Sifting Through

Tiber   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  16 x 24"  40 x 60cm  375.00

I am sure the twenty-one people who signed up to paint a 12 x 12” square for the putting it all together project are wondering where their picture is.  Well, I am still trying to figure out how to cut up the image on the computer.  When I did this, all I had to do was the math and take out a pair of scissors to cut up the large picture.  I am having a heck of a time figuring out how to do it digitally.

It’s been a busy week, with a trip to Carnevale in Venice, and assorted and sundry voyages with my sister and family around the area.   Venice was stellar, and not as crowded as my last visit in October.  My favorite foray with my family was to the Labirinto in Parma.  The Labyrinth was created by the famous graphic artist and printer Franco Maria Ricci. 

Carnations on Black  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  16 x 12"  40 x 30cm  200.00

It was a brilliant visit for me.  For one thing, it made me think about black.  These FMR publications always had a black background – maybe you remember them?  Jackie Kennedy Onassis called it the “most beautiful magazine in the world”.  The black really set things off…it was alluded to in the restaurant, as well, where black lacquer cabinets filled niches along the wall.  The museum, which held some breathtaking pieces of art, was quite dark, with contemporary lighting adding drama to the pieces.

The entire operation was contemporary – the labyrinth itself has only been open 5 years.  Regardless, the bamboo is tall as a house and when you are in the maze, it is very difficult to make one’s way.  We raised our eyebrows when the ticket seller asked for our phone number and she gave us hers.   We had a couple left-brainers with us, which helped with navigation.  I could have gotten lost and not cared, but we had to go to see a car at 4 o’clock.

We are buying a new car, which costs far more than we should be spending, but there’s no way around it.  It is a chic, black and white number:  a 2011 Citroen Picasso, with just over 40,000 miles on it.  The bureaucracy surrounding this purchase has, for the first time, made me question my continued habitation in Italy.  It is possible we will not be able to buy the car at all, despite the fact we already own one.  Dragsville.

Rome Rooftops  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  12 x 12"  30 x 30 cm  200.00

So, I am back to the drawing board on my 1-inch squares for painting, which are or aren’t one inch because the computer knows no limits.  It’s a good little problem, as I sift through the experiences of the week.

Laurie and Blair PESSEMIER