation of those thoughts and ideas for the future.
The title that was “Paris Street Scene” along with the following description, “This artwork endeavors to capture the ornate and detailed architecture of “The City of Light”. This was actually not the caption I wanted placed next to the nuanced city. But my biggest enemy was time - I wrote the description with exactly 2 minutes to spare before the deadline. In hindsight, I do love the minimalism of that sentence. It’s not trying to be anything more.
The time arrived for the showing at Patterson. Me and Isaac were in eager anticipation of all the entries. It was a small, but well curated gallery. The submissions ranged from photography, to acrylics, oils, watercolors etc. To see the project to completion was very satisfying creatively. To support everyone else’s beautiful artwork was truly special.
The drawing has now been shipped back my room, ready to be hung up on the wall it was designed for. This is a classic example of what a process truly is - time. Everything took about 3 months - patience is the real star of the show. But every step was enjoyable, even the more “intense” moments of barely making the deadline.
I think back to that moment, and what I possibly would have put. The title I wanted for the drawing was “ATELIER LUTECE”. “Atelier” is French for “workshop” and “Lutece” is the word used to describe Paris decades ago. Literally it means “Paris Workshop”. The sketch itself isn’t of a workshop, but I love that name since the drawing had to start in a “workshop”, so to speak - an allusion to the beginning of this entire process.
