Paintings by Blair + Laurie Fox PESSEMIER: Artnotes: 30 Days Till Lettuce

Purple Wildflower/Vase Laurie Pessemier acrylic/paper 25 x 17" 63 x 41 290.00

I thought I would have enough material from our trip to Paris to write about all summer, but alas, newly-made memories are edging in. We have spent all week in Roccamalatina. It’s very warm during the day, and cool at night, which is a lovely combination. I’ve planted another round of seeds, watering often. 30 days until lettuce.

Marcus Aurelius Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 16 x 10.5" 27 x 41cm 450.00

Both Blair and I are painting quite a lot. Blair is painting portraits of the Stoics, philosophers with the best advice on tap. We read from the “Daily Stoic” a book with a meditative piece for each day of the year. It helps me to be accountable for my own life, not blaming others, not waiting for “perfect” conditions. These portraits are getting Blair in condition for launching a Portrait campaign, painting portraits on commission. Order for Christmas today.

Seneca, Aeschylus, Zeno(the original Stoic),Aristophanes Blair Pessemier 16 x 10.5" 27 x 41cm 450.00 (Seneca detail)

I am painting flowers, mostly, on newspapers. The Repubblica is my paper of choice, sturdy, well written, not too many ads. I can make a large painting, easy to ship, and affordable. My thing is to paint in the morning, make lunch, and swim in the icy stream in the afternoon. I am on book 4 of Proust’s tome, which I read in the evening.

You say Tomato Laurie Fox Pessemier acrylic/paper 17 x 25" 41 x 63cm 290.00

I miss restaurants. On vacation, we ate couscous in Paris, made by our friend Omar at the Tourne Bouchon on Boulevard Raspail. He is Tunisian. We caught him just two days before his whole family was traveling back to Djerba for the month. He has been a longtime friend to Blair and I (and Harika, who speaks his language). He is that kind of restauranteur who smiles when he sees you enter his door. I love to see that smile. While we were in Paris, and had just been turned away from a museum, looking sad, a man at a café table looked up from his seat and smiled at me. My heart melted; I smiled back.