Paris

April 20, 2006

Spring was about receiving – collecting imagery that I will explore in my paintings for years. We traveled through Germany and France taking in great museums as well as the light of Provence that inspired the impressionists.

I enjoyed the great museums and galleries – the Musée d’Orsay, the Louvre, the Musée d’Art Moderne in the Centre Pompidou – saw many great works. But even more inspiring were our actual wanderings in the rambling streets of Montmartre, the views from the Arc de Triomphe and Notre-Dame’s north tower. Driving through tiny villages in Provence where Roman ruins littered the landscape and where every day was market day in a different town. Taking pictures, collecting tiny fragments of broken pottery or scraps for my art book. Surviving on the daily espresso and croissant, baguette, and 9-fruit juice from the market.

Overall the most inspiring aspect of traveling in Europe came as no surprise: oldness. Oldness has always inspired my creativity. With oldness comes moss, character, marks, deterioration, colour, fading, imprints, pathways. A reminder of a way of life, quality of life, devotion to skill, celebration of tradition and wisdom that has been left behind. A reminder to take stock of what we value.