I am coming up on my one year anniversary and I’ve had time to reflect on my life and where I am on my career and my artistic journey.

I get asked all of the time, why did I move to Paris. I get asked by Parisians, by my American friends and people I meet from all over the world – why on Earth did I move to Paris?

The answer for me is simple:

IT’S PARIS!

“Love at First Sight”

When I first arrived in France, it was in May of 2023 for a residency at Chateau Orquevaux located in the Champagne region of France.

I stayed there for one month and then took an artistic sabbatical in Paris and once I came, I didn’t want to leave.

“FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE CITY”

There is a magic about Paris that can’t be explained unless you have visited the city but even more if you live here. I have plenty of baguette photos and lots and lots of museum photos but for the sake of the post and for time, I will keep my writing succinct.

The overall atmosphere is one of creativity and romance in the sense that all of your senses are enthralled when you come into the city.

Yes, the United States has its gems and is amazing but there is something that overtakes you when you arrive here: It can’t compare to the “magic” that Paris possesses.

“Saying Goodbye”

It’s always hard to let go of something; whether it be people, places or things whenever you start a new beginning it’s always a risk but it’s also the pivotal point that can change your life and it’s something that I urge people to do if they have that “spark” in them to do it.

I am absolutely a fan of stability and planning the future but you can not expand if you don’t allow yourself the room to grow and grow beyond what you know.

I outgrew not only Pennsylvania but the entire United States as I did everything that I felt I could do there. I did the art fairs, I did the juried shows, I painted and was hired for Fortune 500 companies and had my art all over the United States so the next logical step for me was to go where my heart led me – and to where the market inspired me more.

Moving to another country as an expat meant that I had to learn a new language, new culture and new everything thus forcing me to grow into an entirely different version of myself and by doing so, I encountered parts of myself that I had no idea existed.

“It’s Not Goodbye, It’s See You Later”

I will always be an American – the American Artist in Paris but I will also be Natalie, the traveler and explorer and Natalie the artist. That means that I will continue to explore and search Paris, Milan, Switzerland and everywhere that my heart and mind decide to take me.

There is NO shortage of inspiration in the world and when you have the Spirit that is guiding you, you never end up in the wrong place, only different ones.

I’ll return to the US once in a while but it is no longer my home – rather, France is.

There is a reason why artists seek out France when they are at a certain point in their career, and it really is simple: France is beautiful and kind.

My recommendation to all artists whether starting out or in their advanced careers is to continue to push themselves in ways they didn’t think possible. You’ll never know yourself fully if you stay in the same place for your entire life. It’s always the places that seemed impossible where you do the most growth.

You will never know how much you can grow if you never expand your reach.

So grow little flower, grow.

Beyond mindsets, beyond cultural conditioning because we are all growing towards something, and that something is a vaster experience of who we truly are.