Artnotes: A Happy Coat

 

Fall Laundry   Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  12 x16”  30 x 40cm 390.00

I am smiling as I reflect on the outcome of this week’s election in the USA. (Italian friends are equally impressed!)  It restores my belief in democracy, decency, and the future.  Musk couldn’t buy the election!  Hallelujah!  This will be an event which will go down in history as testimony to the power of democracy.   Congratulations to all of us on this wonderful development.

Deal Me In (from the dining table series) Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas 19.5 x 12”  50 x 30cm  490.00

Meanwhile, it is cold and foggy in Roccamalatina.  We are booking a trip to the Italian Riviera (Rapallo -- remember Enchanted April? Castello Brown is less than 5 miles from us) for part of December.  There’s a microclimate which exists there, much warmer and often drier.  Of course, there’s no guarantee under the current climate conditions, but being near the sea is always wonderful.    I found a museum with the most interesting  prehistoric anthropomorphic sculptures (I suspect might have inspired Modigliani), not far away .   Genoa (38 minutes) is always a great spot, with winding streets and wonderful food brought from the Jews and Arabs of Spain in 1492.  Did you know that so many of those refugees came to the Liguria region under the terror of Ferdinand and Isabella?  They also went to Constantinople, but that’s for another story.

Local Landscape  Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic on Canvas, unstretched 14 x 13” 35 x 33cm  290.00

I am a big believer that travel is “good for what ails you”. On our last trip, to France, I found walking was the best balm for my sore knee – or at least I was distracted from it.  I wanted to see things, do things.  Berlino, who loves his yard, might not agree.  As a friend said recently, ”I could die there or die here.  I’d rather try it there.”   You know, from my previous (thousands of – since 1998) Artnotes, I never advocate staying at home.

Wind Blown Leaves  Blair Pessemier  acrylic/canvas  16 x 12”  40 x 30cm    275.00

We have made more friends in Roccamalatina, and it is helping my Italian language immensely.  Last weekend we went to an Amaranthus party.   Not far from our house, we have friends that grow their own food, and cook in an oven outdoors.  It was a gathering to gather Amaranthus, a very beautiful wild plant whose seed they will grind into flour.  That plant used to proliferate on the land of our old, big house in Roccamalatina.  It is an enormous plant, standing upwards of 4 feet (more than a meter), and I used to cut it and make dramatic  flower arrangements in green glass demijohns. I am thinking about it again.

I do many things, create many projects at home.  Recently, I painted a coat Blair has had since 2010, and worn less than a dozen times.  It is one of those sheepskin coats, although this sheep was dirty when they made the coat.  It is a color I’d describe as faded rat.  So I adorned it with Iris and Spring Wildflowers – it’s mine now, and never looked happier.

Red Leaves  Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas 18 x 15”  46 x 38  490.00

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: A Prayer from Man Ray

 

Carlo’s Trees  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  14  x 9”  35 x 23cm  290.00   Fall us upon us.  The trees are bright yellow and red, and the air is crisp and smoky.   Blair is blocking up holes in  our warm house where the mice are launching an invasion.  I know I could likely train Berlino to intervene in that department, but I hesitate to encourage aggressiveness.  He is a docile bird dog with a soft mouth (never muss the feathers) – his idea is just to catch whatever it is and walk around with it.   The pine tree is sowing its pine nuts and the yard has been flooded with small birds (peacefully) cashing in on the haul. Diner (first in a series)  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  390.00 We recently drove to the foundation Magnani-Rocca, near Parma, to see a show of Man Ray photos, sculptures, and film.  There were some paintings and prints in there as well.   It was a large and interesting show – Man Ray was a surrealist, Dada-ist and his work was both thought-provoking and funny.  Take for instance, the “palatable” – a table made out of an artist’s palette; or the “Ballet de Paris” – a play on the word for broom in French (balai) painted and mounted like a sculpture.   I didn’t think the museum really thought through or understood the work – they downplayed his time with Kiki in Montparnasse in favor of some interesting but commercial fashion photography.  Were we not somewhat literate in Italian, French and English we would have never “gotten” those artistic pieces.   For us, it was a fabulous, comprehensive retrospective of his work, culminating in his film of the renovation of the Nouilles chateau “of the dice”.  At Cezanne’s Studio  (Keith) Blair Pessemier Acrylic on Canvas, unstretched 12 x 16” 30 x 40cm  390.00  The museum itself seemed to be reeling from the (recovered) thefts which took place recently – we both checked, and sure enough the Cezanne pieces in the regular collection were back in place.  The 14th century gold paintings of the Madonna were looking unusually beautiful.   The grounds of the estate were a little less pristine, and we were asked to fill out a survey that one often sends out before making changes.  We decided to lunch elsewhere because the restaurant equally seemed off its game.  We drove to a restaurant nearby and ate the workers special – spaghetti and a main course for 15 euros.  A Drink with Man Ray (from the diner series)  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/newspaper   20 x 27”  50 x 70cm    275.00 We had to make a trip to Modena this week to get my glasses repaired.  I leaned on them, and one lens was significantly displaced.  We have been going to Modena more often to visit our friend, but this week he was busy, and we spent the afternoon walking around on our own.  There are the most wonderful store windows there, from dishes, to salami, to buttons – Modena is a unique city in Italy.  Usually, we are just walking toward a coffee shop, but this time I really stopped to look.   We saw our first very lovely Christmas decorations hung over the street, and we went into the cathedral to look around.  The large, polychromed Nativity was there, and the frescoes were cleaned and brilliant.  I ask god that my friend Sal in Seattle sells his airplane.  It sounds like a prayer from Man Ray. At the Modena Cathedral  Lion sees a mouse Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas 10.5 x 14”  27 x 35  390.00 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: Wasn't She Something?

 

Daudet’s Windmill  Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas 12 x 12”  30 x30cm  390.00

Towards the end of our trip to Paradou, Blair and I went to Daudet’s Windmill, in Fontvieille.  I sat on the ground in the heavy wind (this was the windiest place I ever vacationed) and painted the scene; Blair painted in the shade of the tree.  Along with my coat, we forgot the easels at home in Roccamalatina, adding a further challenge to painting on vacation.  Daudet was a famous f19th century French author who wrote about Provence (and other places)  He composed many charming short stories, particularly about southern France.  This Windmill was his inspiration.  I found the windmill inspiring myself, and was amazed to see a half dozen of its 21st century cousins on the plain below.  It was a good place to paint.

Windmill Fontvieille  LauriePessemier  Acrylic/canvas panel, 8  x 12”  20 x 30m  290.00

It always takes me a long time to sort the input from vacation.  Usually, when Blair and I travel, I stay home one day out of four, just to process.  On this trip I found myself waking up at 3 AM, alive with thought.  I thought a lot about food, and dining out.  Blair and I rarely dine out by ourselves.  On this trip,  we dined out (courtesy of our friends) every day, at least once a day.  We ate at the Bistro de Paradou; the Café de Provence (Mouries); Café de Commerce (Mouries, twice); L’Escaravats near Pont du Gard; Café Castillon (twice, in Paradou); The Tabac in St Remy; Lou Mao in Aix-en-Provence; L’Essentiele in Arles (my favorite!); La Pitchounet in Arles; Chateau La Coste; and Les Luanes in Stes. Marie de la Mer.  Blair ate out one day with our friends in Nimes, and I had a grilled cheese sandwich, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I used three kinds of cheese, a little pate, with  cornichons (pickles) on the side.  I thought of MFK Fisher, authoress of How to Cook A Wolf, and how she took her daughters to Aix-en-Provence.  They ate out, and cooked market food – it inspired two of her books.

Picking Olives    Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas  12 x 12”  30 x 30cm   390.00

I love to cook in France.  My older subscribers might remember we cooked at the Petite Lux in Paris for a couple of years. We really learned so much, about French cuisine and running a small restaurant.   I tried to make dinner every night at our rental house, but people always feel its too much, or maybe they just don’t like my food.   For me, part of traveling is working with local products.    I managed to wrest away part of a rotisserie chicken we bought to make into soup -- I think it might have been my most impromptu dish.  I did manage to cook lamb chops, duck breast, and confit du canard, with local accoutrements; Blair made a couple of dishes, too.

Paradou House  Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/paper approx. 11 x 8”  27 x 21cm 90.00 each 3 for 225.00

For me, vacation is the joy of seeing new people, bumping into things, being a little discombobulated.   When we parked the car to eat at L’Essentiale in Arles (we dropped off our friends) we ran into a beautiful gypsy woman blocking the parking place we wanted.  We spent more time than we should have examining her bright yellow skirt and magenta scarf, like it a silky combination from a Renaissance painting.    A little later we looked at each other and exclaimed, “wasn’t she something?”

Plane Tree Paradou   Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas   12 x 8”  30 x 20cm  290.00

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