Les Facades

Le Petit Plateau Salon de The, original art, 9" x 11

I've been wanting to paint Paris facades for a while now, for a personal project.

And what better way to stop dragging my heels, then to put them on PB.

I never expected such a warm response from you all, PB readers!

BIG MERCI!

Paris is very much a grey city... Paris grey skies are reknown, along with the classic, formal buildings... There's a general greyness overall. Here's a cat for those of you requesting one - black, not grey...sorry. But the slashes of brilliant color you see in these typical facades are unique to Paris.... Like the brilliant scarves Parisiens often wear with their neutral clothing. Ask any photographer and they will tell you grey makes a great background for colorful photographs. Check out their portfolios = almost always grey! The greys enliven the brilliant colors. And vice versa.

It's nothing new for Paris to have these intense strong colors splashed about.

Well really quite economically in fact.

Just enough to stop you in your tracks and give a second look.
Class over.

Have a ROSEY WEEK-END!

Paris Guard Dogs

Foret Noire Salon de The,original art,9" x 11"

Something you see all over Paris are working dogs
 

They are guarding bistros

And cafes - have you seen this little hard worker,Ourson sitting on the corner of rue de Buci? He's always there.

Double guards on duty watching the girls go by...Is that allowed?

A chic Marais shop dog guards from the inside...The night watchman on patrol!
He's eyeballed me. Uh oh

 

This hound is guarding her mistress' baguettes.Don't touch/ne touche pas!

 

An antique watch dog.

Goyard has this fausse metal hound on offer.

More and more NO DOGS allowed signs in Paris

 

WOOF! How do you say woof in French?

PB reader, Anne Mathieu sent in this photo of Paris Bull Dogs on Bvd. St-Germaine des Prés

Ouah-Ouah

La Poissonnerie Du Dome

LA POISSONNERIE DU DOME. More FACADES! as requested. These are fun.

Back to La Poissonnerie du Dome - Beauty is everywhere in Paris...We were marching around before dinner, M, Sarah and I on rue Delambre in the 14th... And I flipped for this fishmonger shop!La Poissonnerie Du Dome

I couldn't believe my eyes - all the lovely fishy murals! And the shop is open to the street, so you can put your nose right in the fish and get eyeball to eyeball. The ultimate in freshness! Jean-Pierre Lopez has owned La Poissonnerie Du Dome for 20 years. He's at the Marche Rungis starting at 3 AM (I could do this with the Jetlag I currently have...) where he searches and searches for the absolute best fish.

"When it's a question of finding the best, I am not faithful."
'' Quand il s'agit de trouver le meilleur, je ne suis pas fidèle ! '
The fish or in this case the King Crab jumps from the sea into the lorry and onto your plate. This fishmonger saw me admiring his crab... I so wish I'd had that crab for dinner!

Beauty is everywhere in Paris.

LA POISSONNERIE DU DOME

4 rue Delambre, 75014 PARISMétro: Vavin or Edgar-QuinetTuesday to Saturday 8 am-1 pm and 4-7 pm

(This is a repost from November, 2007)
~

BONNE JOURNEE!

Canelés Baillardran - Paris

Caneles Baillardran - Paris, original art

I spotted this charming Canelés Baillardran cart in Gare Paris Montparnasse. Can a food cart count as a "facade"?

Canelés Baillardran originate in Bordeaux but you can find them everywhere in France. Please tell Amtrack that we need some French caneles.
They are crusty on the outside and inside a tad custardy...oh it's impossible to describe the taste sensation of these little cakes/cookies...
They are baked in these gorgeous traditional copper molds called moule, which they also sell at the train station cart!
They are not very big, but evidently just one of these will do for lunch. Ah so that's how the French keep so trim.
Something the French do really well is food carts.
Or should I say another thing the french do well...hmmm
This fancy food cart was at the exit of the Marie-Antoinette exhibit last March.
This little gem sits just outside Galerie Lafayette Gourmet - that must take some nerve. Yet they offer delicious little inexpensive treats.Here's a delicious treat I heard on the BBC this morning...

VIVE LA FRANCE
If you have 15 minutes to spare you may end up with a smile plastered on your face like mine was...
BONNE JOURNEE!

Sennelier - Paris

Sennelier-Paris,original art

It's de rigeur for me to go into any art shop in Paris...

Les Enfants Rouges-Paris,original art

Plus M. Baker wrote me, I just love the painting I bought of Ch. Vaux le Vicomte, which brings me to ask,

Why you don’t do more paintings of architecture such as Shakespeare & Co., or my favorite “first stop” in Paris, the Nicolas wine shop on rue de Choiseul..?
So today I'm giving it a whirl.
 

But back to old favorite Parisien art shop, Magasin Sennelier on 3, Quai Voltaire 75007. By the way they've been around since 1887, which means the Impressionists probably got their gear there. But why is it when I show up, the place is always closed.

And the windows are full of goodies one can yearn for just as much as any box of macarons.

How many watercolor boxes do you have? I've lost count but it's more than 10.

You can usually find interesting paint brushes abroad. So many art companies have globalized, it can be hard to find something different, but in the brush arena you can.

This "artists" smock is a decidedly European necessity.

Rest assured that there are many more erasures on the other side of the pond. I know you really care about that :)

How many art shops you frequent are featured in a fabulous guide to Paris. It's well worth a look inside even if you don't paint on Sundays or any other time. Plus there's tons of galleries nearby and gorgeous views of the Seine.

Here's the jewel in the window - this mini (but British) Rowney travel paintbox. The prix..ahem, is not mini.
Quite a few of you have asked me, where can I find an art class in Paris? The best place is to check out the signs posted on any art shop's door or inside. You won't be disappointed.PSPlease let me know what you think of these new Parisien facade paintings..?

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