In the Mountains Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 12 x 16" 30 x 40cm
All week went by without me writing a single word. Well, that isn’t exactly true, as I wrote to many people who were worried we were affected by the earthquake in Italy. We live more than 200 miles away, and while it is possible Harika felt the shake (she got up from bed about that time), we didn’t feel a thing. It was quite a disaster, all those stone houses crumbling like sand castles, to the ground.
The Tree out Front Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 16 x 12" 40 x 30cm
We went to our landlady’s house for dinner that evening. Our Italian teacher came, too. It was an Italian language dinner, always a bit challenging for Blair and I. We understand a lot, but at a dinner table of six people, it is daunting to chime in. It was a table of stories -- life stories, and everyone found it delightful. It was very different from the subject-oriented French table, where the man at the head would have been responsible for guiding the conversation. Here, women predominated and the table talk was pleasing (and a great pasta dish – a la confit d’onion).
Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 12 x 16" 30 x 40cm 195.00
We visited Modena twice this week, once to film a bit for our upcoming video, then to see a friend/look for a gallery space. Modena is still in the throes of summer, and one of our destinations was closed, both times: on vacation, no firm dates set. Rolling metal grills close up the shops, so sometimes we can’t even tell if we made it to the right place. We consoled ourselves with an Aperol-Spritz (Aperol, that delightful Italian drink – made from a secret recipe).
The weather has been incredible here: providing those dark blue skies one hardly ever sees. It is a strange phenomenon one associates with van Gogh paintings, but I am witnessing that sky-darker-than-the-trees image frequently.
When I think of color, I think of Bologna (persimmon, mustard, cantaloupe, rose) where we also went this week. I I bought new gold paint there – not as good as the Lascaux brand I used to get in Paris, but it is still fun to have. I had a “Pimm’s Cup” at a sidewalk café, and it was delivered with three small sandwiches, potato chips and olives.
Tophat (with Gold) Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 16 x 12" 40 x 30cm
When we lived in Tunisia, certainly the hottest clime we ever experienced, women used to walk as slow as snails. Wrapped up in white, sheet-like coverings, the edge of the cloth held in their teeth, they would proceed along the sidewalk at a pace I could never match. Really, very sensible, protected from the sun, not breaking a sweat. But then, what about the burkini?
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