Lotta Olsson

I have been in this business for 25 years . I am lucky enough to know many of my peers and fellow painters, in different countries. Many of them have become friends , very dear friends.
Two of them are special for two reasons:
- they were the first ones to invite me to come teach in their country and consequently upgrade me to the status of "international" teacher ( woww!).
-they live in Sweden and apart from the mountains where I now live , the other place my wife and  I cherish in Europe is their homeland.

They are the "talented swedes", Mats Carlsson and Lotta Olsson.
I have seen them grow as painters and artists ( we have met each year for 13 years ) , I have always loved their style . They are extremely nice people , their work is full of sensitiveness , their skills remarkable and they are sincerely humble. I never get tired of hanging around with them .
Here are examples of Lotta's work ...

Paris in black and white.

One of my very best clients owns two hotels in the Quartier Latin, the area I prefer in Paris. I have been working for him for years and already wrote two posts about some paintings I did for him ( "Le Cavalier souriant" and the last picture of "Room with a view").

His wife also owns a hotel . I had done a mural there a few years ago. It was a nice traditionnal parisian hotel, called Riviera, right by the Arc de Triomphe, one of the hearts of Paris.
These clients have become aware that their best investment is in the image they create for their hotel ; it might seem quite obvious but many hotel owners of Paris still have to understand this!
 Hotel Riviera will be renovated , enhanced ,  nice pictures will be taken for the website and even though it is probably two small to become a 'three stars' it will be upgraded and become one of the most charming of the area.
It is also about to be renamed "Riviera-Elysee" and the style will dramatically change.
In the beginning , the theme I had to work on was "XIXth century Paris" but it gradually evolved and the owners asked me to work in a more modern way , to introduce referemces to Paris monuments, to fashion and particularly to Coco Chanel.

Here is what I did.
This is the mural that will be installed in the lobby:

Each of the six floors will have a name like" Louvre", "Eiffel" ...etc. and I have  done a series of drawings that will show the monument whose name is picked up for the storey , combined with some "fashion" sketches and and old illustration that the owner asked me to include in each of these drawings.

Here are a three of these drawings:

The stairwell will show some more "fashion sketches" inspired by Coco Chanel.

I painted them on canvases , theset  will be cut out around the edges and glue up on the walls. Here they are, on the wall of my studio :

And finally, I am also working on a new logo for the hotel ...here is my last version :

Painting for "Au Soli"

Nearby our new home, in Megeve, one of the most  famous ski resorts of the Alps there is a nice shop, in the center of the village. It is called " Au Soli" (" in the sun" ...reminds me of " At Solsidan" by Carl Larsson).
The owner, one of the most passionate persons I know is a master cabinet-maker and a pure lover of the crafts of our mountains. He is a sort of scholar, incredibly knowleadgeable when it comes to the Alps, their traditions, crafts, history. His shop is a marvellous place that reflects his curiosity, his taste and the energy he puts in his work.
He found me at Maison et Objet a few years ago and ordered me a beautiful folding screen with paintings inspired of A.Calame.

Last year I did several paintings for him.

First a relatively large panel inspired by two different posters of the 1920's and 40's.

Then he talked to me about a very special piece of furniture that he had managed to find in some remote area and copied in his workshop.

He suggested that I create an ornament for the inside of the body and some "golden age" mountain scenes with figures for the inside of the doors.

I must say that I  would not have had this idea, but  I trusted him...and I think it was the right thing to do... the mix is in fact very unsual but it works perfectly.

He also asked me if he could borrow one of the canvases he had seen in my studio when he visited me as I was working on this commission.

It has been installed in the shop he owns down in the valley.

This painting was some sort of exercise I did for the exhibition of Salon in Versailles two years ago.

The mountain in the background is the Mont Blanc, pretty much as  we can see it from home.

The two figures are "borrowed" to Van Honthorst, a dutch painter of the XVIIth century. 

In May, I also painted this little chest of drawers for him. 

I covered the whole thing with paper and painted an "academic" alpine landscape inspired by paintings of  A. Calame, one of the most talented romantic mountain painters ever.

And finally I also painted four more small panels in the same style as the first one in this post.

They are all inspired by 1950s italian and swiss advertizing posters for ski resorts.

I have sometimes copied them quite literally and some other times I have made changes , in the backgrounds particularly.

Here are three of them in the shop " Au Soli" in Megeve.

It is a pleasure, and a pride, to be able to coopoerate with inspiring people like this man.

A New Year

Dear "Demeures Peintes" members, clients and friends, I am happy to wish you a prosperous and beautiful year. 

I am also very pleased to announce you that our new studio is now located in a charming village of  Haute-Savoie, Domancy, between Geneva and Chamonix.

I took some pictures in the studio just after we had moved ( in August) 

and here is another one I took tonight.

Tribute to " En passant par la demeure"

The book " En passant par la demeure", written by the designer Jean-Loup Daraux has, because of the talent and creativity of its author been very influential in the french taste for decoration in these past ten years.
The title of my own book "Demeures peintes" respectfully refers to it by the  use of this same word, "demeure" which means mansion or "family house" but also suggests  refinement , peacefulness and time enduring values.
My client is a fan of Daraux's book , and I now understand that when she and her designer stopped at my booth  on Maison et Objet in Paris they immediately knew that I would be able to paint in the same style or spirit .

On our first meeting in her home, a charming early XVIIIth century castle of the east of the country...

The huge cedar in the garden has been planted by the first owners, around 1730!!!

 ...she asked me to use one of the paintings of "En passant par la demeure" as a model. I was glad to follow such a lovely example. Furthermore, some of the paintings in this book have been done by my friend Jean Carrau, now a designer himself , based in New Rochelle and for whom I often paint murals and ornaments.

The design chosen looks relatively simple but is in fact extremely delicate and perfectly appropriate for the master bedroom. I made a sketch for the color scheme and it happened to be almost in the same harmony as one of the watercolors the owners had brought in this place. This old plate has been our guideline for  color mixes.

The old cupboard will be moved to some other room of the castle and a new one has been designed and basecoated ready for a little bit of decoration...I will be back on the job site for this just before Xmas.

  In the medallions we decided to illustrate music, hunting and vineyards/wine, all themes that are  of importance in my client's life.