A passageway to Paris: the urban landscapes of Thomas Pradzynski transport viewers to the historic streets of the City of light and beyond - Artist profile: Pradzynski - Brief Article

When you look at a Thomas Pradzynski painting--images of passageways and doorways and pieces of Paris so familiar yet so unique at the same time--you may find yourself imagining what's around the corner from the patisserie, what's beyond the gilded gates he's so meticulously re-created or what a person may have been thinking as he or she walked down the shadowy street. You may find yourself imagining these things because Pradzynski, a painter who was born in Poland in 1951 but has made Paris his home for the last 25 years, strives to create' stories with his paintings, stories that take people to a part of the city that lived long ago, or a part that only lives in his mind's eye.

"I do urban landscapes, but I try to make them life still-lifes," he said. "I use a lot of different elements and put them together--like old lettering that existed in Paris at the beginning of the century. And usually, I add some detail that does not exist [in real life]. My paintings are more like stories than paintings."

Pradzynski began painting these pictures when he was just a little boy, when he'd stand in his aunt Jolanta's studio in Krakow, Poland, before World War II, and watch her paint still-lifes, asking her questions and drinking up knowledge she'd gained from a lifetime of living in the arts. "She knew all the famous Polish artists from the '20s and '30s," he said. But it wasn't until his family moved to Paris when he was nine years old that his love of painting fully bloomed. "We were living in the Montmartre area, which has a strong tradition in the arts," he said. "And I would walk through the neighborhood and see the painters and artists. It was interesting to see different styles, different people."

He returned to Poland four years later to eventually study economics, sociology and architecture at the Ecole Politecnique in Warsaw. But it was only when he was painting that he truly knew what he wanted to do. "I sold some art in Warsaw. Not important things--souvenirs, tourist art, drawings and watercolors. Kind of realistic looks at the city," he said. "But I realized that this was a nice style of living."

When he met and married his wife, Joanna, a fashion designer and translator, he returned to Paris and immediately began to paint, discovering his perspective of the city had deepened greatly over time. "I started to make deeper studies of Paris," he said. "I like architecture. I like old stones. I like the older patina of old cities, and I tried to paint the details: stores, walls, windows, doors with courtyards. I tried to find something interesting, like light. Something unusual about the composition."

He worked on his own for years, showing his work in Paris galleries and selling pieces on the street. And then, one day, everything changed.

Nearly two decades after he first roamed the winding passageways of Montmartre--where standing behind easels, one artist filled in the leaves on a tree and another perfected the pigment on a little girl's face--Pradzynski finally set up his own easel in Montmartre. There he began painting pictures of Paris he'd seen during long walks through the city he loved. One day, somebody noticed his paintings, and his life hasn't been the same since.

It was the mid '80s, and Oliver Caldwell, co-owner of the San Francisco publisher Palatino Editions, noticed his work. "We started to talk, and he bought some paintings from me," Pradzynski said. "And he started to work with me and show my work. A lot of things in life happen by accident if you are lucky. I was lucky."

Today, Pradzynski's work is shown in galleries all over the world, and his paintings depict not only Paris but other cities as well, including Venice, Rome, Naples and New York. "I try to paint different places. But I try to paint them in the same way, my way," he said. And it's clear that thousands of people appreciate Pradzynski's way of painting.

While the soft-spoken artist said he feels grateful for everyone who buys his paintings, including celebrities such as Denzel Washington and Larry King, he finds it more difficult to pinpoint the exact reason they like his work. "Sometimes, they try to explain, saying, `I like the light. I like the color. I like the composition,'" he said. "But I think the relationship is much more emotional that that. They like it, but they really don't know why they like it." He paused. "If they like it, the reason isn't very important. If you have an emotional relationship, that is enough."

But ask him why he feels he has the ability to paint, and his answer is less clear. "Oh, I don't know," he said with a laugh. "Probably because I want to do it. You must work for years. It takes time. But if you are lucky, you find your way."

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