INSPIRATION

From My Trip to Paris

NOV 2/The Wanderlust Collective/

Art, Art Focus, Inspiration, Travel

Paris...the city of lights. It’s so picturesque, romantic, with a style of its own. On this trip to Paris I wanted to focus on Montmartre. Montmartre is located in a hilly district known as La Butte. Tourists come here to capture views of the city, artists who paint there, socialize at the cafes, and catch a show at the famous Moulin Rouge.

Did you ever wonder what it was like back in the days where artists like Modigliani, Toulouse La-Trec, Degas and many others walked, lived, and worked? Come step back in time with me and let’s take in a bit of the past shall we?

Famous artists who were respected and revered lived here. In fact this is how Montmartre was born. Those artists who struggled, who dared to step outside the box, broke ground and opened doors for other creators. Montmartre became a fertile ground full of creativity. The place for artists to come and live amongst other artists. Creatives that fueled one another with parties, cafe gatherings, models, and art movements.

Montmartre blossomed in the 1900s, soon there were art galleries, and museums, stores, and many of these remain today. When I walked around the cobblestone streets of Montmartre I couldn’t help to think I was walking over the same footsteps of famous artists who paved the way for so many.

Let’s talk about Bateau-Lavoir, even though it wasn’t as clean as other areas, creatives found peace here. They got together to discuss ideas, inspirations, and techniques. Parties were pretty wild, and out of it paintings were inspired. 

One such painting by Toulouse Lautrec titled "Party In The Moulin Rouge,” which shows life back in the day. In fact Loutrec painted the posters for the one and only Moulin Rouge! He was a party animal who invented the drink “Hurricane” made of absinthe and cognac.

There are so many stories and so much history that made what Montmartre is today. What fueled inspiration for my latest project was my trip into Suzanne Valadon’s studio. I must say I was starstruck, I wanted to soak up all of her artistic creativity. I asked myself if she were here today, what would she say? What would she paint? Looking at her set up, and living quarters gave me a sense of what it was like in her day.

She was a French painter and model for great artists such as Toulouse Lautrec, Edgar Degas and more. Suzanne learned from the Impressionist and went on to thrive in the village of la Butte. In the 1890s with the push of Lautrec she friended Degas who loved her paintings, and drawings. Thanks to Degas she became the first woman to exhibit at the Societe Nationale des Beaux Arts in 1894.

After experiencing so much inspiration and art history I wanted to get inside Suzanne Valadon’s head. So I decided to recreate one of her paintings. The one I chose was “A View From My Window”. I wanted to learn her loose technique and what better way to do this than by breaking down the painting and recreating it. I learned so much from this piece, and had so much fun doing it.


Though I often looked for one, I finally had to admit that there could be no cure for

Paris

Paula McClain


So, let's walk the streets of Montmartre, discover the rich history and take you on a journey to exploration and technique in recreating this painting from start to finish. 

 

Come join me!

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