NOTRE-DAME, PARIS

An Australian artist specializing in oil paintings of his country’s flora, Stephen Travers ( stephentraversart.com) took up sketching on a recent trip to Europe, finding particular inspiration in the French capital. “I love the density of visual richness to be seen in Paris,” he says. “Especially the resplendent Gothic bulk of Notre-Dame Cathedral, whose twin towers keep a reassuring watch over the comings and goings of the city.” This drawing depicts the eastward view from the Galerie des Chimères, the balcony of grotesques that runs between those towers. “I was enthralled by this glimpse of the rooftops of Île de la Cité caught between gargoyles and a small transept spire. While the view in the other direction toward the Eiffel Tower is more famous (and certainly magnificent), I always look to capture less obvious perspectives.”