Every picture tells a story...Part I

"One layer takes one hour. There are typically twenty layers per canvas, so that's twenty to twenty-five hours. The bigger oils take longer - I work on them over six months."

Laleña L. Vann was answering my question "How long does it take to do one canvas?" And the layers she was referring to is her writing of a story, in French. One canvas, one story. Except that it is a secret story, because the overpainting makes the writing finally illegible. The word for spelling in French is "orthographe." So might we call her painting "orthographics"?

I asked Laleña if she feels gratitude toward France. "Absolutely! I came to France for the first time at age 21 after graduating from university. I toured Europe after that but always wanted to come back to France. Life got in the way, I got married, got divorced, and at age 58 I found myself realizing I could go and that it was now or never. Things really opened up for me then. I had always wanted to be here..."

Although she loves Paris, Laleña settled in Collioure where it is warmer and smaller and more intimate. (She is originally from Santa Cruz, CA.) And after her show here chez Grace, she has been invited by the exhibition space in Collioure called L'Ancien Mairie to show her paintings July 9 - August 9, 2009.

The painting pictured above is titled "Le Tibet [Tibet]" is acrylic on canvas, measures 50 x 50 cm, and was painted in 2007. (Price on request.)

Laleña's show here runs from May 16-30. See more of her work on her website www.llvann.com


(to be continued)

Adriana Feraru

I started showing artists in my home on July 1, 2005. The first artist was Adriana Feraru, who is Romanian, but who has lived in Paris for over ten years.

In actual fact, the first artist to show with me was Ron Bowen, American, in Paris for over thirty years, and he came at my request, with his canvases, as a favor to me because I was hosting a cocktail for the Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO). His enormous, hyper-realist canvasses on my walls changed everything, and I mentioned to a couple people that night that I would like to have a art show like this every month.

Two people I said this to responded, "Oh. I know an artist."

And thus was born chez Grace.

Adriana's canvases were very different from Ron's. As his are precise, controlled, subtle and let's say well-mannered, hers are exuberant, in-your-face, messy and violent. I chose her drawings for that first show because my nervous system wasn't ready live with all that emotion for one month! Her drawings, on the other hand, all nudes, are the quintessence of zen.

She lives three metro stops away from me in a mostly African part of the 18th in an apartment that she has created out of rubble. It is a fairy-land: feminine, beautiful, Oriental, gracious and comfortable. Here she entertains with her home cooking and her diva patter. Did I mention that she is also one of the most stylish women I know? Her art is also her way of dressing, and she uses jewelry, hats and a collection of eyeglasses as others use paints and brushes.

The painting pictured above is titled "Invisible Writing."

Both have websites: Ron's is www.ronaldbowenart.com and Adriana's is www.adrianaferaru.com