My Candy (Art) Store

I found this carton à dessin (portfolio) in the Marais and I liked it so much I bought two. The writing/ecriteur is by the artist, BEN. It says, contient peut-être un vrai chef-d'oeuvre/perhaps there's a masterpiece inside.
The jaunes pages in the upper left, I ripped out a few years ago. Don't follow my bad example. The adresses of Parisien art stores (les magasin du beaux-arts) are outdated but still fun to look at. I tend to save old scraps of paper. The watercolor is thé et chocolat painted in Paris.This is my "candy store". It doesn't hurt that it's in Paris. Any art store anywhere is an adventure. Like the shop in Arezzo, it doesn't matter what you buy so long as you buy something. I found the Maison Gattegno by chance(permanently CLOSED), while looking for a nearby branch of Sennelier, which was closed.
It's on 13, rue de la Grande Chaumière is not by chance. Across the street is the Académie de la Grande Chaumiere attended by Modigliani and Calder. Paul Gauguin shared a studio with Alphonse Mucha. You can still walk in and attend a sketch class without registration fees.
A very traditional old art shop - the interior is dark. A flashlight could be helpful, but the owner knows his stock and can find what you can't see. I love the traditional plaster casts in the window. They remind me early days at PA Academy of Fine Arts, when castdrawing was obligatory. I regret not doing my value studies back then. This bulletin board of art class (stage, cours) ads hung by the door of the fermé (closed) Sennelier. Two art stores + an art school all on 1 street + artist's ads. A traveling artist's dream.Art stores fill you with nostalgia. You'll never forget the 1st time you paid for an "Artist" quality tube of paint and felt like a pro. Mel Bochner, a terrific artist, told me that Franz Kline was so crazy for the old,long-gone Torch art shop on 15th street in the village, that he named a painting after it, "Torch".
I'm amazed at this elegant boite d'aquarelle/watercolor box in the vitrine/window. Le prix/price is pretty amazing too. 924 euros. I was so excited to see all these Blockx godets porcelain watercolor pans or paint-filled 'ashtrays' that I saw at Café Deux Magots, my camera shook.  An art store will do that to you.