Artnotes: Chance

 

Beauty and the Beast Red Door   Blair Pessemier  acrylic/canvas  16 x 12"  40 x 30 cm   350.00 A year comes and goes Punctuated At its departure By Holidays We always remember Assigning Better or worse characteristics To friends and family Obligated To see Eat food We barely like Yet couldn’t Imagine Life without Dishes     Laurie Fox Pessemier     Acrylic/paper    It’s been a picturesque week in Roccamalatina with sun rising 3 minutes later each day:  today, 7:44.   At such an angle, the sunlight makes everything it touches look jewel-like.  The hills are a deep orange against a pink sky.  Beautiful. Oak Leaves in a Blue Vase   Laurie Fox Pessememier   Acrylic/canvas  17 x 15"  43 x 38cm  390.00 The animals can be heard during our waking hours now.  Wolves  (the national animal of Italy) are howling in the woods nearby.  Berlino and I see wet footprints of the wild boar, and the roe deer are never far away.   I can even smell the pigs sometimes. On  the Way Laurie Fox Pessemier  acrylic/paper    Christmas lights abound – there’s a surprisingly lovely light display in Roccamalatina center.  I say surprising, because usually we only have street lamp decorations and an unlit tree.   I bought a set of “solar” lights for our assembled outdoor tree.

HOUSEKEEPING:  We make art to order, including portraits by Blair Pessemier.    Follow us on Instagram @lauriepessemier See all of our painting at https://paintfox.com Most of our work is available as reproductions, custom sized and frames Support our art with a donation at:  https://donate.stripe.com/4gMaEW1XwfT041t1BCcEw00   sign up for Artnotes, our weekly art missive, by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com or https://mailchi.mp/341f508cecf8/artnotes INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented.  No politics, no sales pitches, please. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM

Artnotes: Be Counted

 

Towards Nazareth, to be counted A few weeks ago, Blair and I received a note that we “adopted” an olive tree.  We were touched by the gift.   But the more I reflected, I started to think, why not “adopt” an artist?  Buy a man a fish, he eats today; buy him a fishing pole and he eats forever. So, I’ve been working out an “adopt an artist” program to help us continue to offer our art to the world.   It’s all laid out in this link https://artnotesparis.blogspot.com/p/adopt-artist.html        Basically, for a donation, you can adopt us so we can continue to paint.    If you donate a large amount ($250 or more) you will receive one of our paintings on canvas, our writings, an invitation to our studio/gallery, and a few other goodies throughout the year.  For a smaller donation (your choice), you will receive an individual thank-you work on paper, and our regular missives, Artnotes. We are in the fog here, with little more to do than paint.  I always think I should want to go someplace when the weather is poor, but getting into our car in the fog just makes me carsick.  We get fog here like none other I have seen.  The only way to stay on the road is to see the white line at the edge so one doesn’t fall in the ditch.   I wear my headlamp even in the daytime, when walking Berlino, so cars will notice us. My big project is the Christmas gallery.  We are creating the streets that Mary and Joseph might have passed on the way to Bethlehem. We are painting individual buildings on newspaper and sticking them to the wall, with a charcoal village in the distance.   I am building sheep out of wine boxes to stand in the middle of the road (the gallery floor).  This is one of those un-financially-rewarded projects we do, and people appreciate, but it’s never compensated.   Although I’m happy to send you a house if you’d like one.    Mary and Joseph were headed to Bethlehem to be counted in the Roman census.  Oddly enough, we have just received our census request for residing in Roccamalatina.  Blair filled it out online, which is a lot easier than having to be present to be counted, riding on a donkey.

Please consider adopting us (we make a great gift) or making a donation to keep Artnotes and the Pessemiers in paint.   Thank you! https://donate.stripe.com/4gMaEW1XwfT041t1BCcEw00 or send via Zelle or Paypal to lfpessemier@gmail.com HOUSEKEEPING:  We make art to order, including portraits by Blair Pessemier.    Follow us on Instagram @lauriepessemier See all of our paintings at https://paintfox.com Most of our work is available as reproductions, custom sized and framed. Write to me at lfpessemier@gmail.com   sign up for Artnotes, our weekly art missive, by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com or https://mailchi.mp/341f508cecf8/artnotes INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented.  No politics, no sales pitches, please. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM

Adopt an Artist

 ADOPT AN ARTIST or TWO

Blair and Laurie Pessemier are mature artists seeking support to continue their creative endeavors.   We make art almost every day and share it with the world.   Would you please support us?

Everyone likes to see our artwork, but only a few people can purchase it.  By adopting our art practice, you (or your gift recipient) will insure our paintings and artwork are seen.

This donation allows us to produce work of all sizes, which we share with the public.  We can develop our work without depending on galleries. 

With this donation, we can afford to offer painting workshops and mentoring to other artists.

We accept donations of any amount, although we are suggesting $250.00 to adopt us, and one of our paintings.

For $250 you will receive:

A certificate of adoption 

Weekly Digital Communication:  Artnotes, an update of our paintings and artistic adventures.   We will include a photo of us at work on a painting, maybe yours?

Physical artwork: An original artwork, on canvas, delivered during the year.  We can choose for you, or you can request a subject, style or color.  This work can be delivered as a gift.

Dialogue:  Interaction with the artists.  This can take the form of  input on your own artwork, information how to collect artwork or how to look at a particular piece or style.

Studio/Gallery Tour and lunch with the artists, in the Bologna (or Rome) area. 

For a lesser donation amount, you will receive a beautiful thank you certificate, our weekly Artnotes, one of our works on paper, and a visit/lunch at our studio in Italy.

KEEP ART ALIVE

You can gift this donation to someone who might enjoy a painting or supporting the arts. 

Painting is a challenging career:  everyone likes to see our work, but only a few people purchase it.   By adopting our practice, you (or your gift recipient) will receive a painting to be delivered in the summer of 2026.

Is a full subscription too much?  We accept smaller donations with gratitude.

award winning

CONTACT the ARTISTS

Artnotes: Terra Cotta

 

Orchid on Gold Background  Laurie Fox Pessemier  acrylic/paper   24  x 12"  60 x 30 cm   275.00 Every week, I try to do something new that I can write about in Artnotes.  I thank you for that, because it gets me out and moving, putting on my "new eyes" glasses to see something that will surprise and hopefully, delight. Fish Stew   Blair Pessemier Acrylic/flat Canvas   7  x 19"  17 x 47cm 275.00 I did manage to get to the beach this week, Santa Severa, with its big castle and lovely coastline.  The sky and the water were both deep blue, different from the classic Mediterranean turquoise, and almost painfully strong.  My best description is a small drawing where rock outcroppings look bright orange, the air and sea dark blue.   Sketches from Santa Severa:The Castle (right on the sea); Berlino  by Blair  Orange rocks, Blue sea by Laurie Today, we drove 30 minutes from Stimigliano to visit the Museo della Ceramica of Casimiro Marcantoni.  The Civita Castellano area, and the museum, address all forms of ceramics, from decorative sculpture, to lighting, to bath fixtures.  My favorite pieces were a futurist vase, and the absolutely ridiculous giant loo used as an advertising prop.  The young man at the counter was most helpful and enjoyed practicing his very good English.   I am working on a project to create a collection of ceramic dishes to mount to the wall – maybe for a friend’s place, but if he isn’t keen, I’ll glue them (they are on paper) on my own dining room wall.  I could buy dishes, but it’s nearly impossible to hang things on the stone and plaster walls in most houses.  Italy is a huge force in ceramics.  Closer to our other house, in Roccamalatina, are the ceramic tile manufacturers.  The soil of Italy, forged into ceramic products, must be all over the world.  I believe the official center of ceramics is Sicily where Majolica found its way from the potters of North Africa.  Terra Cotta, as in tile and sculpting material emerged in Tuscany during medieval times.  My favorite terra cotta sculpture, the Crying Maries, is in Bologna (from 1461).

Vladimiro  Laurie Fox  Pessemier  acrylic/paper  70 x 50"    27 x 20cm   375.00     I’ve all but abandoned my small drawings of late – I was so sure of it since early in 2025, and now pffft.   How does that happen?  I talked about it with my weekly painting partner, and she has experienced it at times in past.  Neither of us had an explanation.  My muse knows, but she’s not talking, only allowing me to paint on large sheets of paper. Frog King   Blair Pessemier  acrylic/canvas 21.5 x 21.5"    55 x 55cm   475.00     HOUSEKEEPING:  We make art to order, including portraits by Blair Pessemier.    Follow us on Instagram @lauriepessemier See all of our painting at https://paintfox.com Most of our work is available as reproductions, custom sized and framed. Write to me at lfpessemier@gmail.com   Happy Thanksgiving!!!  sign up for Artnotes, our weekly art missive, by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com or https://mailchi.mp/341f508cecf8/artnotes INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented.  No politics, no sales pitches, please. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM

Artnotes: What Would We Do Without You?

 

Circus in Forano    Blair Pessemier  acrylic/canvas   10.5  x 16"  27 x 41 cm   475.00 For the first time in a few years, we heard the shepherd playing the bagpipes beneath our window in Stimigliano.  This time of year they bring the sheep down from the higher elevations to graze on the fallow fields that border the Tiber.  The hardworking shepherds keep their watch, along with their vicious dogs, over hundreds of sheep.   It always puts me in the spirit of Christmas, one of my favorite times of the year. Barnacles  Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/flat Canvas   9  x 12"  23 x 30 cm 175.00 We went to the beach on Tuesday, where they were renovating our favorite restaurant.  We spent a long time on the beach – Berlino digging mammoth holes (Stimigliano is not to his liking, cobblestoned).  The sky and the sea were a deep ultramarine blue.  Even though I had my suit on, I didn’t swim – it was a combination of cold water and no other people to save me, just in case. We yelled hello to the late Harika-dog, where we set her ashes afloat 4 years ago.  Pitcher This   Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/flat Canvas   13  x  9.5"  27 x 46cm 175.00 A trip to Castiglion-Fiorentino was in the cards for Thursday, where we checked up on a friend’s house.  Luckily we did, as the window was open and cold air blowing through.  The last guest forgot cheese in the fridge, and shut off the electricity.  We abandoned the ship and will come back in a week when the smell dissipates.    We made a stop at one of the many used furniture stores in Arezzo, the “capital” of flea markets in Italy.

Over the Moon   Blair Pessemier  acrylic/canvas 12 x 12"    30 x  30cm   475.00     We met someone new – that used to be a regular occurrence when we lived in Paris, but in small town Italy it is rare.  I had chosen that day to pin a rose to my beret, and it caught the notice of a photographer from the area (originally from Rome).  She would go to different small towns, interesting places (Orvieto was a favorite), and look around.  It was just a lovely chat with hope of more to come. Egg and Ball   Laurie Pessemier  acrylic/canvas 10.5 x 16"    27 x 41cm   475.00     It is social here in Stimigliano, which is part of why we came down to the Rome area.  At the same time, it is difficult, when being an artist, to accommodate a social life.  Last night we listened to a poem, Of Power and Time, by Mary Oliver.  It was about having three selves:  a childlike self, a regulated self (like the clock), and an artistic self.   That artistic self really needs solitude to perform.  Berlino  Laurie Pessemier  acrylic/canvas (flat, not stretched) 16 x 23 "    41 x 58cm   175.00     Berlino very thoughtfully starts the day for us about 4:30 AM when he must walk (no matter when he last went out).   Blair takes him, I feed him, and he goes back to bed until about noon (lunchtime).  Blair and I rest a little (I almost never go back to sleep), but in this way, we are able to put in a good few hours of art time before the town comes to life, about 10.   Oh, Berlino, what would we do without you? HOUSEKEEPING:  We make art to order, including portraits by Blair Pessemier.    Follow us on Instagram @lauriepessemier See all of our painting at https://paintfox.com Most of our work is available as reproductions, custom sized and framed. Write to me at lfpessemier@gmail.com   sign up for Artnotes, our weekly art missive, by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com or https://mailchi.mp/341f508cecf8/artnotes INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented.  No politics, no sales pitches, please. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM