Artnotes: Look OUT 2026

 

Birdisattva  (boddisatva with a bird head)  Laurie Fox Pessemier  acrylic/paper  12 x 8"  30  x 20cm   90.00 I always feel most optimistic at the start of the new`year.  2026 has such a nice ring to it; and it’s my Chinese Zodiac year, too:  the Horse.   I’ve got some terrific resolutions (in bold) pounded out over the Christmas Holiday. The Wolf (national animal of Italy)  Laurie Fox Pessemier     Acrylic/paper   20 x 20"  50 x 50cm  275.00 The week since that last Artnotes seemed eternal.   This blogging platform, Mailchimp, has made significant changes in requirements (with only one week’s notice) and I am spending way too much time on adjusting (or I can pay them an extra $33.00 a month).  This makes me question what I am doing, which is good, because with the  possible need to change my modus operandi, I am going to add two other features:  a weekly painting session online, and a video/photo piece about an artwork at a museum, or on exhibit, from time to time.     To spread more JOY with Art and Art History is my first New Year’s pledge:  be a lighthouse for Art. Peace for 2026  Laurie Fox Pessemier  acrylic/paper  12 x 8"  30  x 20cm   90.00 We made a number of forays this week, implementing the peripatetic method of working out a plan for 2026.  We went to Orvieto, a favorite place of ours, rich in different periods and levels of art.  We saw the Medieval neighborhood of Orvieto, where an unusual Nativity scene was created inside a cave and a well (Pozzo della Cava: a Unesco site) beneath the city.   We plodded up and down, amidst Tufa stone, observing typical installations (many animated) of Palestine at the time of the birth of Christ.  These caves were originally used for water collection and other functions during Etruscan times, clear up until the 19th century. There were areas for “fulling” (making and treating fabric) and kilns for making pottery.    It struck me like an underground Pompeii.    This installation was another in the series, “Cycle of the Excluded”, this year featuring Pontius Pilate.  It was unusual and thought-provoking. Lovey Dove-y  Laurie Fox Pessemier  acrylic/paper  12 x 8"  30  x 20cm   90.00   It was amazing to see something so 3-dimensionally compelling.   Which brings me to the second  of my resolutions:  to LIMIT my (social media) screen time.    I must  curtail my scrolling on Instagram and others, as I find I can scarcely concentrate more than a minute or two on a topic.   I will increase my book purchases (and sales – I have thousands to dispense of).   I will get up and move around more. We stretched our horizons at the beach early on New Years Day.   We got there by 9, as campers in tents were just awakening.  We walked a couple of kilometers with Berlino.  He cries with happiness as he digs holes large enough to bury a man.  I could have buried those men in tents, as they started with the fireworks at 10AM and we had to leave.    Constructions of sticks and stones  dotted on the beach – Santa Severa is an artistic place, from the time of the Etruscans to the Renaissance and beyond.   January 1, 2026   Santa Severa, RM  9 AM

I am inspired this year to work large, and in surpising places.   The scale and pentitude of Italian Christmas lights were not lost on me.  I am not concentrating on single, saleable pieces, but rather wall sized projections, and more work using my chalk, and possible poetry.   Look out, 2026!  To put in all in perspective, here are Woody Guthrie’s resolutions for 1943.    Fight Facism. HOUSEKEEPING:  We make art to order, including portraits by Blair Pessemier.    Follow us on Instagram @lauriepessemier or Blair's @poeticfences See all of our painting at https://paintfox.com Most of our work is available as reproductions, custom sized and frames Support our art with a donation at:  https://donate.stripe.com/4gMaEW1XwfT041t1BCcEw00   sign up for Artnotes, our weekly art missive, by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com or https://mailchi.mp/341f508cecf8/artnotes INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented.  No politics, no sales pitches, please. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM