Sunday, February 11, 2018

The Library

At Montelibretto  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/newspaper  25 x 17"  63 x 43cm

In the Grove  Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  13 x 18  33 x 46cm

A Windy Day at Ladispoli  Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  10.5 x 18"  27 x 46 cm

the library

Finally, after weeks of delay, the new bookcase was delivered on Monday.  Our American Library in Stimigliano has over 1,250 donated books, of various genres, available for circulation.   We found a lovely antique wooden bookcase, slightly over twelve feet (3 meters) in length for sale in a second hand lot.   Because brown furniture is so out of fashion, and we are among the few people who have a twenty foot long wall, unpierced by windows, we were able to buy the libreria for very little money. 
Needless to say, this maneuver has put crimp in our painting this week.  I use the library as my studio, as well, and my painting surface was piled with books for three days.

The next day, we went to Rome, and scoped out painting sites for an April engagement.  We visited the boat basin in the Villa Borghese Gardens, and are eager to give it a try.  We were in Rome for a meeting of the American Business Group.   Blair and I have always been involved in the business of painting, as well as the act of painting.   The ABG has the most interesting speakers, and this was no exception.  We heard from a recently retired journalist with a long career at the New York Times, speak about fake news.  It made me seriously consider quitting Facebook, which targets people for what fake news they receive.  Google is king of the news targeting department, although not necessarily fake,  and depending on your profile feeds you different information when you “google”.   Which explains to me why Blair and I always get different results.  I won’t go into detail about the biggest purveyor of fake news, which you can certainly guess.

On Friday, we drove to Montelibretti, to visit Libelulla, an olive oil operation.  They have an “adopt-an-olive-tree” business (www.libelluladopt.com), and we are thinking of teaming up with them to offer olive painting tours.  We strolled acres of olive groves, and visited the charming town of Montelibretti.   It’s just a little more than a half-hour from where we live, and the same distance from Rome.  We might bring our Rome-city painter there in April, if she would like a break from the ancient stones.   A full-fledged olive-grove-hills-of-Rome tour is in the planning.

I still have to organize the subjects and alphabetize the library, but the unpacking and shelving is complete.  I am using a cataloging program on the Internet to register each book, so they can be checked out.  We’re headed up to a snowy Rocca Malatina for a few days, to see friends and celebrate Valentine’s Day.   Red and white paint.

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