Paintings by Blair + Laurie Fox PESSEMIER: November 2011

Friday, November 18, 2011

Scene by the River Laurie Fox PESSEMIER Acrylic on linen 16 x 11 SOLD

River and Bridge Blair PESSEMIER Acrylic on linen 15 x 18

Lighting Candle with St. Genevievre Laurie Fox PESSEMIER Acrylic on wood 13 x 6.5 inches

St. Anthony of Padua Laurie Fox PESSEMIER Acrylic on wood 10 x 6 inches

St Alexandre's Laurie Fox PESSEMIER Acrylic on wood 13 x 7 inches

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Port en Bessin Green Light Blair PESSEMIER Acrylic on canvas 16 x 20 inches $450.00 SOLD

Port en Bessin Red Light Green Light Laurie FOX Pessemier Acrylic on canvas 12 x 12 inches $325.00 SOLD

Boulevard Raspail Laurie FOX PESSEMIER Acrylic on wood 10 x 6 inches $200.00

Luxembourg Gardens: Trees Guynemer Laurie FOX Pessemier Acrylic on canvas 12 x 12 inches

Driving home at night Laurie FOX Pessemier Acrylic on canvas 12 x 12 inches SOLD

Artnotes: Remembrance

“Les Marines de Port-en-Bessin” the invitation read, “10 Novembre 2011”. Blair and I and our old friend Quentin had an expo in Port-en-Bessin in February 2005. At that time, the museum/cultural center took one of each of our nautical scenes. And for the next two weeks those paintings are once again on exhibit in this historic World War II town on the Normandy Coast.

We couldn’t pass up the chance to go the the vernissage, the following night. We rented a car and cast out at 9:30 AM the next morning. Harika was in complete agreement -- another opportunity to play on the beach. Whooppeee!

We sat down for a lunch of mussels and lamb chops at a beachside restaurant in Trouville, about 25 miles from Port-en-Bessin. Trouville has a long, sandy beach, and men were paddling on surfboards as the tide receded. Harika frolicked on the sand as we ate outdoors. It was brilliantly sunny, counteracting the nip in the air. In mid-afternoon we drove West to Port-en-Bessin, where we would paint.

It was the most wonderful day, with a super low tide. We could see remnants of World War II wrecks, and could walk out nearly to the end of the jetties at Port-en-Bessin. Men were harvesting pentoncles (bay scallops), with wooden-handled nets. Some were in giant boots, others bare-legged in the icy sea.

Blair painted from above, but Harika and I opted to sit by the water. A short while into the painting we were chased off the beach by the arrival of a pit-bull: he sent the two of us plunging, me in my good shoes, across fields of seaweed alive with sea snails. Paints and canvas akimbo, Harika leaping, we made quite a site. I could imagine the other dog snickering at us from behind.

One half of the beach at Port-en-Bessin is the scallop-shell graveyard. The chalk-on-the-blackboard sound of shells beneath our feet results in Blair carrying Harika over the rough spots. The other half of the beach (on the other side of the locks which keep the fishing boats afloat) is an enclosed bay – this is where we painted. The light is extraordinary this late afternoon, and the pools of water amidst the sand are mirrors to the sky.

The last time we showed paintings at Port-en-Bessin the Mayor of the town sang the “Star Spangled Banner”, a cappella, in our honor. He was there again on Thursday night, but we assured him he didn’t need to sing. He was cheery as ever, but a tear filled his eye when we informed him of the demise of Q. Quentin was a veteran of World War II, and participated in memorial festivities in Normandy a couple of times.

It was appropriate to be at such an historic setting as the Normandy beaches on the Eve of Remembrance Day. There are fewer and fewer witnesses to the big wars of Europe. Museums, cemeteries and cultural centers keep the flame lit. In Port-en-Bessin this weekend there was a big scallop festival and circus., in conjunction with Veteran’s day. We left the vernissage early, to drive back to Paris by night.

INVITATION TO GROUP SHOW PORT-EN-BESSIN FRANCE

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Painting by the Seine Blair PESSEMIER Acrylic on canvas 10.5 x 16 inches

Pont des Arts and Ecole Laurie FOX Pessemier Acrylic on canvas 12 x 12 inches

Laurie in Costume Blair PESSEMIER Oil on canvas 11 x 14 inches SOLD

Saturday, November 05, 2011

View from the Kitchen Window Blair PESSEMIER Oil on canvas 14 x 22 inches

ARTNOTES: A PARIS VIEW

Why are all these people walking around here? I wondered aloud.

Blair and I are constantly seeking new places to paint in Paris. We’ve been painting here for about 12 years, and we’ve covered a lot of territory. Maybe it was Halloween, but for some reason I felt inspired to visit the cemetery at Montparnasse. It’s walking distance and is serviced by several buses, too. Monday was a brilliantly sunny day, and the trees looked heavenly.

What did surprise us is that there were so many people walking around, plants in hand – but of course! November 1 is a holiday in France (Toussaint: all saints’ day) to commemorate the dead. We soldiered on, despite my protestations that maybe we were being irreverent. Actually, a lot of people enjoyed seeing us painting, especially the kids, who were dragged along to pay respects to grandma.

The cemetery at Montmartre is not the stellar attraction that the “Cimitiere Pere Lachaise” is. But even though Jim Morrison is not buried at Montmartre, several other noteworthy folks are, including Baudelaire and Man Ray. While I was painting, a woman approached me to ask if I knew where Jean-Paul Sartre was. Huh?

I managed to paint an alley of turquoise trees, as did Blair. People walked about, carrying pots of chrysanthemums – the classic grave flower here. Paris cemeteries are quite beautiful – elaborate flower arrangements and extraordinary chapels and sculptures abound. An extremely lifelike bas-relief of Honore Champion caught my eye. I also like the stained glass, and cut metal work of the little chapels.

Holidays here are not much fun for Blair and I – we’re not part of society (in some ways a great advantage). Finding a croissant on the 1^st of November was challenging. We ended up at the Rostand, where I painted the waiter and barman. Blair got in a “snapshot” painting of trees at the Luxembourg Gardens that morning. I wasn’t as pleased with mine. The outdoor food market took place beneath our windows, as usual, but was feebly staffed.

Later in the week, we took to painting from our apartment windows. It is a bit of a challenge, as space is limited. We try to keep up appearances, in case we need to kick in the “bohemian art gallery” mode. A woman did stop by on Monday to inspect our premises for art lessons, but didn’t seem impressed. She was very nosy, and I breathed a sigh of relief when she took the elevator down.

Blair painted a view out the kitchen window, as I looked out at the corner of rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. We are both looking forward to our December soujourn to Collioure, where we’ll have a view of the Mediterranean.