I am Christophe — a former rower from the Rowing Club of Port-Marly (RCPM) and a naval model maker for many years.

Although it has been a long time since I last launched a boat onto the water, my passion for rowing has never left me. I still remember the regattas in Mantes, Mâcon and Vichy, the smell of the water, the cold of the pontoon, the first strokes, and that simple sense of pride every rower understands.

It is this nostalgia and enduring emotion that inspired me to create the rowing artworks presented here: handcrafted pieces, refined and faithful to the sport, conceived as fragments of memory.

My work as a model maker allowed me to recreate in 3D the boats I once rowed. Each artwork is handcrafted in my Saint-Malo workshop with the same care and attention that I devote to the high-end ship models I produce for shipyards and sailing sponsors.

More than a decorative object, each piece captures a part of our sport within a frame — a reminder of what rowing has taught us, given us, and left with us.

Every artwork is handcrafted in small series.

Because rowing is more than a sport — it is an emotion that never truly leaves us.

Atelier Christophe-R is an artisan online business administratively domiciled at Maritime Design SAS in Saint-Malo. Visits are by appointment only.

My aim is to convey emotion through my rowing artworks, with restraint and simplicity, allowing each rower’s memories to speak for themselves, free from unnecessary embellishment.

In my artworks, I represent only the elements that, to me, are essential to the rowing experience: a calm water surface evoking the texture of carbon fibre, the emblematic material of modern racing shells; the oar blades to which we are so closely connected; and the perfect puddle, clean and splash-free, symbolising efficiency and precision.

Everything else — our valued teammates, the harmony of movement, the pain of effort and the joy of success — belongs to our personal memories. These memories naturally complete what the artwork suggests, recreating the emotion of moments shared on the water.

My 3D rowing wall art pieces are also designed as personal gifts for a rower, a former rower, or anyone with a passion for rowing.

One evening, after an intense training session in preparation for the French Championships in Vichy, our coach switched off the engine of his safety launch and let our Eight glide across the calm waters of Lake Vouglans. The silence was absolute, broken only by the steady, powerful rhythm of eight perfectly synchronised oars.

I can still feel that complete connection with my eight crewmates — yes, the coxswain counts too — every movement blending into a fluid and precise choreography. The gentle ripple of water along the hull, the faint shimmer of light on the lake, the cool air brushing against my face… everything contributed to a profound sense of unity and absolute focus.

This moment, so simple and yet so intense, remains etched in my memory. More than forty years later, it still moves me and reminds me why rowing is more than a sport: it is an experience we carry within us for a lifetime.