Saturday, September 30, 2017

Artnotes: The Meaning of Life

​Dinner   Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  48 x 32"  120 x 80cm  

Grapes on the vine   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas   18 x 14"   46 x 36cm
 Magenta Fish Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/newspaper 16 x 23"  41 x 59cm  SOLD
  St Pierre Fish Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/newspaper 16 x 23"  41 x 59cm
 Sardines  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/newspaper 16 x 23"  41 x 59cm
 Sole Fish Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/newspaper 16 x 23"  41 x 59cm
  Red and White Fish Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/newspaper 16 x 23"  41 x 59cm
Modern  Fish Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/newspaper 16 x 23"  41 x 59cm
  Vermillion Fish Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/newspaper 16 x 23"  41 x 59cm  SOLD
  Red Fish on Blue Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/newspaper 16 x 23"  41 x 59cm
First Fish Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/newspaper 16 x 23"  41 x 59cm


Artnotes:  The meaning of life


On Tuesday we went to a show in Rovigo, of Secessionist Art:  Gustav Klimt and other artists from the turn of the last century in the Austria/Germany/Italy area.  It was a period when the French were Impressionists, but the Eastern part of Europe went more “graphic”.   Think light and dark; positive and negative.   There were fabulous prints and woodcuts; paintings, of course; and furniture and silverwork.  We slipped from room to room, unencumbered by a crowd.  We were almost the only people in the museum.  Blair was particularly inspired by a litho of a dinner party by Egon Schiele.  In fact, it was a gathering of fellow artists at a long table. 

A friend asked me to paint him a vermillion fish.  He’s asked for things before and not been satisfied in the end (usually tells me how I could have done it better), but the idea of these fish opened a whole new door for me.  I painted them for myself (and you, dear readers).   I had no canvas on hand, but primed a bunch of newspaper – the idea of wrapping fish in newspaper got me going.  I’ve been creating a school of fish, which might be framed under glass.   I love the freedom from canvas, and casualness.

Blair and I went to lunch today as guests of the Alpini:  we ate tortellini (that were rolled out on the very table we were eating at!), meats, tomatoes, onions, dessert and wine.  After dinner, the men (I was only one of a half dozen women) struck up a band.  While we were there, Blair said, “you could not BUY this experience.” 

The Alpini were World War II Mountaineers who fought alongside our own Bob Dole (where he was wounded) in the Apennines.  They are dedicated patriots of Italy, who continue to celebrate their life in the mountains.  We were invited because earlier this week we did a free “touch up” on our 2015 mural outside of their building.


I had been thinking about how much of life is wonderful because there is no money involved.  Our friendships with friends in America, Italians and the refugees here, are not based on money.   Money drowns deep relationships.  It is giving away, doing for others that gives a life meaning. 

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