A House Portrait from the 13th Arrondissement in Paris, France

by Jennifer Skopp

Jennifer Skopp visited friends in Paris a few months ago. Her friends live in a neighborhood called Butte-aux-Cailles in the 13th Arrondissement. Jennifer thought the houses were so pretty and there was such a wide variety of styles. She decided paint a few Watercolor House Portraits of these adorable houses.

This house has two windows on the first floor and two on the second floor. In the center, above the second floor, there is a narrow room or maybe an attic, with a window and a pitched roof. All five windows have an iron, greenish blue gate, with beautiful designs, in front of the bottom third of each window.

The surface of the bottom third of the house is painted gray and the top third looks like white stucco. The decorative designs reminded Jennifer of geometric, Islamic art. The windows and door have border designs of small, green and white tiles that look like stripes. The borders along the top of the windows are slightly curved. Along the top of the house is a more complex design that includes a zigzag line, made of green and white tiles.

The front, black door looks unusually narrow. It has a thin vertical window and the top of it is curved.

There were plants in window boxes on the top three windows, but Jennifer added red flowers and gave the plants more volume. She thought the red would contrast the green tiles nicely. Jennifer added the large poodle with a French outfit to add some humor to the House Portrait and to amuse herself.