My Paris Artist Residency is officially coming to a close.
And yet, somehow, I don’t feel quite ready to say goodbye.
I’ve been home for a week now, looking through photographs, unpacking the paintings I made, and reflecting on everything that happened during those two weeks in Paris.
This was my fifth visit to Paris since my first trip in 2011.
And every time I return, the experience seems to become richer.
Deeper.
More personal.
Paris has a way of putting everything into perspective for me and reminding me what really matters.
What Paris Reminded Me
I’ve been thinking a lot about why I’ve always been so drawn to Paris.
Long before I understood the city itself, something in me seemed to know that it mattered.
Jung wrote about the psyche having its own sense of direction—of being drawn toward experiences and places that hold meaning for us.
I think Paris has been one of those places for me.
Because Paris isn’t simply the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Seine, Haussmann architecture, or beautiful old train stations.
Those things are certainly heavenly.
But what I love most about Paris is what all of those things represent.
Beauty.
Attention.
Light.
Pleasure.
Craftsmanship.
Savoring.
A willingness to make everyday life beautiful.
In Paris, you can turn a corner and discover that something completely ordinary has become extraordinary simply because the light fell across it in just the right way.
A worn bicycle tucked behind some foliage.
Flowers arranged at a market stall.
A café table in the afternoon sun.
Ripples of light moving across the Seine.
A beautiful window display that you don’t even need to buy anything from.
Paris reminded me that beauty isn’t frivolous.
Beauty can be the important thing.
And I think that’s especially important for artists.
Our creative energy doesn’t come only from making art.
It comes from living.
From noticing.
From exploring.
From allowing ourselves to experience delight.
From filling the creative well.
For me, Paris embodies so much of that energy.
Painting Paris
During my residency, I spent my days walking, looking, photographing, and painting.
I wasn’t trying to document every famous landmark.
Instead, I wanted to capture the feeling of being there.
The movement of the city.
The dappled light.
The reflections.
The atmosphere.
The little moments that might otherwise be overlooked.
I wanted to paint Paris the way it felt to me—not simply the way it looked.
Here are some of the paintings I created during my two weeks there:
Light Along Avenue de l’Opéra
Coffee Cart and Booksellers, Quai Voltaire
Notre Dame, Into the Light
Eiffel Tower, Gathering Light
Sunlight in the Luxembourg Gardens
Golden Morning, Tuileries
Blue Hour at the Sorbonne
The Fountain at Dusk, Luxembourg
These paintings are the physical record of the residency.
But I think the real work of the residency was something less tangible.
It was learning, once again, what makes me feel alive.
Bringing Paris Home
Now that I’m back home, I’m thinking about how to keep Paris alive in my everyday life.
Not by trying to recreate Paris literally.
But by bringing home the way of seeing that Paris awakened in me.
Taking time to stroll through a garden.
Stopping to enjoy a beautiful store window even when I don’t intend to buy anything.
Buying flowers simply because they make my home feel better.
Visiting a farmers market.
Sitting down with a café crème instead of drinking my coffee while rushing to the next thing.
Making a beautiful meal without worrying about whether it turns out perfectly.
Setting the table beautifully—even if I’m eating alone.
Using the lovely perfume I’ve been “saving.”
Putting on my favorite scarf or necklace even when I’m not going anywhere.
Painting in a local park.
Visiting a museum.
Taking photographs simply because something caught my eye.
Buying something handmade from a local artist instead of automatically reaching for the mass-produced version.
These things don’t necessarily take much money.
But they do require attention and intention.
They require us to slow down enough to actually experience our lives.
And perhaps that’s the essence of what I mean when I talk about The Art Life.
Being an artist isn’t only about making art or becoming better at our craft.
It’s also about learning how to enjoy being alive.
Help Me Choose the Paris Note Cards
As the final chapter of the residency, I’m going to have the most-loved paintings from this collection professionally photographed and sent to the printer to create a special set of limited-edition Paris note cards.
And I’d love your help choosing them.
Which Paris painting is your favorite?
Leave a comment below and tell me which one speaks to you most.
I’ll be gathering your responses as I make the final selections for the note-card set.
And if you’d like to support the Paris Artist Residency before it officially closes, you can still purchase the limited-edition Paris note-card set here:
GET THE PARIS NOTE CARDS
Thank you to everyone who supported this residency.
Thank you for following along.
Thank you for looking at the paintings.
Thank you for joining me in Paris from wherever you were.
And thank you to everyone who purchased a note-card set and helped make it possible for me to spend these two weeks doing what I love most:
walking, looking, painting, and paying attention.
The residency may be over.
But I’m bringing Paris home with me.
Into my studio.
Into my paintings.
Into the way I see light.
And hopefully, into the way I live.
Because that, ultimately, is the gift I want to keep.
Not just memories of Paris.
But a little more Paris in my everyday life.
—Kelli
