Sunday, February 23, 2020

Artnotes: Satyr

Harika Passes a Cat on a Bench    Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas 21 x 18"  53 x 45cm  
How lucky can you get?  This week, a friend from Portland, Oregon sent me four new books; those on the heels of two polar fleece jackets from a Florida pal.  We’ve mastered receiving packages in Italy:  have them delivered to the bar.
Actually, we can now receive Amazon at the post office:  I am experimenting with the order of two pair of clip-on sunglasses.  I have ordered the kind that make me look like a policeman; Blair’s are standard.  And, were all this not staggering enough, they have installed an electric car charging station in Stimigliano.   And just when I was going to write about the beauty of slow living.
Knife and Ax Throwing Grounds  Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas panel  12 x 18"  30 x 45cm  
besides going to the beach we walked by the Tevere....
We went out to the beach on Thursday.  Except for one fisherman, we were the only ones there.  It was intensely sunny and warm enough to step into the shade.  At Santa Severa, there is a Renaissance castle, set upon an Etruscan foundation.  Of course, the Romans had their hey-day there, it being less than 50 miles from Rome.  For us, it’s about the same, and we get there in just over an hour.
White Satyr  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/plaster/canvas  24 x 15"     60 x 38cm 

We spent the six euros each to see the three museums at Santa Severa.   There is the maritime museum, which displays the Greek, Phoenician and Roman boats and their cargo which has been raised from the ocean floor there.  Amphora abound.    Originally, Santa Severa was called Pyrgi, an ancient Latium settlement of the Etruscans.  It was plundered by Dionysus in 384 BC.   The best of the three museums, we agreed, was the Etruscan Antiquarium di Pyrgi.  It houses bits of Etruscan temple architecture and the gold leaves which were engraved with the dedication of said temples:  it is amazing to see the Etruscan language in writing, which is yet to be deciphered (although certain words are understood, there is no “rosetta stone” for the Etruscan language, and pronunciation and usage of certain words are still a mystery).  It was here I saw the satyr who is the subject of two new “plaster” paintings I did.
Fish in Newspaper Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/paper  17 x 25"  41 x 63 cm 
We can manage to get to Santa Severa in the morning and return in time for a late lunch at home. We weren’t in a rush this time, because Harika went with us, and ran through the Mediterranean sand.  I made fish for lunch.
Satyr from the Side  Laurie Fox  Pessemier  Acrylic/plaster/canvas  27 x 18"  66 x 45cm 

Even though I am thrilled to be receiving mail, and could possibly buy an electric car (if I won the lottery), I appreciate and understand our slow Italian pace.  Sometimes things are not as important as we think, and if I slow down enough, I might see a Satyr in the woods.

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