The last day of the "Jours de fêtes"

Well, that wraps it up here in Paris for another season full of Christmas lights, over-the-top window displays and tourists galore. As of today, kids are back in school and it is business as usual. Once again, the vacation seems over in a flash.

Yesterday I let the kid inside me get the better, and after meeting up with the Paris Sketchers at the Louvre I dashed off to the Grand Palais to catch the final moments of the fun fair "Jours de fêtes".

It seemed like most of the city was determined to stand in long lines to see art, but there was no waiting at all to get into this temporary indoor amusement park at the foot of the Champs Élysées!

A 100-foot Ferris wheel towered under the glass-and-metal dome in the center, a roller coaster careened in front of the great staircase... Amid the "ooohs", the "aaahs" and plenty of screaming, Annie and I were as happy as could be. The place was replete with smells of ketchup and candy and yes, even the apparently perpetual '70's band (what is it with amusement park gigs?)

I'd been inspired by the drawing posted by Nina Johansson on sketching in the dark – thanks Nina! – and wanted to give it a go. It was lots of fun mixing techniques and working on colored paper for a change, a great way to capture the dark skies and the bright lights underneath. I hope you will give it a try. And happy sketching for 2014!