At Vescovio Last Spring Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 10 x 14 25 x 35cm 450.00
Our first Sunday Salon complete! I was touched to the heart by those who participated, offering their expression for all 15 of us to see. It was great, minus the few zoom glitches which will hopefully be corrected this week (I am late to the game). We had visual artists, poets, writers and a cook. Some will return this week along with a few new, and we hope you will join them.
Back of Church at Vescovia Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 12 x 16" 30 x 40cm 450.00
This week, we drove from our house in Roccamalatina, in the cool breezy Apennines, down to our apartment in Stimigliano, near Rome. You could see the outside temperature rising on the car thermometer. When we entered our house, it was a hot-box. I opened the windows (it was evening), turned on the fans, and we went out for dinner. Harika came, too, and sat on the ground beside us at the Oasis de Vescovio.
Campanile Vescovia Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 20 x 10" 50 x 25cm 425.00
This restaurant is part of the complex of buildings at Vescovio: a former bishopry, with an 11th century church and bell tower, a convent and priest’s house, and kind of cloister, which is now outdoor dining for the restaurant. There is also a coffee shop and gelateria. Families visit on benches on the lovely grounds beyond, and kids play, dogs walk. Stations of the cross wind up the hillside where a ruin sits. Somehow it manages not to feel completely religious, but if you come to Italy, you have to be prepared for a dose of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Waiter Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 14 x 10" 35 x 25cm 450.00
The Oasis of Vescovio is one of my favorite restaurants in the world, in the summer. It’s up there with a porchside affair (Red Fish) in Port Vendres, France; and a Bar serving Oyster Burgers on Willapa Bay in Washington State. These are not “star” restaurants, but they have something a Michelin restaurant doesn’t have: imperfection. The Oasis of Vescovio is imperfect in the cats who wander about, the children who play near the fountain, the personalities of the owner and the staff… the things that matter because they are unpredictable and honest and natural. The clam spaghetti is great, along with the lamb chops cooked on the open fire (just ask Harika). You can’t have those elements when you are too busy turning out a perfect scallop. Not that I object to a perfect scallop, and eat one whenever I have the chance.
The Red Fish Restaurant Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/panel 10 x 12" 25 x 30 cm 400.00
We went to Stimi because we sold a painting which was in our studio there. The next morning we drove to Rome to ship it. Rome was out of this world, simply because we could see so many sites from the air conditioned comfort of our car. We drove past areas we’d passed before, but never saw on account of the crowds. It made me look forward to September, when we’ll go back for a while, and drop our coin into the coffers of the Vatican Museums, which is staggering under the dearth of tourists. Onward!
The Customer Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/wood 10 x 6" 25 x 15cm 175.00
Topic: Pessemier's Sunday Salon Time: Aug 9, 2020 08:00 PM Rome (2 PM New York, 11 AM Los Angeles)
