Picking Oranges Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 32 x 42 inches
Pine Blair Pessemier Acyrlic/canvas 11 x 16 inches
Prow Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 9 x 11 inches
Spooler Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 9 x 11 inches
Early morning Masts Laurie Fox Pessmeier Acrylic / canvas 10 x 11.5
Window Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 12 x 12
Orange Roofs Blair Pessemier Oil/canvas 18 x 15
Laurie Fox Pessemier Moonrise over Cap-Ferrat OIL/canvas 11 x 18 inhes
Blair Pessemier Masts Acrylic/canvas 11 x 16 inches
Artnotes: Magical Magi
On the beach on Tuesday day, a smallish man wearing a stingy brim hat and
wraparound sunglasses appeared. Harika
was attracted to him at once, which helped me overlook the fact he was the
owner of the oversized baggage near the steps to the beach.
Our discoveries have been both good and bad on this trip to
the South. We have had three days of rain,
which interferes with our good nature.
It has allowed us to convert some of the grapefruit and the ten pounds
of oranges (sweet and mandarin) which our neighbors gave us, into
marmalade. Now what to do with it? It is too heavy to ship.
The fellow at the beach recognized us as English speakers at
once. “Nice is NICE,” he says, “this is paradise. We don’t even need to die to find it.” He got down on the sand with Harika. She jumped on him and licked his nose. “Dog
is GOD,” he philosophizes. English is clearly not his first language, but
he is good.
Our house here, an old artist atelier is beautiful, despite
the fact there are no stairs between floors, only a ladder. We moved the bed,
formerly on the lower floor, up to the main floor. Our full sized bedroom below had a toilet in
it, only hidden by a curtain: convenient,
in some ways, but off-putting at times.
We went to the grand market at Ventimiglia, Italy on
Friday. I have never seen so many leather
goods and cashmere sweaters . Of course,
there were Italian vendors selling Parmesan cheese (only 10 euros a kilo),
preserved meats, gorgonzola – we bought all those foods, including a reasonably priced
salt cod. But selling everything else
are people from all corners of the world.
The man on the beach noticed our paintings. “This is wonderful how it comes from you,”
he continues, “looking at the land, then through here (pointing to his head). “ He asks how much. We make
price, and he tells us to wait
here, as he runs up the stairs.
An Indian sort of man tries to sell me a hand sewing machine
at the market in Italy. We settle on a
needle threader, green and pink plastic for 1.70; I imagine at one time it was
made of wood, soft to the touch – today it is made in China. A Sri Lankan comes by with rings and bangles;
Senegalese have watches; Chinese ladies
sell gloves.
When l listen to one of my favorite Christmas stories, Amahl
and the Night Visitors, I think of all these men from all over the world,
bringing us gifts. And I didn’t even have to leave Paradise.
