Boat on Sea Grass Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic on linen 9.5 x 14
Open your doors on a busy street and you’re bound to have
lots of interaction. I have had one
woman come back three times to the gallery:
she looks at my work to help her improve her own. How DID you make that boat? I give her my best brush in hand gesture.
Blair has spent the most time at the shop. He likes it better than I do, and is a better
French speaker. I have also been having
a problem with asthma because Paris has had such terrible smog. The smog is so bad that they have made all public
transportation free in the city, to discourage burning gas.
The doctor recommended we leave Paris because my blood
pressure high on account of struggling to breathe. So we
rented a car, which we drove within the
newly imposed lower speed limit, out to the Baie de la Somme -- a quick
getaway before our painting lessons begin on the first day of spring
this
year with six new painters. I can’t
wait!
Even though the park is grossly polluted, I painted some
cherry blossoms and hope to get back there for more before this post is
sent. Blair dashes next door for a
portrait of Lola, who owns the Salon de The, with magnificent desserts.
Cherry Blossoms Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/linen 11 x 18
A psychologist came in while Blair was there, and spent a
long time looking at all the paintings.
After her, another said how much “emotion” our work carried. She had friends who were well-known painters,
but their painting seemed academic in comparison.
Portrait Blair Pessemier 14 x 11 Acrylic/linen
I bring Blair his lunch each day in a tiffin. Harika and I test it earlier, I make a few
adjustments and voila! I love to cook,
and envision having a real supper club one day, in a grand apartment (we might
have to move abroad, from France, that is) for artists and musicians,
performers and patrons. It’s good to
have further plans. Despite the sale of
more than 20 paintings, the prospect of bringing the other 30 or so home is
discouraging. Food doesn’t pile up in
the hallway like paintings do. On the
other hand I look at the unsold masterpieces as my retirement fund . I hope I don’t have to fake my own death to
live.
A woman came in while I was there, on next to the last
day. She talked about how her uncle was
a prisoner at Auschwitz during WWII, and she sketched what she remembered him
talking about. She talked about how
there were artists in the camps who made pictures of the beauty they saw there. She talked about poetry, which, at times, was
amusing. Artists of all sorts were able to
find beauty where others only saw horror.
She liked the happiness of our work.
We packed up our pictures, brought them home, and took off
the next morning for the Baie de la Somme.
It was great!
Beach at la Somme Blair Pessemier Acrylic on wood 6.5 x 13 inches
