Diary of a Young Artist in Paris, Part 1

We found this old sketch diary, pictured below, belonging to artist Russell Vapors, which covers his trip to Paris in July 1992, at the age of 24. All of the drawings and photographs are his and are from this trip, which was his first visit to Europe and a fantastic opportunity to see firsthand some of the art that he studied as an art history major in college. The original sketchbook and diary included hand-written notes taken each day during his trip; we will reproduce the text below and on following pages as the original handwriting is at times hard to read.

Introduction to the Artsology Series titled Diary of a Young Artist in Paris

7/13/92: The day has gone by smoothly so far - the subway ride thru the depths of Brooklyn was easy, the complimentary bus shuttle to JFK was right there, and I got checked in right away.

Even better news, I got a 3-seat aisle all to myself - no worries about cramped legs!

At one point during the flight, as I noticed it was dark outside, I opened my window shutter to see a full moon over the tip of the wing, with nothing but dark skies behind it and gray clouds below.

It's now 5 a.m. Paris time (11 pm EST) and I haven't slept much more than a half hour or so. I'm anxious to get to Paris!

7/14/92: I'm here! I took the airport shuttle to the RER train, then had to make about 3 more transfers on the Metro before arriving in my neighborhood. My 1st response is noticing how different the architecture is, and it's all very beautiful.

My hotel is "Hotel de la Paix" in the 7eme. I arrived, and a little old lady who didn't speak English had me sitting in a chair in the lobby for a 1/2 hour before some guy with a wild hairdo came in and sat behind the desk and started to help me. It turns out the room I reserved is still being occupied until noon - it's 9:00 a.m. now - so he showed me another room without a shower that's cheaper. It's quaint, and has a window opening up out onto a small courtyard, so I guess I'll take it for now.

drawing of an airplane wing from a sketch diary from a trip to Paris

photo of Hotel de la Paix circa 1992 and a drawing from a sketch diary from a trip to Paris

Exterior view of Hotel de la Paix, circa 1992, and a drawing of the hotel attendant

photo of my room at the Hotel de la Paix circa 1992

Room interior at Hotel de la Paix, circa 1992