Over the weekend I decided that the time had come to have a bit of a change-around in the studio. Frankly, it was a mess. It needed to be thoroughly cleaned, stuff needed to be thrown away, everything needed to be tidied, and I was longing to rearrange the furniture.
I moved into my freshly-redecorated-and-furnished studio back in late Spring 2012, but didn't add the finishing touches to the space until the Summer. You may have seen it in this blog post here. Anyway, having worked in the room for several months, I decided that - as pretty as it looked - I could make better use of the space. I've also been having a lot of migraines and migraine related problems over the past few weeks and I know a lot of it stems from tension in my shoulders and neck. When I'm working at the table on flat watercolour paintings, I tend to hunch over and hold myself in a certain position for hours. If you're an artist or illustrator, you may have experienced this problem.
I bought a great tilted drawing board a couple of years ago (this one) but, in its previous location, my studio table was never fully extended (I bought this Ikea Bjursta table in white) and therefore was always too cluttered to make room for the drawing board. After months of suffering, I'd finally had enough. It became clear that I needed to find a new place for the table so that I could fully extend it; to make room for the drawing board and also make use of the great natural light coming in through the window.
So I moved the table into the nook between the wardrobe/storage cupboard and window, and the easel (for larger canvas paintings) and office chair moved to the other end of the room. The long metal cabinet was relocated to where the table used to be. It took the best part of a day to totally clean and rearrange the room, but it was so worth it! It's much more practical, and the space feels larger, which is an unexpected bonus.
In other news, I'm off to Aldeburgh with Leon for a week-long holiday (we'll be working as well as relaxing) on Wednesday. The cottage we're staying in should have an internet connection, so I'm hoping to be able to blog from there! I can't wait...
I've been kind of busy over on the other blog recently, and I certainly don't want to neglect this one, so I thought I'd share some images from the studio today until I find the time to write a longer post. I've had several topics floating around in my mind recently that I'd like to write about; my feelings about art, running a business, and creativity in general. Once these vague thoughts turn into something more concrete, I'll make the time to share them properly.
To be totally honest, I'm feeling a bit frustrated at the moment because there are so many things I want (and need) to do, yet life keeps throwing distractions and complications my way, and at the end of each evening I think, "Where did the day go?". The time flies by, and no matter how organised I've been during the day, each day ends with the feeling that I didn't achieve as much as I wanted to. I know life is like that - it's always going to be full of interruptions and distractions - but I've really had my fair share over the past month or so, as you'll know about in more detail if you've been reading the blogs or following on twitter.
I gave up Instagram and my personal Facebook page (I still have an art page, and it's here if you'd like to see it), partly because I wanted to concentrate more on my blog(s) and I knew I didn't have time to do everything, so I had to choose. I want to write more posts, not just featuring my art but also talking a little more about the 'behind the scenes' type of stuff, and I want to podcast too - I bought a great sound recorder last year and haven't even really used it yet! I want to be able to offer more advice to other artists and people running their own creative business, and I'd also like to do some 'work in progress / progression' blogs. I'm hoping that once things have settled down here, I'll be able to do that.
Anyway, it was a bright afternoon in the studio (so nice to have some sunshine in the midst of this long winter), so I took a few photographs to capture the moment, and the little painted stone I was working on earlier today...
After trying* to work a little earlier today, Leon and I went out just before dark for a walk in the snow. I spent some time taking photos as we wandered around the neighbourhood, and had to be very careful as I only have totally inappropriate footwear here with me: cowboy boots. Walking in the snow in a heel; not good. Well, perhaps not surprisingly, I didn't expect to see this much snow (if any) this trip - if it does actually snow in Paris it doesn't usually stick around for very long. But this morning we awoke to a thick covering of snow. And it looks like this...
* I attempted to work today and it was an unmitigated disaster, so I'm going to start over again this evening. Wish me luck...
I've had a lovely Christmas and New Year here in Paris with Leon - it's been quiet, calm and simple, which was what we both needed after the past few months of work and general craziness (particularly Leon; his work schedule has been insane). So we relaxed - just the two of us - and bought plenty of delicious food and drink, decorated the apartment with a couple of strings of fairy lights and several candles, and downloaded lots of films from iTunes. It was my first Christmas outside of the UK, my first Christmas away from my family, and the first Christmas Leon and I have been able to spend together!
On Christmas Day we decided to get out of the house for a couple of hours in the afternoon, and so we went to the Champs Elysees, and walked through the huge Christmas market (I was really surprised that this was actually open on Christmas Day!) and the super-fancypants area that surrounds it. It was pretty chilly, with a bitterly cold wind, but I managed to snap a few pictures with my Canon camera while we were there. I thought you might like to see them too...
These pictures of the Eiffel Tower were taken from Avenue Montaigne, a really beautiful street with very expensive hotels and lots of designer stores. That's pretty nice, but what was I most interested in? You guessed it - just look at those trees! They may inspire some paintings in the not-too-distant future.
I love this little cream-coloured scooter - tres Parisien!
This little dress was displayed in a shop window - I love it. I could imagine if I ever have a little girl (which may or may not happen; you never know ;) I would definitely dress her in something like this.
And do you recognise the hotel below? You may do if (like me) you're a fan of Sex and the City. I was so excited when I first saw it - it looked, to me, a lot like the hotel Carrie stays in when she visits Paris with Aleksandr Petrovsky in Series 6. You know the part when she steps out onto the balcony after arriving and sees the Eiffel Tower in the distance? Those little balconies with the greenery are very distinctive. Anyway, I took this photo, did a bit of research when I got home, and found out that this is the Sex and the City hotel! It's called the Plaza Athénée and it's beautiful. I'd love to have a look inside...or maybe stay there when I'm rich and famous. Which, as we all know, will be soon. ;)
Some lovely waffles from the Christmas market...
One thing the French seem to do very well is street food. Waffles with a variety of toppings, crepes, and all sorts of delicious nuts seem to be available at this time of year. We bought a bag of caramelised almonds (something I've never seen in England) and they were unbelievably good.
In other news, I've been busy buying art materials and making new art, which I'll share with you soon. Thanks for reading the blog during 2012, and if you're one of the few people who leaves a comment too, thank you for that also. I love reading them, and I try to reply to a few here and there whenever I have the time. I am aiming to make the blog even more varied and (hopefully!) interesting in 2013, with more regular updates. In 2012 I deleted my Instagram account and also my personal Facebook page (I now have a Facebook page for my art only, which is updated occasionally) in an attempt to streamline my social media / internet presence, and to concentrate on the things I feel are more important - and my blog is one of these things.
I'll leave you with this - my last portrait of 2012, taken on 31st December at around 8:30pm Paris time. I felt the need to document the moment for some reason, so I snapped a quick self portrait in the bathroom mirror. Another year has passed - let's make this new year a great one!
Do you remember when I wrote Part One of this series? You know when I said I'd be back with Part Two soon? Well yeah, that was nearly a month ago. I was thinking a week maximum. Why the huge delay? I'm not really sure, but usually two things have to be in place before I write a blog:
1. I have to have time to sit here tapping away on my keyboard (keypad? Is it a board or a pad?) and not feel too guilty that I'm not painting, packaging/sending orders, getting back to the many people I owe an email (or two) to, cleaning the house, feeding the cats, and about a million other jobs I should probably be doing other than writing a blog.
and...
2. I have to be in the mood for blog-writing. Much like visiting the in-laws or waxing your legs, blog-writing is something you have to be in the right frame of mind for. And sometimes I'm just not. But fortunately, today I am. So let's get to it; Things I've Noticed About Paris: Part Two...
6: You have to kiss people you don't know. All the time. First on one cheek and then the other: so basically you have to kiss them twice. Not only do you have to kiss them when you greet them, you also have to kiss them again when they (or you) leave, even if you've only seen them for a few minutes. Twice more. So, adding this up, that's four kisses per person every visit. To me, that seems like a lot of kissing for people you barely know. Hell, that's a lot of kissing for people you do know. I'm sure they'd even try to squeeze in another couple of kisses if they could; they LOVE it. I love to kiss too, but I am selective about who I kiss. I generally don't kiss people I don't know. All of this kissing means I'm well out of my reserved English comfort zone. I like a good, firm shake of the hand and a 'hello'. That'll do for me, honestly. It's served me well for 30+ years. But in Paris that doesn't cut the mustard. You must KISS. And you must kiss A LOT.
This is a real scenario I witnessed during my last trip:
A young woman comes in to a bar to join our group. There were at least ten of us. The English scenario would be to say a cheerful 'hi' to the group of people, and maybe (if you're me) do a little wave. People have been acknowledged; everyone is happy. Over in a few seconds. Lovely.
The French girl comes in to the bar and greets every. single. person. at the table, one by one, by bending down and kissing each person twice, while saying "Bonsoir" (good evening) to everyone individually. It took her a good few minutes to go round the entire table, and if you know what French bars are like - generally crowded, with tiny tables and too many chairs so there's no room to move, and with your back directly against the person sitting at the table behind you - you can imagine that this whole situation became an extended exercise in body contortion. Just to say 'hello'. C'est fou!
7: Parisian women are often so tiny, I genuinely wonder where they keep their internal organs. I'm not just talking slim. I'm not even really talking thin. I'm talking tiny. Teeny-tiny; like, no boobs, no hips, bum-like-a-12-year-old-boy tiny. They're not all like this, of course. But there's a huge proportion who are. If you're a slim, normal-sized woman (for example, a UK 10-12 / US 6-8) with a bit of boobage, trust me, in Paris you can sometimes feel like an elephant. And it's not just the women either. David Lebovitz wrote about the super-thin young Parisian men in one of his blogs. It truly has to be seen to be believed.
8: They cannot park a car to save their life, God love 'em. I don't mean to be harsh, but I've honestly never seen anything like it. The cars in the photo above (taken in the 17th Arrondissement in November) look fairly well-parked, right? Right. But if you were able to walk down that street (or any street) and look closely, you would see that almost every car in the city of Paris is bumped, knocked, and scratched to within an inch of its little metallic life. On several occasions, while at a street cafe, or even just walking down the road, I have watched with eyes wide open, and mouth open even wider, while a Parisian attempts to manoeuvre his/her car into a parking space that even Stevie Wonder could see is too small. (I'm sure that last sentence was politically incorrect; let's gloss over it shall we?).
Hmmm...what to do if your car won't go into the space easily? Er, find another space? No! What are you talking about, crazy person? You merely rock your car back and forth, bumping first into the car in front, and then into the car behind. Repeatedly. Still not gettin' into that space? No? DO IT HARDER! I watch with amazement, knowing that I never witness this in England. If we bump into someone's car, we (unless we happen to be one of those rare assholes who drives off) leave a nice little note on their windscreen apologising profusely for damaging their car and leaving our phone number and details, so that the owner can get in touch, and our insurance company can pay for the damage we have so wrongly caused with our assholery.
If you're Parisian? Just bump into the other cars a few times, denting or scratching them, before deciding that no, this parking space isn't big enough for your car, so you'll just drive off and find another one, thankyouverymuch. Or merci beaucoup. I've seen this several times now, and not once did the driver show any element of surprise at the terrible sound of metal scraping against metal, and none of them stopped to apologise to the owner of the car they had hit. Mon dieu!
9: On a more positive note, they really know how to wear a scarf. I'm a BIG scarf wearer. I love a scarf, or several. I probably have at least 30. I'm not kidding. I wear a scarf almost every day of the year, no matter how hot or cold the weather is. There's a scarf for every occasion! If I could wear one in bed without fear of strangulation, I probably would. Look at the men above (I took this photo secretly while in a cafe in the Marais district the other week); look at the one on the right in his bright red, jaunty scarf. The Parisians love a scarf almost as much as I do. The photo above isn't the best example, but I'm afraid it's all I've got to illustrate the scarf-loving Parisian male. I've noticed that most men in Paris wear scarves with more style and aplomb than your average Englishman. And they don't mind a bright scarf. They will wear a bright pink, patterned scarf and think nothing of it, so secure are they in their thrusting French manliness. In fact, most men in Paris seem to wear scarves, and the ladies are quite fond of them too. In this respect, I fit in nicely.
[Aside: I love the fact that these two friends in the photo are dressed so similarly; the hat, the glasses, same beards and haircuts. I think there might be a bit of a bromance going on.]
10: They are always late. It doesn't matter what the event is, or when it is, or who they are meeting; the Parisian is always late. Being British, we're in a total flap if we're five or ten minutes late for something. We panic, we apologise profusely, we often feel like a total asshole for keeping someone waiting. If we were an hour late, we would probably gladly beat ourselves with birch twigs as punishment for our misdemeanour. Parisians? They don't give a rat's arse about such things. If you want a Parisian to turn up on time, lie to them about the time something starts. If it starts at 8pm, tell them it starts at 7pm, and they'll turn up at 8:00. Because (and I have no idea why this is) they actually find it nigh on impossible to turn up on time. Keeping you waiting for up to an hour is totally normal. Should you be on a tight schedule and express surprise/annoyance that they've kept you waiting for a business meeting (yes, really) for 45+ minutes, YOU will be the one at fault for mentioning it.
I won't tell you who, but a young Parisian male once said (when keeping his much older and more experienced collaborator waiting for a significant amount of time, who had set aside a Sunday afternoon to work on his project) that he couldn't be expected to turn up on time because things happen in life, and he was having a very interesting chat with a girl in a cafe, and he had to be able to "live his life". Yes, dear readers, this actually happened.
But when he turned up, we all kissed a lot, so everything was ok. ;)
I think I'll leave it there for today. There's a huge probability that Part Three will be along soon(ish) because I cannot leave the matter of the Great Conspiracy Against British Cheese unsaid (or rather, unwritten), and some other little nuggets of joy I've noticed.
Hello and welcome! I'm Natasha Newton, and I paint, design and illustrate for a living, while dividing my time between Suffolk, UK and Paris, France.
I've recently started a new project for 2013 called A Bird A Day - please click on the link in the left column to find out more!
For questions and enquiries, or to be added to my mailing list, please send an email to natasha@natasha-newton.co.uk and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
