Well, here we are outside of Munich, in Kranzberg, Germany. We have launched our Blaue Reiter campaign, painting, and visiting our first museum this week. It is not quite as easy as I imagined, but we have a month to work on it. Although we thought there would be many English speakers here, there are not, and that lack of communication presents some challenges for me. Instead of buying at the meat counter, I am selecting packaged foods. I am amazed at the translation capabilities of my telephone, but it adds another veil to really getting to know a local. I pick up a word here and there. |
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 | Bee House Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas panel 16 x 20" 40 x 50cm 490.00 |
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| We have painted every day so far. I am trying to espouse the German Expressionist qualities of painting. It isn’t exactly a style, but an attitude to put one’s Expression (with a capital E!) right out there. Materialism be damned, spirituality reigns – paint what your muse dictates. I am not painting from photos, and if I use them it is only as a guideline. |
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 | Hostas in a Beer Glass Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 13 x 8 " 33 x 20 390.00 |
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| A friend of mine describes her art struggles like “laying an egg”, and I am feeling that very strain. I think, in a way this is good, because that struggle strips away the usual way of doing things, and I express myself more fully. |
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 | | Madonna (many religious statues here*) Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 16 x 11" 40 x 27 290.00 |
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| There is a little lake not far from our house, where we have been swimming a lot (it’s hot here, too, but less). Being in the water makes me really happy. There’s a beer garden on the lake, where the very first day we had a sandwich of herring, onion and a pickle on a hard roll. The beermeister is very cheery and the fish guy is from Pakistan. I love it there, amidst throngs of happy German families. I have been surprised to find out men wear leather shorts, even in the summer, in a natural way. Today, at the neighboring town of Freising, I noticed leather shorts worn with the saggy bottom effect associated with jeans. |
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 | Milking Stool Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 13 x 13" 33 x 33cm 390.00 |
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| I managed to paint a white horse in a yellow field today I am so used to using pens and watery acrylic paint on paper, it’s hard to get back into the painting on canvas groove. We are in a very unusual house, with good bones and plenty of room, but with a combination of post WWII and Millenial influences. Silver plated egg cups in an imitation-Ikea cabinet. |
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 | Grape Arbor outside my Bedroom Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 12 x 12" 30 x 30cm 390.00 |
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| When I write about our trip, I love that it is so multi-dimensional. I know I am just supposed to write about fabulous this and that, and those moments are there (I am almost the only person I know who hates a resort vacation). Mostly, I like that even through I’m afraid to go to the meat counter, we get to the checkout and Blair’s left his wallet at home – the clerk, who fortunately speaks some English says “what do you want to to do? |
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Dogs and Saint on Vintage Paper Laurie Pessemier Acrylic/paper 8.5 x 11" 21 x 29cm 120.00 each. |
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* there are so many tiny baroque chapels here, we are making a secondary little study of those. I know nothing about why they exist, but provide terrific little follies to stop and admire HOUSEKEEPING: We make art to order, including Portraits by Blair Pessemier. Follow us on Instagram @lauriepessemier If you’d like to visit/take a painting workshop: https://www.pessemierworkshops.comSee all of our painting at https://paintfox.comMost of our work is available as reproductions, custom sized and framed, within the USA. |
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