Locals describe the Rue des Abbesses in Montmartre as The village of Paris. Oliver Gee of “The Earful Tower” claims it is the “best street in Paris”. I won’t argue.

Picasso, Modigliani, Van Gogh and many great artists used to live and work here.

Montmartre is a village in Paris, famous for the Moulin Rouge and the Sacre Coeur Basilica, (background). It is famous also for its charming little streets and the Place du Tertre, a square filled with artists working in the open air on their watercolors and oils.

When I was a student in Paris, I had the chance to attend a public lecture here by then Josef Cardinal Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI. He talked about the Millenium (this was 1999). He has a brilliant mind, witty and humorous; he spoke in fluent French.

The University of Paris, founded in the 12th century, is one of the oldest universities in the world. It is presently scattered around the city as 13 autonomous institutions. The unit also known as Sorbonne University, is ranked 77th in the world. It is named after a college created in 1253 by Robert de Sorbon and has been located on Rue de la Sorbonne since the 13th century.

A work of art is the trace of a magnificent struggle.

— Robert Henri, The Art Spirit.

In this blog I share some of my essays and drawings.

I’m a biologist, and I have two hobbies: Drawing, and Thinking.

They say “If you want accuracy use a camera”. Two answers. First, seeing is itself a skill: “good taste” applies to photos we take as to what we see when we look at anything. Second, sketching–even roughly–distills that skill to the basic acts of interpreting form, making a composition, and highlighting the contrasts. The art of thinking is made up of the same: finding the essence, classifying, and contradicting.

Thinking and drawing turn confused, chaotic, inarticulate raw data into a judgment that is true, good, and tasteful. Only humans carry out this process, implying that a life surrounded by confusion and lack of taste is less human than it could be.

Whether it’s drawing or thinking, daily practice, improving one’s game, and learning from failure are the price we pay to be human.