La Vielle Bicyclette de la Dame
by Viktor Shvaiko
Original serigraph, October 1998
Image size: 28" x 55"

Paris ... The beauty, harmony, and soul of this city cannot but impress you!

Tourists are attracted by the main streets. I prefer to walk around the places which were boisterous in the past but now are quiet. As I wander through them, it is easy to imagine how these deserted streets were once full of life.

Their faded doors and signs still appeal to me. The people who built these doors and painted these signs are no longer here, but the buildings they left behind have a life of their own now.

When I am painting such a place, I want to animate these beautiful streets, to paint them the way that walking there makes me feel. It is the details that matter for me, that contribute to this "animation." Someone road a bicycle and put it near the wall, someone arranged the flower pots in the street or fixed the crooked sign in the store. Who lighted the candles in the restaurant? Who left a single glass of wine at the table outside? I love these little details, and I try to fill the canvas with them for you to enjoy.

It is a pleasure to me as a painter to bring life to these old but magnificent streets of Paris.