Wednesday, February 28, 2007

kelly girl


kelly girl
Originally uploaded by gverster_artwork.

relishing the first warm rays of the morning sun...

she waits for a delivery?...her little dog to finish his business?...or just taking some fresh air before the day begins...

[springtime in paris...very soon...]

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

galerie véro-dodat


galerie véro-dodat
Originally uploaded by gverster_artwork.

galerie véro-dodat, also known as passage véro-dodat, is one of several atmospheric 19th century arcades located on the right bank...housing antique and specialty shops, book stores, cafés, tearooms...

this one has been renewed since the poem below was written, and it has lost some of its age encrusted charm, even though it still retains the finest decoration of them all...

[more photos of the interior in the photo set at

www.flickr.com/photos/zy-xin/]

le gardien

in the passage véro-dodat - that darkish corridor of commerce - murky gray light struggled in through the grimy skylights.
the paint on the walls flaked onto the worn black and white tiled floor, and the shutters above were speckled with pigeon droppings.
the lovely ceiling frescoes, painted by a monsieur chassériau, had acquired a dull patina of age and neglect.
yet le gardien du temps perdu was still hiding in there somewhere...
perhaps amongst the haphazard window displays of nonchalent objets d'art.
a shy marble nude turned away from a regretful red-caped cardinal.
the café de l'epoque sitting empty, a little wistful for that other era when it was all fresh and new,
and monsieur le gardien could stroll proudly down this sparkling passage
in search of that particular lady with the pink feathers in her hat...
or the other one with the soft green eyes and long russet hair...

'le gardien' by g. verster



Wednesday, February 21, 2007

galerie de lille


galerie de lille
Originally uploaded by gverster_artwork.

galerie de lille [2007] oil and acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50 cm

in the carré rive gauche, les antiquaires await clients in their little shops filled with objets once much loved by others...

[monsieur at galerie de lille was most welcoming, and la cliente americaine fell in love with a celadon green armoire with the glass-paned doors immédiatement - and of course, a little with monsieur himself as well...]

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

le royal


le royal
Originally uploaded by gverster_artwork.

pour madame la présidente...?

Saturday, February 17, 2007

le temps des cerises


le temps des cerises
Originally uploaded by gverster_artwork.

le temps des cerises [2007] oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cm

an old friend lives a block away from this restaurant on the rue du petit musc...

[he is always pining for his own idealized version of 'le temps des cerises' - the good old days - even though one should live each day like a freshly plucked cherry, to be savored fully, one after another...]

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

les roses et les coquilles...


les roses et les coquilles...
Originally uploaded by gverster_artwork.

Les roses de Saadi*

j'ai voulu ce matin te rapporter des roses;
mais j'en avais tant pris dans mes ceintures closes
que les noeuds trop serrés n'ont pu les contenir.
les noeuds ont éclaté. les roses envolées
dans le vent, à la mer s'en sont toutes allées.
elles ont suivi l'eau pour ne plus revenir.
la vague en a paru rouge et comme enflammée.
ce soir, ma robe encore en est tout embaumée...
respires-en sur moi l'ordorant souvenir.

Marceline Desbordes-Valmore [1786-1859]

[*Saadi was a 13th century Persian poet]

Saturday, February 10, 2007

chou chen


chou chen
Originally uploaded by gverster_artwork.

chou chen [2007] oil on linen, 40 x 50 cm {SOLD}

"there they sit, the scented three... nameless consorts on day leave from the bedroom tedium of mild-mannered iniquity.
under the chinese lanterns in the arid jasmine haze, they compare pungent notes over fickle bowls of rice and luridly stained cups."*

*verse from "au restaurant chinois" by g.verster, 2004

[chou chen was perhaps the oldest chinese restaurant in paris, located across from the musée de cluny...sadly, it no longer exists; its location now usurped by another trendy café]

au restaurant chinois

there they sit, the scented three...
nameless consorts on day leave from the bedroom tedium of mild-mannered iniquity.
under the chinese lanterns in the arid jasmine haze, they compare pungent notes over fickle bowls of rice and luridly stained cups.
the one with the egyptian eyes scurries sharp painted nails across bangs of lacquered ebony, while the sliver of a fading blonde smokes on in silken agony. the third, committed in the corner, quivers in scant foreign distress - her innocuous dress creeping slowly up soft placid thighs.
all afternoon long they sit, picking idly at their words, until the cold unfinished dishes are returned to the kitchen, and the sullen young waiter has had his puerile eyeful while ferrying more glasses and ashtrays to and fro.
the sedentary patronne now shoots a rueful glance at the clock above - a conspicuous signal for the lax odalisque trio to leave and find their respective clients du jour in the half-hearted spell of a paris night...

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

dans les nues...[III]


dans les nues...[III]
Originally uploaded by gverster_artwork.

stone crucifixes pierce the turbulent skies of brittany...

Monday, February 5, 2007

5 millions


5 millions
Originally uploaded by gverster_artwork.

we wound our way through a deep france of ancient volcanoes and prehistoric rock dwellings without sighting a single soul that day...

Thursday, February 1, 2007

izarra


izarra
Originally uploaded by gverster_artwork.

IZARRA...sweet liqueur of bayonne...basque for 'the star'...

guiding our way to the pays-basque and to an old friend no longer of this world...