Paintings by Blair + Laurie Fox PESSEMIER: Artnotes: Something for Everyone and his Dog

View from our Dinner Table Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic on wood 6.5 x 13 inches

Artnotes: Something for Everyone and his Dog

“Look at those grapes -- they are out of a Flemish painting!”
“Did you read the tulipmania book? Those (cut)tulips on the balcony are fantastic.”

Our most “sympathetic” guest shared a dinner of butternut squash soup and venison steaks with foie gras at our table this week. But more than sharing dinner, she shared our love of the vignettes we create around our house. Not everyone sees thing the way we do.

The first half of this week was spent painting and entertaining. The latter part of the week we minded Atlas, the wonderful Jack Russell terrier from the park. Harika spends the night playing “whack-a-mole” as Atlas burrows beneath the covers and she stays on top. Subtle beauty? heck, downright beauty is lost on them as they egg one another on, barking.

We saw several art shows this week. The first was Valloton, which started out great – his sense of composition and woodcut prints is fabulous. But then, after World War I (that war that changed the world), he flies off into mythology and religion, leaving a poor taste at the end of the show. It isn’t that they aren’t competent, just that they are odd.

On Friday we went to see the Jordaens show at the Petit Palais. Really, I should say we went to the Petit Palais and saw their permanent collection and a most unusual exhibit about art in schools during the 1930s. It rang of America’s WPA program, but with incredibly beautiful paintings on the walls of schoolrooms depicted classic “professions”, sports and “women’s work”. They were extraordinary, but unfortunately most of the schools were renovated, and only these half-size models remain.

I visited the Jordaens’ show which was beautifully presented and near overwhelming simply for the size of the works: monumental paintings. I preferred his smaller pieces: looser sketches and drawings. He rivaled Rubens in his depiction of healthy female nudes, and it made me feel OK about being slightly over-sized myself.

We wound up the week selling (3!!!) paintings at the Christmas fair at the American Church. We are the only purveyors of paintings, but also featured Christmas cards and little books (nestled throughout this email). We were surrounded by children’s book illustrators, gingerbread house makers, advent calendars (including one with dog bones) and Sierra Leone crafts and jewelry: something for all tastes.