Artnotes: A Dark Hour

 

Rome:  The Forum  Blair Pessemier  acrylic/canvas 24 x 20"  60 x 50 cm 650.00

Italy is going into a total lockdown once again.  We are planning to drive to the big house tomorrow, because if you are going to be stuck at home, it may as well be a big one, with a yard (ask Harika).  The contagion is worse there, but it’s bad here too.  If you’re not going out, what difference will it make? I can clip roses.   On top of it, my foot still hurts and my doctor is there.

Our Front Door  Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/paper  25 x 14"   63 x 41cm sold

Europe just doesn’t get the vaccine roll-out thing.  In the 1940s America was producing a Liberty ship a day, while Europe was floundering, any plans still on the desk of the architect.   Really, conquering Covid through planning and perfect execution is what the USA does best, and I can honestly say I wish I were there.  Here in Italy, we die happy.

Foggy Morning Stimigliano  Laurie Fox Pessemier  acrylic/canvas 10.5 x 16"  27 x 41 cm   sold

We did have a marvelous week with a Dutch friend in Stimigliano.  We sat on his patio in the sunshine, drank coffee and kibitzed.  We made plans for lunch the next day, deliciously consumed before the rains came.  March is that kind of month.  We talked about how we missed big gatherings where we could kiss and laugh uproariously.  That laughing thing is a really hurtful deprivation. He hit the Vatican museums on Friday, and we made a trip to the Etruscan  Museum in Viterbo. I just had to get in a good museum fix before everything I see is onscreen.   I am constantly looking for inspiration for my terra cotta work, and the Etruscans were top notch.  Sometimes I feel the Etruscans are still among us, when I see an interestingly positioned rock, or find a broken piece of pottery. But no, the Romans creamed them.

Spring Color  Laurie Fox  Pessemier  acrylic/canvas 14 x 10"  35 x 25 cm   450.00

My anxiety level is getting in the way of my artist muse at the moment.  No matter how long I sit in the studio it’s hard to build a head of creative steam.   Should we stay in Stimi, go to the big house, or chuck it all for a vaccine trip to the USA?  Airfares are actually cheap (Harika is the most expensive ticket), but the cost of the rental car and a place to stay is prohibitive – Hemlock Lodge is too cold.  We have too large a personality footprint to stay with others more than 3 or 4 days.    I am sorry to say this ordeal has gotten to me. It’s a dark hour.   When I recall Anne Frank now, all I can think of is how she dies in the end.

Just a Guy  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Terra Cotta