Luxembourg Gardens November Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic on linen 11x 16 inches SOLD
Last leaves in the Luxembourg Gardens Acrylic on linen Blair Pessemier 10.5 x 18
Seine November Morning Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic on linen10.5 x 14 inches
ARNOTES: A WALK TO THE SEINE
This morning was crisp and bright, so after a coffee at Omar’s,
we headed towards the Seine. Omar, the
Tunisian who owns the Tourne Bouchon, makes terrific coffee – “it begins with
high quality beans” he tells us. He didn’t
have any crossaints this morning, so we settled for a tartine (half of a
baguette) with jam.
Harika had a couple of her homemade biscuits
that I carry in my pocket, and we were off.
Near the Lutetia, we passed a crowd of boys emerging from a
night in the sewer. You can always tell
where they’ve come from, smeared with a sandy mud and pale as a submarine
crew. There are big parties in the Paris
sewers on weekends, although I rarely
see girls coming out from below. Some people wear big rubber boots. It’s a little fascinating but likewise
off-putting – a thing I can certainly live without. Harika gives them bearth, which makes me
think they don’t smell so good, either.
I love the walk to the Seine, by all the windows of art
galleries and antiquaires. Shop windows
in this neighborhood, where no one checks the price, are exceptional. We cross the Pont Royal, and make a
brief stop on the grass at the Louvre. It’s pretty but we haven’t got easels today,
and it will be hard to find a roost. Harika looks around but we all decide to go to
the banks of the river. Down the stairs,
and we set up our “tent” on a slightly elevated sandy area.
We are inundated with miserable looking joggers, who I kind
of feel sorry for – alone and mean. In years
past there were no joggers, which I think was indicative of a happier
population. One man, who’s obviously
twisted an ankle on the cobblestones, snarls at Harika, who thought she would
sidle up and comfort him. Later she’s
rewarded by a Scandinavian couple who pet her and talk to her.
The weather changes every few minutes these days, sun and
clouds, always damp and thus cold. We
did manage to paint outside several times, anyway. I painted at the Palais Royal, and in the Luxembourg
Gardens. We’re planning a show on 6
December: Winter Light. We’ll feature Blair’s new abstract work in
the studio downstairs.
We both like to paint a lot, and I was encouraged by a
recent article by Robert Genn (the Painter’s Keys). The posting was about a teacher who set up half his class
to do one perfect painting for the semester and the other half of the class to
do the maximum number of paintings.
Funny thing was the BEST paintings came from those people who painted a
lot.
Along the Seine Blair Pessemier Acrylic on carton 12 x 12 inches
Palais Royal Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic on linen 12 x 12 inches
Man with Dog at Palais Royal Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic on wood 10.5 x 8 inches
Woman and Son Palais Royal Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic on wood 10.5 x 8 inches SOLD
Carousel in snow Blair Pessemier Oil on wood 19.5 x 15 inches SOLD