As we walked around exploring the village of Roujan in the heat, we noticed the cool recesses of the bays - an example of which you see here behind the VW. The wine merchants built these houses, and farmers used to deliver their grapes into the wide bays, where the grapes would then be made into wine. Now the farmers use a cooperative; in Roujan, it is a big building on the edge of town, down by the soccer field.
As a silk painter, I am always searching for the perfect red. Come see this painting in person, and tell me how close I’ve come to reaching my goal.
[New art exhibit up now at Aurum Studios in downtown Athens, GA for the month of February. I am sharing the space with the fabulous textile artist Suzanne Gernandt, weaver extraordinaire, of Waynesville and Asheville, NC. Reception: Thursday, Feb 6th, 6-8 pm, 2014 - this week!]
Illustration: Avenue de Pézanas (VW) . Roujan . Languedoc-Roussillon . France. Hand-painted silk crepe de chine. 2014. by René D. Shoemaker
We had a house-sitting opportunity in Roujan - what a wonderful way to experience an as-yet undiscovered part of France! Roujan is in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France, near the Mediterranean Sea. The weather was hot while we were there - can you sense the heat in this painting?
My favorite street in Paris is Rue Bièvre, on the Left Bank, in the Latin Quarter. The street is short and it winds, giving an air of mystery and intimacy. Walking from Boulevard Saint-Germain direction, you come out to the Seine River, with Notre Dame Cathedral sitting right in front of you, a huge presence in the river, looking over the town of Paris. A canal from the Bièvre River used to run along where the street is now, and the river was the source of water for many dye and weaving houses. President François Mitterand lived on Rue Bièvre - he had good taste, too.
In our building in Paris the top turn of the wooden stairway was so beautifully worn, so beautifully hand made, so varnished by so many feet over so many years, that I was struck by the glistening patina every time I walked the 4 floors to our apartment.