Three Buildings Civita Castellano Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 16 x 20" 40 x 50cm
Blair Painting Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas panel 18 x 10 40 x 25cm
Town Hall, Civita Castellano Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 16 x 20" 40 x 50cm
Comune, Civita Castellana Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/linen 16 x 13 41 x 33cm
Coffee shop, Civita Castellana Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 8 x 20" 20 x 50cm
Stimigliano from Afar Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 12 x 24" 30 x 60cm
View of Stimigliano Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylc/canvas 12 x 16" 30 x 40cm
Harika is dog-tired. She’s spent this entire day in bed, even when we went out to paint. She’s been spending all her time with the painting workshop, and now that they’ve gone back to Connecticut, she’s flat out. She went to Rome (it took 2 hours to get there on account of an overturned propane-tank truck); then two painting days in Civita Castellana; on Thursday, she rose early to see them off. Blair and I are pretty beat, too, but couldn’t resist today’s blue-sky-sunny view of Stimigliano.
We haven’t painted outside for many months before our recent painting workshop, and it’s taken all of our effort to get back on that track. I have become addicted to painting on newspaper – it takes all the pressure off: if the picture doesn’t turn out, crumble it up and start another. Yippee.
BUT: once in a while it’s nice to make a bigger commitment. We are both getting back into the en-plein-air groove. It looks like we might have a show here in May, featuring our paintings of the area.
We drove a great large 7 person Citroen van for the workshop. Harika insisted on squeezing in between the three in the middle seat; luckily all were dog lovers. We all bought ancient-greek style dishes made in the original red and black way while we were in Civita Castellana. The artisan used a single rabbit whisker in a porcupine quill holder to achieve the effect – everyone wanted to buy it, but thankfully he refused. We’re always lobbying for a bigger brush.
We’re planning a big Easter do in Rocca Malatina. I’ve ordered meat, and will make asparagus; agretti; white beans and fennel; and a few of the usual fare. I love the idea of Easter and Spring, tulips and iris coming into bloom.
I am in conflict about our two Italian homes. On the one hand, Emilia-Romagna (Modena) is much more sophisticated (not to mention the house); on the other hand, the Roman-ness of Stimigliano is extremely appealing (and I can write on the walls). And really, if this is my biggest problem in life, I am the luckiest girl on the planet.
