Sunday, January 05, 2014

Artnotes: Happy New Year







Net repair  Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  16 x 24 inches

 First swimmer 2014   Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  16.5 x 11
 Tidal Pool   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  11 x 16.5 inches
 Tree on the Path  Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas  9 x 11 inches  SOLD
 White Light January 1    Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  11 x 16.5
 Beachcombers   Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  9 x 11 inches
 Swimmers   Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acyrlic/canvas  11 x 9
View of the Bay/Cap Ferrat   Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  24 x 18 inches

Downtown Villefranche  Blair Pessemier   SOLD

Artnotes:  Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!   I went into the sea on the 1 January:  the best way to start the new year 2014.  There were other people who actually swam – a French woman went in her swimsuit.  It was like magic:  the sun peeped out from behind a cloud and made little diamonds of white light where she created ripples.  My first painting of the year was of Blair and Harika beach-combing together; thankfully they have different priorities.  I found my second boating flag washed up on the beach, this time red white and blue stripes  (C:  Charlie; yes/affirmative; or when in regatta, changing course) .  The other, which I found three days ago was large blue and white squares –oddly enough, N:  November; no/negative.   Abandon and re-sail (regatta).

This of course, is interesting to me as we pursue our bateau-atelier idea.  Yes or no?  My business plan is percolating along.   The big question seems to be where, as in France (near Giverny), or in the USA (I fear insurance costs could kill it).  Our mission statement as follows:
To earn money by recreating a boat similar to Monet’s  Studio/boat and offer painting workshops on the vessel. The Bateau-Atelier could also be used as a floating art gallery to bring our paintings to fairs and events in areas by water.  It would also be rentable for dinners and small events.

I’ve much time to THINK as more rain is predicted.  Meanwhile,  we rented a car.

So, like coyotes, we’re adapting to our environment: we drive fast on winding roads, play the radio, run the heat, honk the horn (well, Blair doesn’t honk, I would, if I drove).    Our first foray was to see where Renoir lived – his house has just been renovated and it’s super nice.   It’s how you might imagine his house:   set among the olive trees, light interior with art nouveau-ish (he was just a tad early), soft paint colors.   We can actually paint on the grounds, were it ever to stop raining.

I felt terrifically inspired, and I felt even better about some of my recent work that I wasn’t sure of.   We are hoping to return there today (Sunday) to paint, if the weather clears slightly, as it is predicted.

We visited to other marvelous museums: the Fernand Leger Museum in Biot and the Chagall Museum in Nice.  Fernand Leger was a product of the cubist movement, but preferred a sort of “genre” painting.  He painted large people, thick fingers, often with bicycles, decidedly French.   The work they had on display was huge:  five by six foot canvases, on average, I would estimate.  The building was a tribute to his epoch:  made in what I would describe as a communist-looking 60s style.  He lived through World War I and II, and died in 1955.  The building was big, square, open-spaced simply ideal for his work.

The Chagall museum was less architecturally interesting, although they had an exhibit about it’s conception/construction taking place while we were there.  It is in nearly downtown Nice, and squeezed onto a site.  Only because it was a pouring rain day in January were there few visitors and we found parking.   There were fabulous Chagall paintings on view.  I am not really a Chagall fan, but spent extreme time in a little almost chapel-like room dedicated to paintings for his wife, Vava.  They are RED and inspired by the Song of Songs.  His color is so terrific, in all of work, including the monumental  Old Testament canvases.   It made me think what can be painted  IN THE STUDIO, still using color.  I am not sure I have that much imagination, but am going to let those wheels turn in the remaining weeks while we are on our own.

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