Artnotes: Live and Let Live

 

Water Iris  Blair Pessemier   Orignal  Acrylic/Canvas  20 x 8"   50 x 20 cm  490.00

The jury is still out on my art print (reproduction) idea.   A few people like the idea of us making prints of our work, but others are against/aghast.  So, we’re taking it slowly.  We sold two last week, and have ideas to sell floral prints at garden stores.  Would Monet have sold his water lilies until hell wouldn't have one?  (judging by the gift shop at Giverny, one would think so).  I don’t know that the switch to reproductions is as critical as it seemed:  first there were tariffs, then there was an artwork exclusion, then a below $800.00 exemption; no tariffs, a 90 day delay.  I can adjust to anything once established. Oregon Grape    Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/paper  24 x 16"  61 x 40cm   275.00 I had plenty of people to talk to this week.  We cooked lunch for people twice, went out to lunch in Modena.   My cooking skills are still present, despite less entertaining.  I made a rabbit in a tarragon cream sauce on Monday; spicy red fish stew on Thursday (with an agretti, mussel and crumbled egg yolk salad, which was perhaps the best dish of all).  In Modena, I ate really pretty good burritos – the first time in probably 20 years!   I spoke to friends on the telephone – we are all in agreement that SPRING feels wonderful.  We’re even thinking of going to a baseball game in Bologna tonight. Parrot Tulips    Blair Pessemier   Orignal  Acrylic/Canvas  20 x 8"   50 x 20 cm  490.00 Blair and I have been painting flowers, mostly wild ones.  I found a particularly interesting one at the far end of a walk with Berlino, in a marshy area -- it was too precarious to pick, particularly when holding onto the end of the leash.  “Let ‘em live”, as the sign to watch out for highway workers in Connecticut reads.  The flowers continue to thrive, and today I used Google Lens to identify them:  Butterburs or Coltsfoots.  They are reputed to be good treatment for bronchial problems.   I’ll continue to cough. Diving for Treasure   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/paper  24 x 16"  61 x 40cm   275.00 Packages arrived this week in anticipation of visitors.   Sheets, a bit off color from the ones depicted online; paints, again slightly off color, but usable; canvas; and 200 tall white candles (actually, we rarely used them with visitors, but light our evening dining room with them).  Three other packages from outside Italy were lost and are in process of being replaced or reimbursed.  There’s a spate of strikes throughout Europe, and the post office is always an eager participant. Knot     Laurie Fox Pessemier  Original Acrylic/paper   9 x 12"  23 x 30cm   90.00 I’ve adorned my chenille fly curtain with laurel branches to further dissuade insects from entering the house (they hate bay), and am thinking of adding fake flowers, too. Kerria Japonica Laurie Fox PessemierOriginal Acrylic/paper  24 x 16"  61 x 40cm   275.00      We are offering all of the above work in reproduction format, as well.  On Paper, most pieces are 40.00; on canvas 80.00 .  Framing is also available within the USA. Blue Elephant   Blair Pessemier   Orignal  Acrylic/Canvas  18x 15"   45x 38 cm  390.00

Artnotes: What We'll Find Next

 

Swimmingly  Laurie Fox Pessemier  acrylic/paper  8.5 x 11"   22 x 28cm   90.00

I had one of my very best meals in Italy this week, after a trip to the beach at Santa Severa.  It was our third choice of restaurant, the first one never getting their act together (at 12:35 the waitress insisted it was 12:20 and could not seat us.  We showed her the phone time, to no avail); restaurant 2 was in a shopping center; finally, we arrived at Ristorante Rosetta.    It was a giant banquet hall sort of place, anticipating extended families of at least 12 members on Sundays, ample parking. Spinning  Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas   12 x 12"   30 x 30cm   475.00 We ordered the Rigatoni with mussels and pecorino (this was not an entirely Italian restaurant, where mixing shellfish and cheese are strictly prohibited); it was absolutely divine, with large grindings of peppercorns for crunch.   We followed up with a Rombo (turbot), which was cooked to buttery perfection, and deboned (for the first time anywhere in Italy).   The potatoes accompanying the fish were thinly sliced and perfectly seasoned, beautifully arranged on the plate.   Although dogs were allowed, we left Berlino in the shaded car to sleep off serious playtime on the shore.   We were eating cat food, in any case. Net Mending by the Sea  Blair Pessemier acrylic/canvas  18 x 12"   45 x 30cm   475.00 It was a rugged beach day, very windy, and new rivulets of water after heavy rains punctuated  a normally smooth walk across the sand.   Berlino somehow saw through to get his toes wet.   There was lots of flotsam and jetsam.   I bid hello to Harika, whose ashes are dispersed here.  At 11 AM we were the only folks on the beach, and even though I had my swimsuit, I didn’t go in.  This may have been the first time I’d been there when no one was in the water, regardless of the hour.   It’s been a hard winter. New Home for the Genie  Laurie  Pessemier  Acrylic/paper   17x 23.5"   40 x 63cm   275.00 Santa Severa has a marine museum, and a small Etruscan museum.  It is in the center of the “Etruscan” region, between Tarquinia and Ceveteri (where the Rosetta restaurant is).   If you’ve not explored Etruscan history, it’s worth a look – many people feel the Etruscans were a more sophisticated and developed civilization than the Romans.  The Romans just spread further. We drove back to Stimigliano in the afternoon, where we are hanging at the moment.   The house here seems very small, but the places to go are closer in.  Who knows what we’ll find next? The Jolly Joker  Blair Pessemier acrylic/canvas  11 x 14"   28 x 33cm   475.00 Sign up for Artnotes by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented.  NO POLITICS please. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM