Artnotes: This World Turns

 

Marco Polo    Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/vintage atlas paper  6.5 x 11”  17 x 28.5cm  75.00

It was Marco Polo’s birthday this week.  He would have been 772 – amazing, no?  It actually doesn’t seem that long ago to me.   He brought “Asia” to the Europeans.  He spent time with the Kubla Khan, and traveled the Silk Road (a dream trip for me).  AND he documented it all – introducing culture, travel, commerce in exotic goods to Europe.   He is one of my heroes.

Traveling over the Mountain (Cezanne view)  Blair Pessemier Acryllc/Canvas  4 x 20”  35 x 50cm   490.00

I painted a silly little sketch or two of Marco Polo.  One of the sketches (with his entourage) I copied from a Catalan Atlas made by the Jewish cartographer, Abraham Cresques and was given as a gift to the king of France. The Catalan Atlas shows the world known to a fourteenth-century European: although focused primarily on the Mediterranean sea, it covers the Canary Isles in the Atlantic and parts of the west coast of Africa, Scandinavia, and Asia. This is the first map to record information on Central Asia brought back to Europe by Marco Polo and his brothers (1260-69, 1271-95).   I would love to own the book, but a used 1977 facsimile is selling for 2,200 euros.

Marco Polo from Catalan Atlas  Laurie Pessemier Acrylic/vintage atlas paper  6.5 x 11”  17 x 28.5cm  75.00

Marco Polo was born in Venice, and when you go to Venice today, you can see how the East met the West in Architecture and Design.  I am lucky to only live 125 miles from there.   Visiting friends are often skeptical about going to Venice, worried about crowds. We’ve had to cajole visitors into going, but it is the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen -- and everyone we’ve brought there has loved it.   We don’t just hang around San Marco, but sometimes it’s nice to have lunch on that square and listen to the orchestras.  Sometimes we eat in Murano, spaghetti made with those tiny clams harvested near Venice.    There is so much to see there, and there are so many people to watch, from a million (well, a lot of) countries and cultures.  It is truly the thing I miss about America:  the diversity.  And America’s diversity is best because it involves people of all financial backgrounds.  You have to have a little money to go to Venice.

Cyclamen in a shoe Laurie Pessemier  Acryllic on printed paper 11  x 8”  25 x 20cm   75.00 each

The curtain has fallen on summer, thlump! – really, there’s very little transition time.  One day it was sweltering (over 90), and the next day rainy and then perpetually cool.   We are planning to spend much of the winter in Stimigliano this year, saving on heating costs.  Our apartment there is much smaller, and the outdoor temperature a bit warmer.   The bridge leading into our little hill town has failed and now there is talk of making the Stimigliano borgo pedestrian” only.  There is charm to a pedestrian town, but also the reality of carrying six 1.5 litre water bottles (20 pounds) a quarter mile.  We are considering buying a little Chinese electric car to haul our packages home.  I laughed when an American friend admonished me and Italy for trading with China at the time of Covid.  “China and Italy” I told him, “have had relations for nearly 800 years.”   It is amazing how this world turns.

Quince    Blair Pessemier Acryllc/Canvas  9 x 13”  22 x 33cm   290.00

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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.  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: Berlino's Vacation

 

A Fun Getaway Berlino panted heavily in the back of the car as Blair, Mary and I drove to the ferry terminal at Piombono, near Pisa, on our vacation.  This trip to the Island of Elba involved the ferry, which was a  new experience  for Berlino.   The ferry broke down as we were leaving the station; we debarked, and got on another ship.  I think plying the waves was a surprising, but not too unpleasant experience for the furry one.  More disturbing was the cat on the leash someone insisted on parading about.  It was like the cat in Lady and the Tramp: hiss and hair. Hiss and Hair:  lurking on the Ferry We drove to our vacation house, where Berlino enjoyed a fresh bowl of water.  The house was much hotter inside than outside, and the outdoors much hotter than Roccamalatina.  We all spent a difficult first night, with weak fans, sweat and disorientation.  We woke up, convinced we should leave, but first we’d at least go and swim in the sea.  That changed everything.  We did buy two new fans that day, the air conditioners out of stock in the six stores we visited. Keeping It Cool Berlino has a big fear of water.  He will walk around a puddle rather than plod through.  He does, however like sand, where he sat from 7 to 11 AM at the beach at Seccheto every day.   We staked out our claim in the morning, pitching our umbrella and wobbly chairs on the sand near the rocks at the end of the beach.  Berlino was able to “dig in” and stay cool while we swam.   The other dogs there were not as friendly.  Peaches, a shitzu, bit him, and two small black poodles went apoplectic whenever he passed by.  A husky growled.  In all cases, Berlino, his roots in communal living, remained calm.  Hanging on the Patio   Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  12 x 16”  30 x 40cm  490.00 The house wasn’t fenced, the yard dry and rangy after a long dry summer.  So he was “tied”.     Insulted, he decided to fix our wagon, shimmying out of his harness while we were inside the house.   I looked out and sure enough, he was standing next to his restraint.  He gave me that wicked little smile and calmly walked down the road.  I tried to follow, but he kept out of range.  This isn’t really unusual vacation behavior.  On an early trip with us, to Normandy, France, in 2023,he ran away 4 times before we caught him pushing the storm fencing to the side and slipping underneath.   He ran away in Vicenza last year.    He comes back.  I knew this, and remained calmer than the other members of our party. Blair and Mary launched a search.  A runner had seen him go UP; don’t worry she advised, someone will call.  Visions of wild pigs danced in our heads (yes, we saw them).   Fortunately, there were two Jehovah Witnesses scouting the neighborhood and he decided to join the pack.  Berlino loves the Jehovah’s Witnesses, especially Rebecca, who comes to our house in Rocca Malatina.   All’s well that ends well. Famillly at the Beach Berlino’s wet food ran out just before it was time to leave, despite him being on short rations (due to the heat).  He was able to enjoy a can of junk dogfood, which was like getting the fried seafood platter.  Normally, he gets a German brand, Lukullus, that he developed a taste for when we were in Munich last summer.  Lukullus is  nearly all meat, with a little veg.  This house brand from Conad only had 4 percent actual meat.   He’s been suspect of his regular food ever since, picking through it like it contains a pill. Our guest walked him at least once a day.  He got his usual two walks a day from us.  He walked up and down the beach and dug, dug, dug.  Nonetheless, his joy upon returning to Roccamalatina and his yard was palpable as he zoomed from edge to edge of the yard, throwing  dirt in his wake.  Home sweet dog home. 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: Wonderful Thing

 

Umbrellas on the Beach  Blair Pessemier  Acryllic on canvas 9.5 x 12”  x 24 x 30cm   375..00 We are back from our trip to the Island of Elba.  It was great, allthough not as we had originally planned. What a wonderful thing is that!    Everytime I go someplace in Italy I am intrigued.  This time I was astounded by the families on vacation: groups of at least eight  people at the beach.  Often there’s a collection of women: mothers, wives, and young adults, dressed in bikinis regardless of size, at ease with themselves and not trying to impress their men, who must be someplace else.  Often, but not always, little kids are present (the birth rate here is the lowest in Europe – only 1.18). There are grandparents, likely footing the bill for the grandkids vacation.  We do not see the same teenage rebellion here that we are used to where we come from.  Instead we witness snorkels and floaties, dives from the rocks.  A three year old combs his grandfather’s bald pate with a plastic rake.  The most beautifully tanned blonde girl, enjoying her last vacation before having to wear a bikini top, frolics in the light waves.  This water is perfectly clear, moving slightly, 79 degrees; small fish.    A young woman lovingly applies sun screen to her grandmother’s wrinkled face.   Water wings, paddle games, and laughter complete the scene.  Blair and I perch uncomfortably in beach chairs, covered up in the burning sun, and paint.  We are totally out of it. Water Wings  Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/paper  6.5 x 11”  17 x 28.5cm  75.00 Woman with Hat   Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/paper 8 x 11”  10 x 28.5cm  75.00  It was hideously hot on Elba – I mean like 90+ (32+c) degrees and humid.  We’d get to the beach by 7:30 AM and had to leave before noon.   Sheesh.   The house we stayed in, up in the hills had an outrageously good view of the sea and the island of Montecristo.  It was at least 5 degrees hotter on the inside of the house than the sweltering outdoors.   The house was not charming (it worked), but the outside was just perfect with a stone table and benches, and a handmade wattle fence and awning.  The town of Seccheto has much charm and the people who populated it were kind and helpful.  View From the House to Island  Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  12 x 16"  30 x 40cm  490.00   We started out the trip with the usual intention Blair and I have – to see what’s around there, go to a place a day, mingle with the populace, cook local foods.  All of these were for naught.   It was simply too hot (I did not cook a single meal!!!)   We got up every day at 5 to walk Berlino – it was the start of the dog walking hours, nautical dawn.    People were constantly warning us about wild pigs, so Blair wore his headlamp to illuminate the paths.  One morning, I thought I saw a pig approaching, but it was actually a very large golden retriever sporting a blinking red light collar.  As Blair cast his headlamp toward him, green eyes glinting, red lights blinking, he looked like a space alien -- Berlino tried to attack.  We didn’t see a real pig until our last night when we were driving into our driveway after dinner.  The larger of the two. not really any bigger than Berlino, jumped six feet in the air to the top of the stone fence.   We skipped Bernie’s final walk that night. Sheer Coverup  Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/paper  6.5 x 11”  17 x 28   Boys on a Float Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/paper 8 x 11”  10 x 28.5cm  75.00 We  are happy to be back in Roccamalatina – we painted 40 pictures this week, which  I will share over the next couple of episodes, along with stories about our  adventures.  Stay tuned. Laurie Swimming (with others)   Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  12 x 8"  30 x 20cm  290.00   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