Sunday, July 19, 2020

Artnotes: Vacation

The Italian Dinner Party  Laurie Fox  Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 16 x 23.5"  41 x 59cm   SOLD
In Stimigliano on Sunday, the heat was remarkable.  The piazza was abandoned when we arrived at about 2; the temperature was in the mid-30s (Celsius), 90s (Fahrenheit).  We hustled down to our apartment where it was slightly cooler, the shutters and windows all closed.  It didn’t take long being there to change that – the sun glaring against the outside wall, and me cooking lunch.   We sat in the dark, moving as little as possible until evening started to fall and we went out to dinner.
Rushes in Lake Vico  Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  15.5 x 19.5" 40 x 50 cm   575.00
We went to Stimi to pick up a painting I sold.  We decided to make a few days of it, and made a reservation at a rental house on Lake Vico nearby.  The swimming was divine.  We were the only people in the water, in fact the only people on our little beach.   Although there were other cottages on the property most of those people were only sunning in lounge chairs.  Harika met a new dog there, Ghengis, a wire haired daschund, and the two also waded into the water.  Both thirteen years old, Ghengis made Harika look elegantly long-legged; she could run faster.
Lake Vico from the Porch  Laurie Fox  Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 10.5 x 16"  27 x 41cm   450.00
It was a funky house, beautifully “boned”, with a lovely bath and kitchen. No Ikea.  If we go back there, I am bringing my own lightbulbs (to replace the Airbnb white bulbs):  low energy, but incandescent (like) light.  The house had a broad stone porch where we took our meals, looking out to the water.  It was not too warm, being significantly higher up, and on the water.   There was a professional gas stove, which nobody in charge knew how to use – fortunately, I was able to get it working.   The house was really great, but sadly Airbnb-d (i.e: disposable dishes and “glasses”; glass cabinets all locked off).  They were shocked we ran the dishwasher.  It is not unusual for Blair and I to pack in our own dishes, silverware and accessories (napkins, candles). They did have good knives.
Hazelnut Trees  Blair Pessemier    Acrylic/canvas   7 x 9"  16 x 20cm  355.00
The heat is a genuine force, the further south one goes in Italy.  In Stimigliano, everyone comes out at night and sits in the square.  They are like so many birds perched artistically around the perimeter.  It is part of what attracted us to buy our house there.  In fact, Stimigliano gets significant breezes; were our house not part of the walls of the hilltop borgo, the heat might be tolerable.  It’s perfect in the winter, and maybe someday we will get used to sleeping all day and coming out for the nighttime.
Mixing Cocktails  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  20 x 12"  50 x 30cm  450.00
The house on Lake Vico backed up to hazelnut groves.  We walked among the trees, dappled with bright sun on red ground.  It felt like a vacation.
Hazelnut Grove   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  8 x 19.5"  20 x 50cm 450.00

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