docks of rouen
38×46, oil on canvas
A bit conventional, but the first of the works I did about Rouen. I am not from Rouen, and did not intend to settle there. I have lived in different places, moved a lot, and although I am actually living here, I can't say for how long. Anyway, Rouen is an interesting city, when you leave the old town, which is kind of classical. Actually, the city is divided by the Seine river and built on both sides. The Seine here is definitely not the Seine in Paris : it is large, three hundred meters at least, and the stream is strong. The sea is not far away and there is an active industrial harbour where cargo boats come to load and unload. Those cargo boats are the small ones, the big ones cannot come so far on the river. But understand : small cargo boats might be up to two hundred meters long, and high as as a twelve stories building. They are wandering islands. But since the Seine is large and the surroundings openly flat with a clear view on a great distance - they don't look big. They seem to be child toys navigating a model of a river. It takes an effort to realize that if this is a child toy, then you are a dust mite in the carpet.
