Painting Paris

La place du Tertre

Photos and Text by: Corey Amaro

Painting Paris. Painting France. The vivid colors of day to day life mixed in with the fantasy and
history. The stuff of dreams: Golden baguette, blue shutter, red checked cloth, a dab of red wine, a splash of the Mediterranean and a touch of Marie-Antoinette.

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Where does your paint brush take you? Where does the color blend in, fade way, add texture, give highlight…. Does the line between dream and daily life blend? Or does it bring contrast?

Is life pale blue, with hints of green shoots?

Yesterday mine was grey with lightening… headaches are dark aren't they?

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What would you add to your canvas?

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Different scenes,

Old facade,

Open door,

New path,

Romance at twilight,

Soft shades of mystery?

Artist-paris

What kind of artist are you? Do you sketch details out in your mind first? Or do you get in and get your hands dirty?

I tend to stare at the paper for a long time…blank allows pregnant thoughts to emerge, or if truth be told: Last minute is my best friend for motivation.

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I find it funny how something can brew within without knowing, without direction, or plan. How the unconscious mingles with reality, sparks dreams, tugs at one's desire then seemingly effortless, as a whim, it appears and the scene is made whole.

La place du Tertre

Colorful life. Is the daily canvas lick-able, nourishing to your soul?

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I wonder if ideas, thoughts, and even friend's and warrior's messages stack up in the back of our closet like clothes we hope to wear one day. I wonder what color they would create if I didn't clean them out from time to time.

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Every moment creates a scene even if brief, a dab of color is a dab
of color, each stroke lends to another.

Painting-paris 

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Contemplating the next move. As the river runs by, and a bridge offers passage.

La place du Tertre

Wine, the back side of a canvas and two boys in long aprons talk about the meaning of life and what girl they want to ask out.

La place du Tertre

A dab of

red

blue

and

two empty glasses.

Scenes-painted-paris 

Memories, moments, blending that is how it is, isn't it?

Paris-facade-paintings 

Waiting for someone to come, sit down, make the scene complete.

Dab-of-color  

What color are you today?
_________________________________________________

Later Notes:

I took the the photos above in Paris, at the Place du Tertre.



Comments

49 responses to “Painting Paris”

  1. Rouge, rouge. Love the art scene. Was it Monmartre?

  2. Massilianana

    I am spring and sprang pink ! Surprinsingly though , I thought I would feel very grey but there you are . I heard the swallows in the sky this morning while going to work , the air was crisp and fresh and the gloomy grey started to fade …. And also , I can’t believe it : me, the creative response of your guessing game ? Yoohooo !!!! Merci beaucoup !!!!

  3. Penelope

    They are very talented Artists. I like both of the little shopfront paintings, Corey. But did you notice that the patisserie is missing an “I”?

  4. What is it about doorways and storefronts? I find them fascinating, always. Thanks for the glimpse. Sam

  5. Oh does that ever take me back to the painters along the Seine…at Montmartre, everywhere in France. It must be the French light that makes for such vivid pictures. Today I’m sunshine yellow. It’s a new day, and I’m going to rise and shine.

  6. I spent hours in Place du Tertre watching painters coloring their canvas……

  7. Birds chirping; blue skies; a new day stretches before me. Color me yellow sunshine and pink crabapple trees! Beautiful paintings, Corey. I could watch them paint for hours…

  8. I love the photos of the back of the canvases. I’ve never looked behind the scenes when I’ve stumbled upon street artists. I love that you showed me something I wasn’t seeing – I have also woken with the grey of a headache today but I’m hoping for perhaps shades of pale pink and green to meet me as the sun comes up this morning. I am a “wait until it’s all planned in my mind” kind of artist.

  9. A beautiful day is rising for me with yellows and blues, a bit blurred as I grapple with seasonal midwestern allergies . . . aaaaaachoo! I love your photos and the words you hang on them and the paintings are so wonderful.
    The yellow umbrella with Corey Amaro – how clever to have placed it there! I see your trademark in other pictures, but smiled upon seeing it on the umbrella.

  10. It would have to be faces – of those I love, those I have met, those I have yet to meet. But, Corey, I am struck by the way you paint not only with your brush but also with your words! An artist doubly blessed!

  11. Sage – for today I feel older than my years, but maybe not as wise as I’d like.

  12. I begged…pleaded for an old heavy easel for my birthday. My husband got me one. It sits right here beside my computer with it’s plastic wrapped canvas staring daringly at me. Perhaps you have inspired me. I’ll keep you posted.

  13. Lorelei Lane

    Today I am as grey as the rooftops in the tiny painting shown with the brushes. Grey hair, grey mood, grey outdoors…. waiting for a burst of terra-cotta to change my landscape – copper earrings, a flash of the cardinals flitting from tree to tree. That picture spoke volumes to me today.. Did you purchase it for your brocante? Did you paint it yourself? Thank you for the lovely post.

  14. The chairs and wine glasses waiting in anticipation, the welcoming, the greeting, the pure joy of your words. Delightful! I feel the color of bubbles, a rainbow in light.

  15. Today I am yellow, sunny like the outdoors, bright, warm and feeling well indeed.
    Bonne fin de journée Corey!

  16. Green is my color this morning tinged round the edges with bits of black and white as words fight for their place in the story. I’m taking it outside today to one of my favorite places which is always a sure to help a confused mind or weary spirit.

  17. Leslie Garcia

    Dear Corey,
    I hope your headache goes away as swiftly as it came…sending prayers your way.
    I love the pictures you posted…and these words came to my mind of poster I once had…
    I AM BLUE YOU ARE YELLOW…TOGETHER WE MAKE GREEN…AND GREEN IS MY FAVORITE COLOR
    Love,
    Leslie

  18. Weaverbec

    I am the rainbow today. The rain has stopped and the sun is out. You paint beautiful pictures with your words. Thank you 🙂

  19. Karinka Calhoun

    What happened to the “I” in Patisserie? I’m always amazed at the amount of art and merchandise with French writing (usually in the U. S), that is incorrectly spelled or accented but this small canvas is shocking if its actually in France! Sorry to be so critical but its the Virgo in me. Have a great week. Karinka

  20. Love this post. I paint and draw EVERY day, often inspired by my recent art residency in France. I would buy every single one of these paintings shown here. Marvelous.

  21. Today Grey, I have a terrible cold and am cancelling my day trip to Napa Valley for lunch. Tomorrow will be a better day.

  22. Grey with lightning…that’s a perfect description of a migraine. I had one last week and wanted to take my head off until it got better.
    Today, my canvas is mostly blank. I have a few bright spots of color in the distance (a grant trip to Ireland this summer and a writing seminar in Auvillar, France, in September) and am I’m excited to keep filling in the shapes and lines of this new attitude and new life I’m creating for myself!
    Beautiful post, thanks for the inspiration.

  23. Layers of frosting, applied quickly, thick impasto like. Drips and dots. As, I frost my Red Velvet Cake. Today, I am the color red.
    Laurie
    SF

  24. How beautiful!!! Lovely photos, you are an artist with your camera and heart, with words that bless and cause one to think!
    (Today I am the color of sparkling lavender)
    ~ Violet

  25. Fabulous
    I love everything you share
    Love you
    Jeanne

  26. I’m nearly always a combo of transparent red iron oxide, azo gold, indian yellow hue and crimson……or maybe cobalt teal and transparent turquoise, or maybe paynes gray and titanium white….oh heck, I’m all of them !!!!!

  27. I truly love all colors and they each have their place. In my art I’m drawn to creamy whites, ecru, coffee browns, sepia, old paper brown. I am often inspired by a photo and keep it in my memory bank for future reference. I never know what will re-surface on any given day. Just having passion and a little artistic talent goes a long way.
    Your posts are by far the most inspiring I’ve ever seen. But you knew that already.
    Have a wonderful day!

  28. Your photos make me want to pack up my easel and jump on a plane to Paris. I actually have something of a habit of looking up ticket prices daily after I read your blog.
    Do you have excedrine in France? it is the only medicine my boyfriend and his mother have found that helps with migraines. Good luck!

  29. Today I am going Blonder! So today I am Blondie…

  30. Alas, I’m so drawing/painting-challenged. About the best I can muster is a little drafting/mechanical drawing, which is chiefly because I love Geometry so much! But back when I was in junior high, girls weren’t allowed to take mechanical drawing, on the theory that they’d never be using it as a profession, but would be taking up a classroom slot that a boy needed in order to prepare for his career. Sad to say, my mother agreed with this sexist philosophy (it’s rough when a parent sabotages a kid’s dreams).

  31. jend’isère

    My art ideas never end up as imagined, the unplanned lines take me down a different route. Camera battery is recharging now as I am off to Provence for a few days to soak in all of the colors.

  32. Oh someday…someday I will paint in Paris.
    ((looove these photos)))

  33. I am a painter, though I am also a mama and I haven’t painted in a long time. Too long, your photos remind me. I was at Montmartre (sp?) as an 18 year old, and it was so inspiring. Thanks!

  34. I’m an artist who used to dabble in oils, watercolors, charcoal, pen and ink….now I must divide my time between so many things and my art runs to gardening and designing labels for my soaps. I take my inspiration from eras past, the beauty of the natural world around me, and my cats. Art is all around us if we just look.

  35. dearest c
    heartfelt feelings with the beast–migraines!!….and on a day when the shop was show casing new items….HOW DID YOU DO IT? well i am chaos and nerveous today so all colors not blended but all over the place…hope it gets better –my wish prayer for you above all no more headaches of any kind where do they come from?

  36. Julie W.

    Oh how bright white the pear blossoms look against the grey, rainy skies outside my window. Thanks for the beautiful colors you have brought into my world today. Your blog is such a fun “trip” that fits into any day!
    I would love to watch these artistes en plein air work their creative magic. Creation is one of life’s greatest pleasures. There are so many ways to create-and you, Corey, have aptly put your hand in quite a few. I have heard it said that creating something brings such joy because it is similar to God’s work. I love that thought!
    May you have many joyous, creative days WITHOUT a headache!
    Julie W.

  37. Elaine L.

    I would love to know where these photos were taken.
    ~elaine~
    _________________________
    Hi
    At the Place du Tertre in Paris by the Montmartre.

  38. What a lovely walk down the street in france. Thank You!
    I am a “jump- in-head-first” artist. Love making a mess!
    Maybe you have French lavendar right out out side your door?
    My sisters get migraines and swear by: French lavender oil in hot water as aromatherapy and feet in hot water.
    Hope you feel better, C.

  39. joanne nixon

    today was gray, but i didn’t mind….there are so few of these.
    yesterday was bright and blue….then purple, pink and green..the colors of my garden…
    tomorrow will be yellow…i will be sunshine….

  40. Long ago I used to dabble in all art..painting..writing..
    sadly I lost it..I cannot get it back.
    All is shades of grey now to me..sometimes a shimmer of creamy white..but the grey swallows it.

  41. I too, am grey, the color of headaches and the lining of my lavender scented eyemask. I hope you are feeling your bright colorful self today.
    I was an art major in college, but never had the confidence to go anywhere with it. I am a perfectionists and could never live up to my expectations. I would just love to watch those artists at work in Paris. I love how a couple of them played chess, just as it was done 100 years ago; none of this ipad silliness.

  42. Corey, this is one of my favorite posts of yours, ever.
    I am a play-it-by-ear artist, although I am trying to become more of a planning artist, so I don’t keep repeating the same features and giving roads and places the same names in my maps and watercolors.
    And a side story: one of my favorite memories is the day that my art instructor took me and another student to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens to sketch the sculpture garden. There we were, with our chairs and drawing boards and art supplies all around us, when a group of people came up and started taking photographs of us. Turns out, they were Russian tourists, and they were taking photographs of US in the same way I’ve taken photographs of artists everywhere I’ve gone. It was very entertaining to BE the tourist attraction!

  43. wonderful words and images
    merci 🙂

  44. Lora Gohn

    Oh my Goodness – beautiful, beautiful pictures. You have totally made my day! Thank you so-o-o-o much!!!

  45. beautiful! nice images. lovely. I like it very much.

  46. Corey, of all the posts I’ve read – and I’ve had lots of favorites – this one spoke to my soul over all the rest. I thank God for you, I thank God for the mystery which is cyberspace so that you can share your thoughts with so many people and I thank God for beautiful colors.

  47. Oh my gosh… these pictures really bring back memories of our trip to Paris in 2005!
    Oh how I wish I was there!
    Lovely post. I could totally feel the mood!

  48. Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks. – Simonides
    🙂

  49. All I can think of writing in response to your beautiful blog is “Life is beautiful, given that man has the perspective to see it”…& your is a stunning example for the above statement…Kudos

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