Oil on cardboard – 9,5 x 12 inch – Unique work

This vision of the roofs of Paris takes me directly back to my youth. I’m in London and I’m watching a film that has scarred me for life: Mary Poppins.

A quick synopsis: we are in the early 1900s, in London, as well, in a middle-class family, the Banks family. Mr Banks is a banker and Mrs Banks is an active suffragette. They have two children Jane and Michael. They are looking for a new nurse. It’s Mary Poppins who responds to the ad. This is how this crazy adventure in a wonderful universe begins. Among the important characters, there is also Bert, the chimney sweep.

Today I still widely refer to this film that I loved. Mary Poppins’ famous bag when she unpacks her things in front of the completely amazed children. I admit to having a particular yellow bag, which could be one of hers! Besides, I named it my Mary Poppins bag.

And her magic word… shall we talk about it? The famous “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” that I learned back then and never forgot. And before writing this story, I was singing it my heart out! I have used it often… but it never worked, to be honest.

And Bert, the chimney sweep with his face black with soot, who moves from roof to roof and shows Mary the city from a completely different perspective. I would have followed them willingly. And today, I would invite them to take a look at Paris by night, Paris by day, Paris under the sun, Paris in the rain on the roofs of Paris, with its slippery or burning slates. Perfect views for telling stories while spying on people in their homes through their windows.

And last but not least, Bert’s colorful chalk drawings on the gray London sidewalk. They are all magical landscapes that Mary Poppins brings to life by jumping on them with both feet. And then the drawing becomes reality. Mary Poppins, Bert and the children then move into a completely different dimension from the chimney sweep’s imagination. This point of the movie left its mark on me and undoubtedly guided me towards the path of painting. I would sometimes like to physically enter some of my paintings. Failing that, my mind and soul visit them regularly. That’s what my stories are for.