Come with me to Paris, sort of

Photo dump inspiration from this past weekend, a voice note about inspiring places

Hi there,

Have you been to Paris?

Personally, I dreamt about Paris since I was 13 and saw Evan McGregor sing in the film Moulin Rouge.

Most romantic city EVER. I must move there.

Though I never saw Evan McGregor, and the Moulin Rouge looks very different in reality, I still found my Parisian Prince Charming there 8 years ago.

A free hand embroidery interpretation of the Moulin Rouge that I did a few years back using the thread-sketching techniques I teach in one of my classes

Despite having lived in and frequently travel to Paris, I always end up with a million pictures on my phone whenever I go. But I suppose it’s because it’s Paris, and Paris in spring time is just… Paris ❤️

A screenshot from my camera roll after Saturday’s stroll in the French capital of love, art and fashion.

It’s as if the city speaks to my creative soul in a way that no other place does. Do you also have a place like that?

I did a little voice note while walking to the park a couple of days ago, in which I bring up the concept of how some places fuel us more than others (especially when we’re artistically wired).

You can have a listen below, it’s less than 2 minutes and yes, you hear the buzz of Paris in the background and I’m walking quite quickly while chatting, so if that feels overwhelming I invite you to skip it. No stress, this is supposed to be fun!

Ps. I’m definitely not unique about Paris being mine… Just thinking that artists and writers like Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh, Édith Piaf, Oscar Wilde and Ernest Hemingway to mention a handful, all sat at bistros around the city at one point or another, probably having a cigarette (or three) while drinking strong coffee, is pretty cool isn’t it?!

📸 last Saturday. Just LOVE LOVE the yellow striped awnings with the sun-kissed late afternoon facade and green large door… YES! This would look beautiful in an illustration too I think…

I usually take close-up versions as well as they make for more intimate sceneries and generally serve as a better base for future embroidery patterns (Have to consider other aspects when designing for embroidery vs. a regular sketch.)

Just imagine…

Each bistro has the potential to be the birthplace of the next creative genius of modern time (Ok, I admit, I dream that that genius will be me… though my girls need to be a bit bigger before I can get a silent minute to write and sketch on one of those classic bar-chairs again. Not that it has to be really silent, but it would definitely help if I didn’t have to run after a 15month little toddler every 10 seconds. On the bright side, she happens to be very social and smile and wave at everyone, which made even the grumpiest of Parisians put on their finest smiles this past weekend. The sun also helped, I admit to that.)

You know what though? It will happen one day. Maybe not the genius part. But certainly the creating on a bistro-chair part (excluding cigarettes… I’ve never smoked and couldn’t be less interested.)

Instead of “Why me?”; “Why NOT me?”

This bakery got new owners last year and I think they did a terrific job repainting and rebranding… Just lovely!

It’s an interesting practise really, to add one tiny word and completely change the meaning and impact of a sentence.

“Why Not Me?”

And why not you? Because really, why can’t you too sit next to me on that bistro chair typing or drawing your heart out? Wouldn’t that be lovely? I’d probably order a pain au chocolat with a café au lait (coffee with milk). What would you order?

You may not know that my art business actually started on those Parisian chairs…

The first service my husband and I offered in our art-business (apart from unique artworks), was physical workshops at cafés around the city throughout 2017 (the courses now live in the Charles and Elin Academy (soon Petronella Art Academy) HERE )

Overview of some Paris inspired designs. And for you who know Paris… Yep, the Notre Dame design was made before the middle tower burnt - so precious!

You can even use the drawings as colouring pages for your children (or yourself)

That’s right, since my oldest got big enough to draw I always print doubles of any pattern I make so that she can colour in her own version while I embroider it, it’s a wonderful practise to do together.

Before I leave you for today… Here’s a final photo dumb of inspiration pictures I took in the last days:

Ps. Let me know if you enjoy to peak into my camera album too (it’s really a mish-mash of art on here at this point from photo and drawings to embroidery, writing and general crafts projects…. But that’s me and how I designed my life 💞)

This is a fun one… Shot by putting my hand and phone in beteen the bars of the gate haha. This would be a terrific embroidery pattern btw.

Only made a couple of sketches and this was the best one. Most bridges across La Seine are artworks in their own right.

I call this one: A woman with baguettes. You know the perfectly crusty, wonderfully smelly, straight from the oven type of baguettes….

Thank you so much for reading (and listening)! Hope you found this piece inspiring! If you did, please leave a heart and a comment to let me know and help spread the word ❤️

Elin, xx

Let’s fill the world with more art!!

Don’t miss to secure your physical copy of my upcoming art book: “Travel The World Through The Eye Of A Needle”

You can learn everything about the project through the

Petronella.Art Magazine

via the article below;

Travel The World Through The Eye Of A Needle