Artnotes: Neptune on the Rocks

 

Leo   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/oil pastel/canvas   42 x 24"   105 x 60 cm 750.00

On Wednesday we had to go to the art store near Rome to buy stretchers for a painting.  I have been selling some of my large animal pictures, and I don’t stretch them until after they are sold.   We go to THE most wonderful art store in the world:  Agostinelli.    Not only do they have great art supplies suitable for the most professional and the least professional, but they have a museum across the street. An Art Museum you assume?  Not at all.  It is a museum full of the most bizarre junk you’ve ever seen:  a rubber diving costume, at least 300 clocks, a hundred or so chandeliers, a meteorite, a sedan chair: you get the picture.  After a perusal, your order for stretchers and canvas is ready across the street.

Aardvark   Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  16 x  20"   40 x 50 cm  550.00

From there, it’s just a hop, skip and a jump to the sea.  We drive about 10 minutes, past Ostia Antica, the ancient port of Rome (if you haven’t gone, you must!), to the town of Ostia.  It is truly one of my favorite beaches because it is NOT pristine nor idyllic.  It IS a beautiful sea, transparent turquoise, and the beach is populated with wonderful people and things.

We found a great parking place, right across from the big stone pier.  All along the pier were young men and women billing and cooing; older couples, arms entwined; a dog standing on the railing of the pier with his master holding on.  An older man with a boom box picked out a Frank Sinatra tune on his electric guitar.  My eyes filled with tears from the sheer romance of the moment.  And the light?  A soft golden yellow provided everyone with shiny hair and a tan.  About 11:30 I spotted a fish restaurant across the road, featuring baccala (salt cod) and crema di cecchi (chick pea cream).  The waiter, a gregarious fellow, hailed us in, despite the early hour.   He visited with us as he set up the other tables, recounting his work all over Europe as an accountant (I HATE Accounting, he says forcefully) and how he came back home to Italy just two months ago.   He was wearing a terrific shirt with hundreds of little printed sailboats and thick accounting glasses that made his eyes look enormous.  He had seen a lot, up close and far away.  He was surprised we wanted the baccala dish– tourists don’t order that, he chided.

Flying Chimp    Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic, oil pastel, canvas    24 x 24"  60 x 60cm  575.00

It was truly the perfect day, despite Berlino’s refusal to come along (he sleeps in the mornings).  I can’t explain why I feel this way, but I love the less than ideal places like this, with people who have dimension (often angular) and where love abounds, right on the street.    The yellow miniskirt, the long legs in impossible tall sneakers; the cattywampus statue of Neptune teetering on the rocks out in the sea; the endless umbrella-ed tables on the sand, a waiter shooing away kids and seagulls.   It’s a well written story in which the hero isn’t all good -- really, he’s perfect.

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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. 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: There Will Be Risotto

 

Peacock  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/oil pastel/canvas 32 x 42"  81 x 107cm   795.00

When is it going to stop RAINING?   It's the $64,000.00 question on the forefront of everyone’s mind; as hillsides slide onto the road (even on the A1 Autostrada), puddles get deeper, and more fruit is destroyed.   A visiting friend drove through a good six inches of water over the road in Bazzano on his way to the airport, to gett back to sunny England. The good news is that the Po River, down to 1/10th of its normal flow in February has gained 9 feet and is normal again.  There will be risotto.

Good Weather for Frogs   Commission by Blair

The weather has put the kibash on our travels back to Stimigliano, although we are not that anxious because it’s raining there, too.  And that residence is less than half the size of this one.  Wet dog in a smaller venue.  We’ve taken this free time to recuperate from our test, and paint once again.   Blair had two commissions, and I press on with the large animal theme.  I love these animals, and can’t wait for it to clear up so I can see critters in the woods.

Poppy in Ottoman Pitcher   Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  23.5 x 16"  60 x 40cm  490.00

We can’t get to the big store, and have had to limit our purchases to our small local grocery.  I make sardine masala.   In fact there are two grocery stores in this town of 500 people.  Choices remain limited, but one specializes in meats, the other in cleaning and household products.  I am ironing more in this weather; I meant to buy starch.

CHEETAH   Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/oil pastel/canvas 24.5 x 49"  62 x 123cm  890.00

Dullsville is all I can say.  I could hoot and holler over climate change, air travel and two-car households.  But meanwhile, I’ll just towel off our stinky wet dog and think of risotto.

Peacock Feathers  Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  21.5 x 15"  55 x 38cm  490.00

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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. 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: The Test

 

Roe Deer  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas   24 x 42"   60 x 106 cm  795.00 If you have never been in a room with 30 immigrants from a variety of counties, you are really missing something.  I felt like I belonged:  we were all awaiting our Italian literacy test, and all feeling very nervous. Nobody had the advantage, except the teachers, one of whom was dressed in a dress-suit that was out of the pages of Vogue.  Even here socks and shoes were chic.  Only one of the test-takers looked great – a Moroccan woman with a most interesting oversized jacket in a black and white large chiclet pattern, and animal print boots.  The boots had little sparkles along the sole and around the aiglets – I wondered if she really liked that – they looked good but sparkle is sometimes a look killer for me. We didn’t all have the same cultural mores.   Cheating seemed perfectly ok to some, including the man ahead of me who instructed me to turn over my paper so he could copy my answers.   He’d already been moved up from the back of the room and tried to get the other teacher to let him go back there.  One guy mistakenly was given the answer sheet, and immediately copied it all onto another sheet.  He had to be told to shut off his phone twice, which made me think he photographed the answer sheet.   He was mildly handsome, but leaning toward fat;  his eyes looked like he was wearing eyeliner.  I think the teacher thought he was cute and treated him with leniency.     The teachers really wanted us to do well, a concept which warmed my heart and put me at ease.   Some teachers I’ve known had that sense of trying to hide knowledge, rather than impart it; testing times the worst, with maximum excuses to eliminate players.  It was probably for this reason I couldn’t eat all week and had such severe gastro issues I was in bed all day Friday.   I took 4 imodium for the trip to Modena .  I am hoping to recover now that the experience is over, but champagne may be delayed by a day or two. We left the testing room in great spirits – the two hours flew by.  And I liked all the people we spent time with. Wild Roses    Laurie Fox  Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  12 x  12"   30 x 30 cm 450.00 AND    ta-ta-ta-da:     WE PASSED!!!!! Sign up for Artnotes by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com 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. 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: Retirement

 

Spring (inspired by Botticelli)   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/oil pastel/canvas   36 x 23.5"   92 x 60 cm  695.00

I alternate between thinking I will ace this upcoming Italian language test and imagining dismal failure. I can carry on a fairly lengthy conversation and then I don't understand the simplest question.  When I came to Italy, I only imagined speaking Italian -- not writing, or conjugating all 21 tenses of the verbs.   In December, 2021, a law was passed requiring foreign residents to pass a language test to renew their visa for more than one year. So, every free moment this busy week was spent studying.  How can our week be that busy?  Well, we painted our new gallery, finished up a few new art pieces and hung a show:  Exhibit for a King.   Blair remastered his Norman farmer into King Charles, and painted the crown.   I abandoned the animals in favor a “Primavera” a la Botticelli.  No one in Italy had seen the results of our French Art Residency, so we hung that work on our walls.  We had three walk-ins the first afternoon who were clearly and pleasantly surprised.

Crowned!   Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  39.5 x  25.5"   100 x 65 cm  695.00     Crown 12 x 12"  30 x 30cm  350.00

I am talking up a storm in Italian, in preparation for the big testing event next Saturday morning at 7:30 AM in Modena (we’ll need to leave before 6:30).  Most Italians I talk to feel they couldn’t necessarily pass the test – if one if over 50 years old, the thought of taking any test of knowledge seems daunting.  We both passed a higher level French test associated with citizenship, but that was a good ten years ago – the little grey cells were fresher.  I will have to buy #2 pencils, a couple of sharpeners and erasers.

The New Gallery:  959 via d'Azeglio in Rocca Malatina

Blair has two new art commissions, very fun ones, he is working on.  We hope the gallery results in more portrait commissions for him.   We zoomed with a young relative of ours this week who is thinking of taking up art as a profession.   “Our only regret is not starting sooner,” Blair announced, when we talked about what we might have done differently.    Both of us feel like we are really ahead of the trend for people trying to find meaning in their work.  For us, our art is like oxygen.

Happy Birthday Card (inspired by Sicilian King candelabra) to Blair

The pharmacist tells me I am speaking Italian better than I used to, and we agree that is a good result of studying.  “Gosh,” she goes on as she looks at my file,” you and your husband should be enjoying your retirement."

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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. 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: Berlino's Vacation

Just Playing (It's not the size of the dog in the fight)   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas   12  x 16"  30 x 40cm   550.00

Berlino went on vacation this week.  I say Berlino did, because he had the absolute best time in his doggone life.   He must have met 25 dogs a day – in Siena, San Gimignano, Volterra, Certaldo…    Many were fancy purebreds, some were mutts, but he didn’t care – they were dogs, THEY were fun.  It was an Italian holiday weekend, which accounted for so many people with their dogs – Italians bring their dogs with them everywhere, as most Europeans do.    We celebrated Liberation Day on Tuesday, 25 April, when in 1944, the Italians were liberated from the Nazis.  We have another big holiday on Monday, May 1, honoring all workers. .

Maize, Berlino's Wolf-dog Friend   Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/oil crayon/canvas  18  x  10.5"   45 x 27 cm  550.00

We enjoyed our mini-vacation, too.  I’d never been to San Gimignano or Volterra, which were lovely.  I was happy to see Siena after 15 years, and was struck by how different it was from its rival/neighbor, Florence.  There were still some people who lived around there, as demonstrated by laundry hanging from the clotheslines below windows, and parking reserved for locals.  Someone must live there, to keep the shops and restaurants staffed.   We bought a set of four only-slightly-overpriced linen napkins – it’s very difficult to find cloth napkins these days.  The seamstress sat in the back of the store, whirr-whirr-whirring up her confections.

Blair's Sister, celebrating her birthday in Italy

We stayed, courtesy of Blair’s sister, at a nice hotel outside of San Gimignano.   I love hotels, their lobbies, bars, and grounds.  This hotel showed signs of recent (positive) renewal, but you could still see good “bones”..  There was a particular local furniture leg treatment we saw at the Etruscan museum that occurred again in hotel furniture – things like this make Blair and I so happy to be “out” seeing things.   Did I mention Berlino was welcome inside the Etruscan museum in Volterra?  He showed particular interest in some ancient sticks and the bone display.

Geranium 2023   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/oil pastel/cardboard  28 x 20"  70 x  50cm   390.00

It’s curious to me that everyone loves to see historic, interesting older things, but I don’t know many of my countrymen who actually hang out their laundry or live without air conditioning.    Italy is rapidly catching up – I can’t find those cloth napkins, and our last laundry service that starched and ironed them (for 50 cents each) closed their doors.  So now I wash them and iron them myself.

Siena - Florence's longtime rival  It is so different.

Artnotes: At the Zoo

 

White Rhino   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/oil pastel/canvas   27 x "41  70 x   104cm   795.00

Sometime I like animals more than I like people.  Animals (excluding humans) are honest, don’t start wars or attack other animals just for the fun of it (well, maybe cats).   Animals rarely misunderstand my good intentions, and I can often just admire them from afar.     So it’s a natural, I guess, that I have been painting them.  I am painting big canvases of big animals from the jungle, or now, from the zoo. Actually, it’s the Bioparco in Rome, home to two of the two thousand or so remaining white rhinos in the world.  WHY there are only that many left?  Because of the cruelest and deadliest animals.

Giraffe!   Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/oil crayon/canvas  37 x  30"   94 x 76 cm  695.00

I alternate between loving and hating the “zoo”.  Today it’s a necessity to protect the few remaining members of a race, like the rhinos.  The zookeepers and I are hoping to re-wild the animals if the humans ever stop poaching, or fighting.   Many rhinos come from Sudan, and you know what its like there now. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why we have wars, or why we shoot our neighbors with guns.   I look at my terribly abused dog, Berlino, who has a lot to gripe about, walk up to other dogs and get along, or move along.  He’s pretty good with humans, too, but dislikes the newspaper deliveryman at the café, and Giuseppe, who met him the first time carrying a big stick (he’s a small man, and often carries a stick).  Berlino gives a nice big warning to those few people he fears:  a giant bark.  He sometimes howls in a particular vibrato, which makes it even more mournful or scary.

Drawings by Blair Pessemier

I was surprised at the number of adults at the Biopark in Rome on Tuesday.   They seemed to study the animals long and thoughtfully.   I was really impressed by the tigers, and of course, the rhinos I intended to paint.  There was a bearcat, and lots of lemurs.  The monkeys made me feel sad; the giraffes and camels seemed most content.  My favorite exhibit was the African dogs, whose enclosure overlooked the dog play area in the Borghese Gardens.

Drawings by Laurie Fox Pessemier

Sign up for Artnotes by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com

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. 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

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