Artnotes: A Little Italian Cafe for a Day

 

Bird in our House   Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  13 x 18"   450.00 This week we drove to Castiglion Fiorentino.   It’s a small town very close to Arezzo (think Piero della Francesca and the Legend of the True Cross).  We look after a friend’s apartment there.  We needed to touch up one of our very large paintings (6 x 8 feet), which was much more challenging than anticipated.   It gave us real appreciation for Piero della Francesco.  Thankfully our patron is a lot more free-spririted than Piero della Francesca’s. Blair painted the original work, flat, on the floor, and we strectched and hung it in Castiglion Fiorentino later.  Now, there is no place large enough to lay it down so we proceeded like clowns to stand in our socks on the bed, and make the adjustments.  We both worked on it, and the result seemed quite good:  better than the original. Blair painted the original work, flat, on the floor, and we strectched and hung it in Castiglion Fiorentino later.  Now, there is no place large enough to lay it down so we proceeded like clowns to stand in our socks on the bed, and make the adjustments.  We both worked on it, and the result seemed quite good:  better than the original. Hyacinths from Christmas  Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/paper  25 x 17"  67 x 43   290.00    We are always making improvements at this Tuscan apartment, and took a paint sample for our next project to create stripes in the bathroom.   I also painting a bunch of dish images you may have seen to apply to the wall.   I love these installations where we are able to express ourselves in an entire space. Blair and my life together started out when we both worked in the design department for a hotel group in Seattle.  Later we had our commercial interior design firm for 13 years and we constantly look back and say, “wow, I learned that” and “hey, I never knew”.   It was one of those growing experiences which can seem very unpleasant at certain points – but was really key in our personal development.

Or an Orchid Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/paper  25 x 17"  67 x 43  sold I don’t think we ever gave up our desire to “decorate”.  It was why we bought our house in Stimigliano.  We used to stay at a friend’s place, and wanted to have a place where we could paint our own walls.  We bought via Dante, 7, and decorated it with a large olive tree mural, jewel tones on other walls, covered with paintings.   Right now, we are contemplating a small renovation in the kitchen/bath, but instead may find another place we can paint.  Our gallery in Roccamalatina serves that purpose, too.  Right now, we have a six foot long view of Venice in the window. In spring, we have some terrific new inspiration:  FISH.     I love these odd places where our friend (Castiglion) and we live (Stimi and Rocca) – they are truly Italian places, free of foreign speculators buying and renovating properties to rent so locals can no longer live there.  There is nothing more tragic than going to a village where artists once worked, and seeing their former studios turned into pricey shops for cruise ship visitors (Pietrasanta).   I will never be or even understand Italians, but I love to observe their kindness, generosity and downright craziness.  It is an exile in a place I can’t control, and it fuels my creativity. The house in Castiglion Fiorentino is for summer use only – there is no heat.  So after finishing up the painting in the cold, Berlino and I went for a walk.  It is an extraordinary little hill town.  There is a plaza at the top, with a large loggia where one can sit on the sill (even Bernie does, it’s at least 5 feet wide) and gaze out for miles, past a church and baptistery.  One can sit in the plaza, in sun or shade.   There is the most romantic little grocery store, and the city hall looks like you are about to enter OZ.   There are a million places for rent there (not a good sign for Italy), which makes me feel like a dog sniffing a bone.   I can see an art studio here, a shop there, and we’ve always wanted to have a little Italian café for a day. 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

Artnotes: At Farfa

 

Welcome to Santa Maria di Farfa This week we headed to Farfa, an Abbey just about 20 minutes from where we live in Stimigliano.   Its existed since the 500s (founded by Saint Lorenzo of Syria), with buildings from about 700.  There are nuns and priests still living and working  here.  It has a terrific church, a library with materials from early medieval times, herb gardens, and an entire small town of businesses, restaurants and workplaces.  It is such a treasure to have so close to home, and we visit it several times a year. Renovation and what it looks like without scaffolding (earlier visit) It was one of those days:  below freezing; as we started to film, snowflakes started falling.  There was scaffolding about the exterior of the church.   We dealt with it.   But then, inside the church was hammering, voices, more scaffolding.  In a way this was a bonus, because we see the people in this icy cold interior, restoring the fine frescoes all around the church.   Otherwise most items weren’t viewable, if not on account of scaffolding, because there were no lights (except candles). Maybe the biggest obstacle on this folly of a trip was that when I looked at the videos I realized I am not as photogenic as I once was.  Maybe these “art history” moments are best left to writing, or a voice in the background.   I know I am not supposed to think that way, but honestly, I would rather see a more youthful, or at least a more interesting-looking me jabbering about who made what and how a thousand years ago. In any case, the most interesting (and accessible) item I found was the Madonna Icon, from around 1290.  A large, framed image encrusted with gold, has four “holes’ where the image of Mary, Jesus and 2 angels peek out.  It makes me think of one of those carnival photo ops, where you stick your head through the hole and you can be a queen or a dog, and your partner is a sea captain. We were so cold after twenty minutes, we had to run to the coffee shop to get one of those marvelously thick hot cocoas.  The chocolate is as thick as cake batter.   As my friend L says, “at least we had a good meal.”  (in our case hot chocolate) Maybe I’m just better off painting. Red and White seemed the colors of the day.

Above  Works on paper  Laurie Fox Pessemier  12 x 9"  90 apiece. Red Vase from Margherita   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/paper  25 x 17"  67 x 43   290.00 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

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