Some of the best parts of the trip were when we did something that was absolutely normal, yet somehow different, because of the fact that we were in a different country with a different language and different customs.
And now, here I am, back in the States, sharing these images of my experience with you. There are only two days until the art reception at Aurum Studios, where you’ll be able to see all this paintings for yourself. But only two more days allows only two more images that I can share with you until that time. How can I choose just two?
This painting was inspired by the laundromat on the street where we stayed. I enjoyed doing the laundry there and soaking up the atmosphere. The neighborhood was great. I would go back in a heartbeat.
[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: Rue Campagne-Première . Paris . 14th . France. Hand-painted silk crepe de chine. 2014. by René D. Shoemaker
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.
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.