Salon du Dessin and How to frame your Eiffel Tower

 

You come up from Metro line 3 at Place de la Bourse, et voila! Palais Brongniart, an auspicious neoclassical Roman style building approved by Napoleon 1 for the Paris stock exchange in 1808. You can still the annual Salon du Dessin through Sunday if you’re in Paris.

Don’t miss looking up at the massive neoclassical painted ceiling. 

Yet the ground floor is a rabbit’s warren of small international galleries displaying smaller works of beautifully framed drawings, watercolors and some scribbles.

In such intimate spaces you can commune with the artworks at eye-level. Its a treasure chest of delights. 

These multi-gallery shows are a great place for framing 🖼 inspo. 

Just because a drawing is small, even tiny is no reason to shy away from using a big impressive frame.

Posh galleries prefer mats in shades of offbeat green and ecru for old master drawings, but you can use them too, to add a ton of class to your collection. Forget trying to match the upholstery…ahem. And notice how a wall of unmatched frames, all different sizes with different colored mats can look fine together.

Here’s the basic rule of thumb for all art works on paper. They need AIR. Space between the glass for the artwork to BREATHE. Good art paper responds and expands depending on the weather. Humidity, moisture effect not just the paper but the paint surface, which, if its watercolor is water-soluble. 

Is your artwork tacked up in the kitchen with no frame or protection near the stovetop or over the sink? By the way, oil and acrylic paintings 🎨 are not soluble. Still I wouldn't hang them in the kitchen.

A little sketch of Eugene Boudin’s. The wide goldie frame and even wider dark green mat accent and contrast the drawing beautifully.

Where can you find these old traditional frames without breaking the bank? Flea markets or house auctions, or stuff left in the street of course. For the matting you may have to go to the framer, but it will cost a lot less hopefully.

A wonderful unfinished preparatory sketch that says more as is, than perhaps if it was completed.

This doodle is immediately recognizable as a Toulouse Lautrec.

Here’s a mixup of stunning small sketches placed within one frame instead of framing separately. Each one is a jewel no?

Someone sent me this picture of their wall of framed Paris letters. I wish I could remember who it was. Was it you? ☺️

While looking at the border of the Paris Parks letter, I found an old multi-doodle of the Luxembourg chairs everyone seems to love and made it into a watercolor. I’d love to see how you frame it 🖼 The lush floral bouquets at Salon du Dessin are worth the price of admission. Stay tuned for tomorrow: the 🍋 citron tarte map! 🗺 Please stay cool West Coast and Canadian readers🙏 Bon Dimanche PBers 💋🐝🐻☺️

8h45 Inauguration de la librairie des expositions, niveau 6 / Centre Pompidou

 I got a press release from the Louvre gift shop with a witty video. A series of new cool products they’ve creating repurposing well-known classics like Ingre’s Grande Odalisque, La Jaconde, La Venus de Milo, La Victoire de Samothrace etc. I wrote back these would be great at Paris Plage. In response I got an invite to the 8:45 aminauguration of the renovated exhibit bookstore in Centre Pompidou.

Some people will go to the ‘opening of a paperbag.

Me:I will, I will 🤸🏾‍♀️🤸🏾‍♀️🤸🏾‍♀️

Anthony Lebossé, a designer from Studio 5-5  described as furniture surgeons explained all to us.

When you come back to Paris some things will feel different. All the department stores like BHV, Monoprix, Galeries Lafayette feel like ‘the wide open spaces’ because of Covid. Same thing in the Pompidou bookshop. 

                                    Before and after
The design team came up with mobile furniture made with repurposed materials. Bookcases can be moved around or removed altogether for special events. I wish my furniture was mobile.

The repurposed shapes, forms and 4 colors exactly reflect the famous exterior of the building.

Is it a well-kept secret you’ll find the most unique gifts 🎁

 to take home in museum gift shops?

A photo-booth downstairs unlike any other Paris photo booth.

The poster for current show on at Pompidou -an international exhibit of women abstract artists, including Georgia O’Keeffe.

The big news: September 8th a huge Georgia O’Keeffe exhibit opens at Pompidou. You’ll want to be here for that PBers!👏👏 

When the new Pompidou opened in 1977, it was such a shock. Le Figaro declared, 

“Paris now has its own monster, just like the one in Loch Ness” Now its a much-loved integral part of Paris with easily accessed great views over the city.

Talking about repurposing, I went baby-rattle hunting the other day for a new bracelet at a toy store near rue Mouffetard. I ended up with a string of giant beads to make into a new summer necklace.

More repurposing of past Eiffel Towers. You can add to your collection on Etsy. Now I’m going to repurpose myself somehow or other ☺️ and go off to the Salon du Dessin preview. So happy to be out and about between working on your (very) late June letter 💌 and map🗺. Bon Wednesday PBers.🍒🐻🎨💋It is Wednesday right?

What I wore & Chanel Letter

My sister sent me more old family pics from Philadelphia in a manila envelope. They are a record of what I wore over the years. Here, in matching pinafores and ruffled bonnets with pom poms, Mom home-made. An early choke-hold shot.

My dad & me squinting in a flouncy sundress. My dad used to take me to Saturday morning finger painting classes at The Philadelphia Museum of Art. After class I’d wander on my own from room to historic room in wonderment till he picked me up. It was a terrific grounding in art history 🎨 

The picture on the right in our backyard. I remember my father scolding me to, ”Stop posing!” I posed anyway. *Note rickrack & lace ruffled hem = mom-made creation.

This looks like the final mom-made dress before adolescent ‘rebellion’ set in. So many ribbons 🎀 I don’t look happy.

As an Ado I went monochromatic. A rebellion to my mother’s dissatisfaction. I‘ve stayed that way, keeping to a range of neutrals on the dark side. Hello black.I still don’t wear prints except the occasional scarf.  Odd how life-long clothing tastes are formed at 12. What do you prefer? Prints or solids?

A caftan from my Moroccan period - solid colors. Didn’t everyone go to Morocco at one time or another?

Stripes entered my life in a big way when I worked on 7th Avenue in fashion and discovered Sonia Rykiel. *Note stripped socks.

I Loved Sonia Rykiel & Agnes b. I still have 5 stripe T-shirts in my closet and several striped scarves. You can never go wrong wearing classic stripes in Paris. Is that why I moved to France 🇫🇷 home of stripes/rayure?

En famille on the Atlantic City boardwalk. Note our matching outfits, Mom-made. I’m sure mother made her own matching head-to-toe outfit. We were her living dolls she loved to dress up until we wouldn’t let her.

I played the ‘cover’ as my mother browsed elegant fashion boutiques in Hotel Chelfont Haddon Hall (just like La Samaritaine). Except back in the day you had to doll up to enter. Forget jeans 👖  I would quietly wait outside the dressing room, while mom tried on and examined inner seams and structure of couture dresses. Such dreams of grandeur. When she’d finished her research, we’d waft out casually, (buying nothing) as though we shopped there everyday.

Here dressed to the nines in matching black-watch plaid suits with matching beanies plus a distinctive added feather. Ready to go faux/pretend shopping. Every stitch sewn by my mother. My mom was a fashion plate.

Quelle surprise Mom. I did finally go to fashion design school as you wished. I worked in fashion 7 years on Seventh Avenue, before moving on to shoe design, medical illustration, food artist, wine art and finally sending out illustrated letters💌 around the world🌏 from Paris. Bonjour Moscow! 

I think my mom would love ❤️ the Chanel letters I just put up on etsy. I hope you do too ☺️ Is it any wonder I’m mad about Bear 🐻 He’s monochromatic and wears a striped T-shirt. Well that’s enough about little ole moi

             💋☺️🐻Have a Bon Dimanche PBers🐻☺️💋

La Samaritaine

 

Yesterday I went to the first day opening of newly renovated and much anticipated La Samaritaine department store near Pont Neuf. There were long lines, but the place is so big they let us hoi polloi in almost immediately. 

The best thing you can do when visiting a new building is scoot up to the top floor via the elevator. Then leisurely take in the view as you drift down by escalator. You’ll get a much better sense of the whole place - a total of 7 floors to explore, since the French insist on calling the first floor zero.

Throughout are areas of artzy decor. This is photo of the Arte Nouveau renovation not someone still restoring the famous peacock ceiling opening day.

Like this furnishing display. I dont think Samarataine even sells furniture. 

Bendy yellow Parisian lampposts display items on each floor. 600 brands are represented, most of them luxury, but plenty for the kids. Egg yolk yellow is the signature Samartaine color if you didn't already guess. I’ll bet they don’t call it that...

Another flashy display - this conglomeration of Ruinart Champagne bottles.

Veuve Clicquot fits in with a prominent boutique of yellow metro seats and new tin containers with metro names. The perfect yellow collaboration.

A great commotion and long anxious lines at the Chanel shoe boutique on the 4th floor.

I asked their blonde rep, smartly dressed in white bouclé and glitter trim, “What’s up?”

“Oh we have the newest Chanel shoe styles you can’t find anywhere else.“ Word out PBers. Change your tickets fast. Tell em Parisbreakfast sent you.

I kind of stalked this stunning trench coat with enormous sleeves. It must be the house brand, Louis Vuiton?

Big voluminous sleeves are IN if you didn't know already PBers. Practicality has never been an issue in fashion.

My haul. You simply must walk out with a signature yellow shopping bag. I bought 3 rolls (4€ each and probably the cheapest thing in the place, yet very attractive I thought) of Samartaine washi tape to seal your envelopes 💌LETTER BUYERS. I said to the sales guy “they are le plus moin cher choise?” He agreed. Staff are  mostly young and attractive, wearing striped  marinier T-shirts and navy blazers. Easy to spot and friendly. The atmosphere is jolly and lively. Unattended ice cream carts (that sadly do not sell ice cream) on each floor sell souvenir art nouveau pencils and post cards, chocolate bears/ourson guimauve ,playing cards and my washi tape in 3 designs. They gave away yellow wrist ribbons. So you’re a walking advert for Samaritaine.

There are casual small cafes and coffee bars scattered on each floor. Plus a fancy restaurant on the top floor that requires reservations. 

I was thrilled to see they have Fermob’s Luxembourg chairs in the eggy yellow. But I painted the yellow cups instead. And a bottle of Veuve. My word on Samartaine: def GO. Really a fun experience.🐝☺️🥂✏️🍋🍾