Iris in the half sun Blair Pessemier Acrylic/linen 10 x 20" 25 x 50cm
Roses in a turquoise vase Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/linen 16 x 11 41 x 27cm
Golden Iris Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/linen 12 x 12 30 x 30cm
Modena on Monday Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/linen 11 x 16" 27 x 41cm
Modena May Blair Pessemier Acrylic/linen 11 x 18" 27 x 46cm
Photos of the Mille Miglia
The week slipped by like a Ferrari. Ha!
we went to the Mille Miglia race this weekend, where remarkable cars
make the run from Brescia to Rome and back, over the weekend. The first time we saw the race was in
Castelfranco, some years ago. Blair
still fondly recalls seeing 18 gull-wing Mercedes’, including the
prototype. This year we saw nearly 100
Ferraris, as they passed through Pavulla nel Frignano. It was a bit cool, and off-and-on rainy, so
we limited our time. It can take nearly
2 hours to watch all these fabulous cars pass.
People dress in styles corresponding to the year of their car; goggles
are evident. I believe it is one of
Italy’s finest events.
We went to the race to “paint” cars. Not only was that unrealistic, but we often
missed getting the speeding vehicle into the camera picture frame. This was a
constant source of laughter, between ourselves and adjacent onlookers. We
were at the edge of the Pavulla leg of the journey, where cars would downshift,
making that vroom-rumble sound before passing in front of the bigger crowd. The race takes place on country roads.
We drove our own cream puff along parts of the route,
inspecting the crowd and waving. What a
feeling! I wanted to go faster. It’s hard to drive normally after 100
Ferraris. Our car is red, anyway.
I catalogued the last of the 459 books in the American
Library in the Apennines. We painted in
Modena this week. One can’t drive within
the city center, so we stood beneath the leafy trees and looked in. It’s a
lovely city, and the buildings are the most beautiful colors: pink, yellow; pumpkin. My own house is of golden hues. We’re hoping to have some Modena images for
our show this fall.
Somehow, the flowers in my own yard seem most appealing at
the moment. And certainly more
forgiving. Flowers don’t have to stand
up straight or roll on the road. My Iris
are impossible colors of violet; the grass behind isn’t quite so brilliant in the
sun, but almost. Roses bloom on and on,
especially the ones planted before this year.
Only one of our new climbing roses is in bloom, but I am
optimistic. The house is full of the
scent of cut roses.
The people next door, with our dog friends Oliver and
Camilla, have planted acacias, which smell like California to me. I love to walk over there to pet Ollie and smell
the trees. The owners are reputedly of
the Ferrari car family, but there are many of that name in our area, so I am
never sure. Rumors fly in Rocca Malatina
-- at the speed of Ferraris.
