Why The French (and I) Love Richard Orlinski!

 

Do you have a word for 2024?

 

About three months before every new year, for some reason, a word comes to me that tends to encapsulate what my next year will be about.

 

And the word that came to me for 2024 was Strength.

 

I never know how this will play out in my life but my first hint was that I turned 70 last year and realized that I have to step up my exercise routine to include more strength training. My bone density results last week confirmed that building strength is now a priority.

 

However, I have also found that my sense of awareness to all things strong has been heightened: strong people, strong ideas, strong actions, and in this case today, strong art.

 

What I’ve taken this last part to mean is Modern Art, preferably pop art, that is bold, colourful and confronting. Not usually something that interests me.

 

 

Yet, when I was last in France, I was snapping photos of Richard Orlinski’s spectacularly large figures of the wild animal kingdom which are literally all over France and hard to miss.

 

Since my “strength” insight, I have been reviewing those pictures and admiring what drew me to them in the first place.

 

As you may know, Orlinski has been France’s best-selling contemporary artist since 2015, despite the fact that the Modern Art world turns up their nose at what they call his Disney sculptures but none would argue that his popularity among the public has made him a major figure in Modern Art of this new century.

 

 

He’s the creator of the “Born Wild” concept developing sculptures, most often of the strongest of the animal kingdom; symbols of freedom, power, and passion.  Orlinski’s passion grew from a fascination for the king of the beasts since he was a very small child he says.

(Note: All of his sculptures have open mouths, hence the irony of the picture of Orlinski above!)

 

 

His animal sculpture are fierce,  painted in primary colours and yet, you might feel like cozying up to one of them and running your hands along the smooth surface. (It is quite the process to create these figures, each often taking 6 months to a year to complete.)

(The polar bear in my feature shot didn’t take MY bait. He or she? was very gentle.)

 

 

 

 

 

While you can also see Orlinksi’s work in some 90 galeries in France, it is those in the open-air locations that have became his  trademark driven by the desire to democratize art and make it accessible to as many people as possible by bringing the museum to you so to speak.

 

A strong concept n’est-ce-pas?

 

 

 

Book of the Month

Guess which Memoir

this Paris Fan Club Member

picked from my Paris Book Club Page?

 

With a Level Two or Three Membership to the Paris Fan Club, you get to choose a Memoir about Paris or France which I send to you at no extra charge.

Kim Cox from Novato, California, picked this favourite of mine, A Paris All Your Own which is a compilation from best-selling writers about the City of Light.

Kim says when she started reading it almost as soon as it arrived at her door, she couldn’t put it down.

 

A Paris All Your Own

 

 

This book underlined for me the undeniable pull that Paris has on women. As I often say, Paris is not just a place to visit, it’s a feeling, a state of mind,  and for many women, it’s a place where they often find themselves, or reconnect with themselves.

This is a collection of personal essays about Paris by some of the biggest names in women’s fiction. You will recognize many of them. New York Times–bestselling author Paula McLain (The Paris Wife) for instance. You will be inspired by their candor and find yourself comparing notes about your experience with Paris! I certainly did and gobbled up every word.

Paris Fan Club

Community Billboard

 

Today I am starting a new feature where I post news from subscribers like you about upcoming events, requests or interesting travel tidbits related to Paris and France.  See below.

If you have something that you would like other members to know about or to ask them, please email me at diana@womanofacertainageinparis.com and I will include it in an upcoming blog.

 

 

 

Paris Writing Retreat

Hosted by

Jane Tabachnick

When?

THIS April 15th to 20th

 

 

Writing a book? Want to write a book? You might want to take advantage of this Writing Retreat, yes in Paris in the springtime.

Paris Fan Club member Jane Tabachnick is hosting it!

Jane is a best-selling author, Book Coach and like me, a partime Parisian! She has created this five-day workshop for women that,  in addition to helping you shape and plan that new idea for a book, also offers deluxe accomodation, sightseeing, shopping, and gourmet dining.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE!

 

Looking for a Recommendation

Of a Small City or Town

outside Paris

To Plan A Longer Stay

Paris Fan Club Member, Isabel Alexander, and cheerleader for all women living vibrantly, is looking for suggestions for a one-to-two month stay in France, this September, to celebrate her EPIC 70th birthday!

Isabel wants to live where she can immerse in an authentic experience, engage with the locals, and finally make her high school French teacher proud!

She’d prefer a location that is accessible to Paris, so invited friends and family can visit “un petit peu”.

If you have any ideas for her, share them in the comments below, or email her at isabel@theencorecatalyst.com

 

Whose Luggage Tag is This?

 

Well. I designed it as one of 8 items in my exclusive Paris Travel Kit! 

Paris Fan Club Member Laya Alibabaie got it as a Bonus gift with her membership package and took this picture as she was leaving for the airport this month to go to Mexico.  So not Paris this time, but she says it makes her luggage stand out, and she will use it wherever she travels.

NOTE: With even a Level One $50 USD annual membership, in addition to the Workshops, Resources, and Giveaways, I will send you this Paris-themed Luggage TAG and Pen to spruce up your suitcase.

CLICK HERE to find out more about the Paris Fan Club! 

 

Your Comments Are So Welcome!

Do you know Richard Orlinski? Are you fan? OR who is an artist you love to visit when you are in France? Van Gogh, Picasso, the Impressionists?

Or you can also add a reply to one of ladies featured on the Community Billboard.

Please comment just below here where it says “Leave a Comment” or “Read the Comments.”

You know how much we all love to hear from you!

 

A la prochaine, mes amis!

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