Artnotes: The Dark

Fan   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/paper 12.5 x 17"  30 x 42cm  190.00   We are in Stimigliano, RI, our house near Rome.   The internet is not working at all here.  If we don't make it to the Art Salon this Sunday (we're planning to, but who knows?), you'll know why.   There is a breakdown of the infrastructure in this town.  The only bridge which leads into town is disabled (we are a hill town), and cars can't pass.  This same bridge carries the utilities here, and they are only working sporadically.  We plan on leaving on Monday, before the 104 degree (40c) weather sets in.  It is going to be almost that hot up north.   Year of the Snake Year of the Dragon  Blair Pessemier  Acryllic on canvas 12 x 9.5”  30 x 24cm 250 each As anyone who has lived in the heat knows, the best relief is SWIMMING.  Yesterday, we went with our neighbors to Lake Vico.  It's about an hour from here, but worth the trip.  It's a volcanic lake, with slippery delicious water.  I jump straight in, and swim until I reach my sunshine limit. Sun Hat  Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/paper   12.5 x 17"  30 x 42cm  190.00   We eat lunch on the deck of the restaurant next door to the beach, overlooking beautiful multicolored umbrellas.  I love watching the people bob around in the water.  There are surprisingly few people here -- Italians want to be seen at the seaside, and the lake goes wonting.  The lake is clearly superior to swimming in the sea:  no jellyfish or sharks, and a lot more room to splash around. The water is crystal clear.  This has been a "drinking water" lake since the time of the Etruscans, who built a tunnel to utilize some of the water. Three Florals   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acryllic on printed paper 12 x 9.5”  30 x 24cm   250 set At Riva Fiorita, I order the fried seafood mix, which is suprisingly good.  It doesn't look so good, but it tastes delicious.  There are wild kittens carousing around this porch, and the three dogs dining with their owners rue their leashes.  We swim again after lunch, laughing in the face of the one hour wait rule (an urban legend).   We hate to go home, but must.  My bathing suit dries in the sun on the dashboard of the car. Year of the Ox Year of the Rooster Blair Pessemier  Acryllic on canvas 12 x 9.5”  30 x 24cm 250 each This all has the sense of summers past, bright sun and sand, families and friends.   Italy has a particular spirit of fun, especially  in the summer.   At our apartment, we play the game of keeping the house cool, opening and shutting windows.  I hate being in the dark, but for part of the day, it's inevitable.  We see neighbors at the coffee shop in the early morning -- they've not slept well, either, "this is just how it's going to be from now on".   Cheers. Summer Flowers   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acryllic on printed paper 12 x 9.5”  30 x 24cm   90.00 HOUSEKEEPING:  We make art to order, including portraits by Blair Pessemier.    Follow us on Instagram @lauriepessemier See all of our paintings at https://paintfox.com Most of our work is available as reproductions, custom sized and framed. Write to me at lfpessemier@gmail.com   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 8 PM   NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM

Artnotes: Rekindled

 

Butterflies on the Wind   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/gauze  38 x 70”  1 x 1.75 m   250.00   If you click here , you can see the butterflies move in the breeze Andy Warhol was really part of my father’s generation.  He was just a year younger than Foxie (1927).   It’s funny, because I had always thought of him as my own age.  And when we went to see Andy Warhol. Ladies and Gentlemen in Ferrara this week, he seemed like he was still in the picture.  I guess that is what great art is:  timeless. Pioneer Square Seattle  Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  24 x 12”  60 x 30cm  490.00 I think Warhol’s heyday in the 1970s was an extraordinary time.  Everything was changing in America, and in the world in general.  With his portrait, Andy Warhol made Mao a pop icon.  The same for Jackie Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, and Liza Minelli, Elvis – all these images were in the exhibit.   Warhol transformed transvestites into cover girls and lots of these were part of Andy Warhol.  Ladies and Gentlemen.  There were hundreds of pieces in the show.  Warhol made us think of models differently.   His Art Factory launched a thousand careers.   Don’t forget the Campbell’s Soup Can.  All of these images were great equalizers, I believe.  Everything he depicted became part of our reality, from the most mundane to the most elevated (no Henry VIII here).  The show in Ferrara underscored this. Trippa  (my Campbell’s Soup can)    Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/paper  9 x 9"  23 x 23cm  175.00 It took longer to get to Ferrara than usual on Friday – there had been a big storm the day before.  The highway was closed, and we were relegated to a back road, with many speed cameras.    This road was littered with trees and assorted detritus which appeared to be blown down in a tornado. Trees were snapped, mid trunk or ripped out of the ground, roots and all.   This was also a very interesting way to go, because it passed by many beautiful houses on the outskirts of the city, made of brick or stucco, in the art nouveau/liberty style.  The land is completely flat as one leaves Bologna and approaches the coast (Ferrara is about 30 miles from the sea), and there are fields of vegetables all around.  We passed through the asparagus capital, Altedo.    Green asparagus has been grown here as long ago as the Roman era, when it was a great delicacy, shipped there individually wrapped to preserve its freshness.  It is depicted at Pompeii.  Year of the Horse, Year of the Tiger  Blair Pessemier  Acryllic on canvas  12 x 9.5”  30 x 24cm   250 each I really appreciated this route to Ferrara, because normally is it a tedious trip along a grim concrete highway.  This day, we parked close to the museum and walked along beautiful streets to the show.   We photographed hand-hammered metal work; oohed and aahed over brick designs.  The streets themselves were of the original round stones found at the seaside.   Ferrara is a place I used to resist, but now it is rekindled.   What a universe! Crab   Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/gauze fabric   38 x 38”  1 x 1meter  250.00 HOUSEKEEPING:  We make art to order, including portraits by Blair Pessemier.    Follow us on Instagram @lauriepessemier See all of our paintings at https://paintfox.com Most of our work is available as reproductions, custom sized and framed. Write to me at lfpessemier@gmail.com   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 8 PM   NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM