Paint. In the good old traditional way. Full of air, charm, feeling. Elisabeth Baysset

For Dennis Hopper. Cool is gone away, we'll miss you.

Edith Sitwell and Marilyn Monroe. via Little Auguri

It's probably going to rain and the roses will be spoiled. We could dance or cry or leave that to the sky.

Cover story: Lapo Elkann's Paris pied a terre photographed for AD Russia June 2010. Lapo Elkann, the name alone is a calling card. It rolls in the mouth like something exotic, slightly extravagant, intriguing. Grand son and heir of the famous avvocato Giovanni Agnelli, born in New York, brought up in Brazil, London and France, in turn, worker , under a nickname of course, in one of his grand father’s factory, personal assistant to Henry Kissinger, before joining Maserati and finally the family heirdom Fiat, and last but not least, elected the most elegant man in the world by Vanity Fair. The good fairies have been busy. Now how should the nest of a bird which such a rare pedigree look like ? Discouragingly simple. Lapo didn’t buy the place nor went through the troublesome hassle of having anything built. He just found it there already built, a stone throw away from the Seine, signed the lease and walked across the street to his friend’s Gallery Yves Gastou and furnished it. Something between a garçonniere and a playground, everything at close hand without a hint of affectation or show off but a cunning eye on proportions and quality. The entrance leads to a small kitchen opening on a large sitting room with Italian flag-like high curtains and an oversized original DS 500 sofa from De Sede and a rare coffee table by Jean Claude Fahri. The large hanging 1970’s vintage lamps where already there. Up a small staircase, the bedroom is adjacent to the bathroom- cloakroom. The bed is itself a monument of design in polished steel by Pierre Cardin surrounded on both sides by a whimsical pair of Mickey Mouse chests in lacquered wood designed by Walt Disney… And toys everywhere. According to Lapo, design flows in his blood as an inherent part of his Italian roots. Why should he pretend in anything ? He has it all. Fortunato indeed.

To celebrate a new tapestry by Serge Poliakoff, along with a group of artists, I'll be showing a few little sculptures. You are all invited to the opening.

THE MAGNIFICIENT 7 / AWARDS

I am immensely honored by My Dog Eared Pages who has selected me for her 7 magnificent awards. As a recipient I am to select 7 favorites, an impossible task, as I my daily musings go far beyond such a small and necessarily unfair selection. To choose is to give up. I simply can't. I love you all. Let me quote BWS from It's about time --Each of these blogs is about human vision & creativity & endeavors & relationships. --Each is generous & helpful. --Each teaches us to see beauty & life from another perspective. --Each sees the emotional & historical significance in beauty. --Each is full of passionate curiosity. --Each finds enchantment in the everyday. --Each can recognize beauty in eccentricity & imperfection. --Each understands the charm of change & surprise.

Last night, benefit art auction at LACE to raise funds for artists. David John (YHBHS) guest curator, asked me to contribute by sending a print. SOLD ! Now can we call it a success. Thank you John, you're a great guy, I was delighted to do this with you.

The June issue of The World of Interiors is out today with a story on Christian Lacroix and Garouste et Bonetti which I photographed with Marie France Boyer to announce the sale at Sotheby's of the couture house furniture. There where two options for this cover. The chair wrapped in white paper with a double meaning : moving out for the auction, the wedding dress that traditionally ends the show. The text written by Patrick Mauries is absolutely brilliant.

Arthur Rubinstein 1887 - 1982. "Music is an art of dignity, of greatness, of love, of tenderness..." A masterclass where the maestro at the age of 90 admits learning from a young student. A noble man.

The Louis Vuitton Factory in Asnieres... where and how a LV bag is actually made when it is not a copy.

My nephew Theophane (brilliantly) photographed by his sister Vassilissa. A new Terestchenko photographer on the move!

Just back from the riviera shooting a story for the french AD summer issue. Can't disclose anything until published but meanwhile here is the owner's 1936 Bugatti.