An Artist's Pilgrimage in Paris

I came to touch the time-worn railings and floor, to smell the turpentine, to flick the brushes  and stare at the jars of pigments -- to walk and shop in the same art supply store as Cezanne and Picasso. This is Sennelier, housed on the Left Bank of the River Seine in Paris, directly across from the Louvre museum. 

My recent trip to France provided lots of visual inspiration - the flowers at Giverny, the countryside of Normandy, the seaside towns of Deauville, Trouville, Honfleur and Entretat. Everywhere I went, the beloved Impressionist artists had been before.

But visiting Sennelier, a family-owned business since 1887 - that was retail heaven!