View le Loir Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/linen 25.5 x 32 inches 65 x 81 cm
Country Living Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/linen18 x 25.5 inches 45 x 65 cm
Willow over river Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/linen 12 x 20 inches 30 x 50 cm
River at Troo Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/linen 11 x 14 inches 27 x 35 cm
Blossoming Trees by the River Blair Pessemier Acrylic/linen 18 x 25.5 46 x 65 cm
Iris by the Wall Blair Pessemier Acrylic/linen 12 x 12" 30 x 30 cm
ARTNOTES: Once upon a Time
ARTNOTES: Once upon a Time
A couple of weeks ago, riding on the 63 bus, I noticed a
train engine outside the Arab Institute.
Even though we were close to the Gare Austerlitz, an errant engine, both
in space and time, just wasn’t possible.
But there it was, parked in the courtyard of the Arab Institute, for the
exposition: Once Upon a Time on the
Orient Express.
The engine, built in France in 1922, is the classic engine
one associates with this romantic train.
The real romance is in the cars: we toured THE ACTUAL CARS, imagining our trip
from Paris to Venice to Istanbul, in the first half of the 20th
century. One can picture the fictitious
Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, all aboard: and if that isn’t enough, their clothes,
their books, cards, etc. are all artfully lying about. The cars were designed by Lalique, in a true
deco style. A cabin set up with cards and
a (near) smoking hubble-bubble was full of Arabic talk; a newspaper on a table in the salon announces
the start of the war; Graham Greene’s typewriter sits before his chair;
Josephine Baker’s gloves and cigarette holder announce her seat. The French president, in his pajamas, fell
out of the train window one night. Real
or imaginary, the characters surrounding the Orient Express and the train
itself, thrilled my imagination.
Thus inspired we hired a Hertz car and made our voyage to
the valley of le Loir this week. In
fact, we did so to escape the fumes from the polyurethane being applied to the
wood stairs and floors in our building. The
renovation of public areas in our little building is still underway, since 15
January. We joke about how Pessemier’s Commercial
Interior Design used to “roll out” an Eddie Bauer store (significantly larger),
from design to building to opening in a mere six weeks. Ah, France, what has happened here?
We made our escape to the village of Troo, next door to
Montoire-sur-le-Loir (inside a triangle with points Orleans/Vendome/Tours). I felt like I was in 1930s France, with men
in berets and hunting jackets with a loaf of bread under their arm. This was a most curious place, with homes in
caves (troglodyte). We rented a small
house (40 euros a night) which was part of a large, Renaissance chateau,
overlooking fields of wheat, rapeseed and grapes. Grapes grew beside our little house, with its
black and white tile floors and 13 foot ceilings. There were many buildings, some quite
lovely, for rent or sale in the Loir et Cher region. Farm equipment slowed down traffic, sparse
at best. We managed to paint nine
paintings, some quite large, in just three days, which will give you an idea of
the magnificent views.
Harika ran and rolled in grass, ran away from big farm cats,
and chased rabbits. It was with regret
we drove back to Paris to find, yes, the work on the building is still going
on.
PS: Not everyone in
Paris, however, works slowly. On Friday last
we had an appointment with a lawyer. “I’ll meet you exactly at 12:15” he said. Generally,
if we are on time, people make fun of us, where a minimum 15 minute delay gives
the “je ne sais quoi”. He confirmed 30 minutes before. A young man of
great ambition, with Jewish and Tunisian roots, worked over the holiday
weekend, collecting our information, and on Monday (another holiday here) he delivered
our new BUSINESS LICENSE. Hallelujah!
