Quince Blossoms Blair Pessemier Acrylic/wood 24 x 16" 60 x 40 cm
Spring Snow Blair Pessemier Acrylic/wood 24 x 16" 60 x 40cm
View of Florence Blair Pessemier Acrylic/wood 16 x 24 40x 60cm
Artnotes: OOPS
I woke up on Wednesday morning to the sound of
SNOWPLOWS! I hoped the
lily-of-the-valley I put in the ground two days before could stand it. I wasn’t altogether disappointed, however,
because I felt a bit cheated of the opportunity to paint snow in February. We
ran up the hill (after Harika, who LOVES snow), built a snowman and I slipped
and slid back down the hill laughing hilariously. I am not laughing now, as my sciatica is
intense, and I am seeking a witch doctor (acupuncturist) here.
We brought our paints to the Italian teacher’s house. She has great views from her windows, and she
is an artist herself. The three of us
set up and painted nearly the same scene, with drastically different results.
We stuck with our plan to go to Florence on Thursday – and we
were rewarded with sunshine and warmer temperatures. It seems we are in a rainy season, and as
our trips to Florence are mainly for painting, we have been limited.
This time, we went for the Oltrarno side of Florence – across
the Arno from the Duomo, Uffizi, etc. and up on the hill looking down. We both painted there amid the tourists: from all nations, really, and surprisingly
uninterested in what we were doing. My
approach was like that of a bird, seeing the monuments of the city, and the
snow covered (Apennines) mountains behind.
Those deep reds and yellowy stuccoes predominate, like a
Renaissance painting. I kept having to
pinch myself – yes, we’re really painting Florence! It was thrilling. We made a small detour to San Miniato
afterward, but the church was closed.
The outside is really impressive, though, with bands of green and white
marble, and a gold mosaic over the
portal.
Now it is time to sell paintings, and I spent the other days
of the week making posters for our show (25,6,7,8 March), and brochures to give
to furniture stores. If you have any
show ideas for this summer in the USA, send them along.
Nearer to home, we planted red gladioli after the snow, and
windowsill herbs. We’re hoping the
weather holds now, but as the days get longer, spring can’t be far away.
