Choosing the correct frame is vital to showing off a painting to best advantage. I purchased this atmospheric scene of a Mediterranean fishing village from a dealer I often work with, and I chose an antique gold frame and linen matte. The warmth and detail of the frame enhances the composition, functioning as a window inviting you into the world of the painting.

I recently posted new work by Aubril, my favorite French watercolorist. She just sent me an additional five pictures, all of which capture the ambiance of Paris to perfection.

My favorite French watercolorist just sent me two new paintings. If you’ve been to Paris the café scenes are instantly recognizable. If you haven’t been, these vibrant images should make you want to go.

Collecting antique artwork is a passion of mine, and I’ve been doing quite a bit of it lately. This original oversize lithograph is Toulouse Lautrec’s famous 1896 poster for La Chaine Simpson, a bicycle chain company. L.B. Spoke was the name of the bicycle store in Paris run by the Simpson representative in France, Louis Bougle, who commisioned the poster. Lautrec was a serious bike racing fan and he brilliantly captures the speed and excitement of the event, as well as implying that the Simpson Chain will make your bike race like the wind. Lautrec was a master at combining the commercial needs of his assignments with the genius of his art.

Almost walked right into this gentleman in the Portland Art Museum. He looked like he was taking a break from flipping burgers in the cafeteria when in fact he’s always on his break, being an uncannily realistic sculpture. I’m not sure where I’d place a piece like this, but he’d certainly scare off burglars.

Leonard Bernardaud was an apprentice in the first factory producing porcelain in Limoges in 1863. In 1900 he acquired the company and gave it his name. Bernardaud remains family owned, preserving the time-honored traditions of artistry and craftsmanship that make the finished product so special. This was another of my favorite stops at Maison Objet. The quality, inventiveness and variety of designs are unsurpassed. They are truly works of art, just as appropriately displayed on a wall as on a table.

There are exhibitors at the Maison Objet show in Paris that you cannot see at High Point, and it was a joy to marvel at the incomparable glasswork of Lalique. One of the world’s greatest glassmakers and jewelry designers of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco period, Rene Lalique was a brilliantly imaginative artist who died in 1945. The company that bears his name continues to set new standards, as in this interpretation of the Winged Victory statue in the Louvre. Lalique prices are not for the faint-hearted, but if the past is any guide, their value will only rise over time.

One of my favorite places in the Louvre is the chalcographie or engraving department. There you can explore the extraordinary work of artists and engravers going back to the seventeenth century. I can spend hours pouring over the archives, especially the detailed architectural views of Paris. They sell prints of many of the antique engravings, and I find that they make a wonderful basis for hand-colored artwork that is highly decorative. I have a French artist do the meticulous coloring. At the center of this image of Paris in the eighteenth Century are the Louvre and Tuilleries, back when Louis XV owned the place.

Walking through the many galleries in Saint Paul de Vence I spotted the work of Alain Gazier. The canvas was massive and I immediately saw it in a room designed around the painting: the style would be contemporary, clean and light, with the canvas dominating a large wall. The work is almost surrealistic in it’s hyperrealism, mysterious and seductive. I just need the right client and the right wall.

On the left of the photo is a raised panel painted and glazed with a blue strie next to an antique sconce with gold detail. The window treatment is a silk fabric in solid blue and embroidered stripes. Put these elements together and they add up to formal French style that is sophisticated, elegant and a joy to design.