A Big Week in Paris

Live illustrating for Hermès, crashing the Pompidou and a wholesome catch-up

You know those weeks where lots of amazing things happen one after the other? That was last week for me.

Rewind a bit. I’d been wanting to take a trip to Paris at some point because there was a Suzanne Valadon exhibition I wanted to see at the Centre Pompidou. Then one day I got an email out of the blue from the luxury fashion brand Hermès about drawing live portraits for an internal event they were running. It sounded like fun, plus it gave me the perfect pretext for my Paris trip, so I assembled my crayons and set off.

Day 1: The Exhibition

Turns out the exhibition was sold out. I was so disappointed, but figured I’d go to see the permanent collection anyway. When I got to the ticket booth, I discovered that as an artiste I could get into the exhibition even if it was sold out! You can’t imagine my joy.

The exhibition was incredible. In the first room, there was this painting, The Blue Room. It had been my desktop background for over a year, so I was very familiar with it, but it was even more splendid in real life. I mean every single mark, every nuance of colour, was perfection. It’s the first time I’ve cried in front of a painting.

Then there were these two of Valadon’s niece and her mother, painted several years apart. Not only were they beautifully painted, they showed in a very interesting way the transition between childhood and adolescence.

And there were many, many more gems.

Suzanne Valadon had a fascinating life and I highly recommend looking her up if you don’t know much about her. Just a small sample: when she was young she joined the circus but had to quit after a trapeze accident. Then she was a model for famous painters such as Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec before becoming a painter herself. She was good friends with Degas - you can see one of his paintings behind the chair in the picture above. And she had a son, Maurice Utrillo, who also became a renowned artist.

Recognise this? She was the model in Renoir’s Dance at Bougival!

Anyway, she was already one of my favourite painters but after the show, I think she’s officially got the top spot! I came away feeling totally inspired and in awe.

The exhibition is open until 26th May in case you’re lucky enough to be passing through Paris any time soon. If not, the Centre Pompidou website has some great quality scans of her work online for your viewing pleasure.

Day 2: Hermès

Drawing for Hermès was an absolute dream! It was my first time doing live event illustration, so I was a little nervous, but all the sketchbooking and life drawing I have done over the years proved to be excellent practice! Alongside three other illustrators (Maguelone du Fou, Amélie Fontaine and Eloise Gillard), I made 3-5 minute portraits of guests, as well as sketching the conferences that were going on throughout the morning.

Sadly we didn’t get to keep the scarves :’(

It was intense, but I loved it! Being an illustrator is often an isolated life, working from home most of the time, so it was a treat to go and do it in a real place with real people. The enthusiasm of the attendees and the openness of my fellow illustrators was really refreshing.

I was reminded how broad this field can be and how many opportunities I have never even thought about. I’ll definitely be looking out for more work like this.

Day 3: Slow Galerie

After a VERY good night’s sleep, on my final day I visited Slow Galerie to drop off some paintings.

Right after graduating in 2019, I did an Erasmus internship with Slow Galerie. Little did I know what wonderful things would come of it, not least of which, lasting and meaningful friendships.

I got to have a very lovely catch up with Lamia Magliuli who runs the gallery. If the previous couple of days had inspired and motivated me, talking to Lamia was the icing on the cake that made me feel utterly grateful to have fallen into this crazy path of being an illustrator. It reminded me how precious it is to have good, kind people on your side, and how worthwhile it is to keep going.

We’ll be releasing prints, as well as the original paintings, which will be available from the physical gallery in Paris as well as their online shop (which ships worldwide) in the next couple of weeks. I’ll keep you posted.

Although it was a busy trip, I feel full of energy now that it’s over. Each day made me even more eager to work hard and keep following this path.

Till next time,