Lake Vico in May Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 12 x 16 " 30 x 40 cm 490.00
One of my favorite spots in Italy is Lake Vico. It’s probably because it makes me think of my fabulous days at Hemlock Lodge, on Highland Lake in Winsted, Connecticut. After my parents died, we never returned, even though the idea occurs to us each summer. Lake Vico is more like the Highland Lake of my childhood: no motorboats (almost no boats at all) and a very few houses around the lake itself. There are summer-only restaurants, for snacks and meals. They provide chairs and umbrellas at the edge of the water -- I suspect there is occasionally a life guard.
The Oaks Above Lake Vico Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 13 x 18" 33 x 46cm 490.00
The Italians are not big swimmers, rather sunbathers, and the seaside is de riguer for most Italian families. The lake is for swimming or catching fish, or just playing in the greyish volcanic sand along the shore. The day we were there, 30 May, at 9:30 AM, there was a rather odd gentleman in his b-v-ds sitting on the beach. I saw he was a gentleman because he left just before us, and dressed in a pressed shirt, a sportcoat and a thin-brimmed straw hat. Later on, a German family arrived: Mom, Dad and little nude boy; they figure in our paintings.
Madonna della Noce Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 13 x 18" 33 x 45cm 490.00
I swam. It was a little cool, but not too bad – once I was in, it felt wonderful and I dunked a couple of times. It used to be a challenge in my family to jump in the lake by Memorial Day and there is a famous photo of my Aunt Franny and Foxie, my Dad, emerging from the lake on that very day – you can almost see their goose pimples. Blair is not part of this craziness – he conveniently left his suit behind. I pointed out the man in his undies, but it didn’t cut any ice. Maybe that’s the wrong word.
Chapel of the Madonna of the Walnut Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 24 x 15" 60 x 38cm 590.00
We stayed long enough to paint a picture. We’re taking up plein air painting again, after dabbling a few days ago at the church of the “Madonna della Noce” (our lady of the walnut), where a vision of the Virgin Mary was recorded in 1505. The church itself was much older, from around 1100. It was one of those magic sorts of places, in the center of the woods. We saw three horses.
