Artnotes: Still Life

​Wildflowers on Yellow  Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/linen  12 x 12"  30 x 30cm 

​Buttercups  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/linen  8 x 12"  20 x 30cm  

​Radishes  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/linen   12 x 12"  30 x 30cm 

Poppies  Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/linen 10 x 12"  25 x 30cm​  

​Rhubarb  Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/linen  12 x 16"  30 x 40cm 

Since I’ve tried writing a book, I can’t seem to put a single line down on paper without going over it, going over it.  Yikes.  I’ve broken my groove.  Get happy.

Painting has never appealed to me more, and I am painting every day now.   In order to not completely discharge my battery, we went to a new art museum this week for inspiration.  We drove through the hills and valley to the Villa dei Capolavori, in Traversetolo, not far from Parma. 

Peacocks roamed the grounds, among wooden figurines created by Depero, a Italian Futurist artist best known for the Campari logo.   We drove that hour and fifteen minutes to the Fondazione Magnani Rocca to see a show of Cezanne and Morandi.  The owner of the villa, Magnani, owned many Cezanne watercolors, and this show borrowed a key piece, the Bathers, from the Pushkin, to anchor the show.  We were not disappointed, and in fact, delighted to see many artists we weren’t familiar with.  There were also works by Monet, de Stael, di Chirico, Titiane…   a real top notch collection. 

I have been painting a lot of still life recently – wildflowers and vegetables.  The Neapolitans, who have our Saturday fruit stand, now select my greens based on paintability.   A bunch of radishes awaits.

We celebrated “Liberation Day” in Italy on Tuesday last.  It always brings me near to tears as the band plays Italian military songs, and the Alpini (mountain division, that Bob Dole fought alongside of) hold up their flags.   There are still many people around here who remember the horrors of World War II, and ask me, “what is going on with Trump?”   It has given me cause to reflect that almost no one in America remembers how terrible it was to fight in World War II.  One would need to be over 90 to have been in the military at that time.   War is never the answer, except for how to fill the pockets of arms manufacturers and dealers.

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I am cataloging all of the books in the American Library in the Apennines.  My new $50.00 Amazon Fire Tablet scans the ISBN code, and the app Book Catalogue keeps track of all the books, including who they are lent to.   I ordered a sign and business cards.

Our friend Sue brought over armloads of rhubarb this week.  We made chutney and jam, and I am stuffing a pork roast this weekend with rhubarb relish.  Strawberry rhubarb pie is for dessert.