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Blair Pessemier, 2 Birdies (Read 9706 times)
Reply #1 - May 14th, 2006 at 10:09pm

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Makawao,  Maui, USA, HI

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Paint Fox, Laurie,
Blair's wife, painted this last week or so, I've been gone painting for the last 17 days.

...

After so many trips back and forth US-Paris, I have nearly overcome jet lag.  When it gets dark out, wherever I happen to be over the Atlantic, I don my earplugs and eyeshades and nod off.

The arrival in Paris always peaks my imagination, and I can't wait to smell the air of the city where I live.  The chestnuts held off blooming until our arrival on 3 May.  The bright pink and brilliant white flowers are in full blossom at the moment.

We sold a record number of paintings in High Point, North Carolina, and a few more in New York.   Blair and I manned the "annex" of the showroom where we sell our paintings -- an extra bit of storefront was offered by the building management.  We reaped a concentrated dose of America in the form of its strongest asset:  the people.

The showroom opened at eight and stayed open until nearly that hour in the evening.  People buying for stores, galleries and interior design offices wandered in.  Having endured the haughty "sniff" of waiters and gallery owners in France, nobody in America can scare me.  This was playing "store", with great rewards.

The people from the showroom brought me flowers to paint.  I found a photo from the 1940s and painted it, too.  Sitting at the desk, or sometimes in a chair on the sidewalk, I painted as the world looked on.  A woman who writes children's books, Tinky the Yorkshire terrier, a family of Filipinos all enter and say "hello".  The sense of enterprise here thrills me, as "Lil' Bit", the pig, strolls by in a blue polka dot coat.

A man who works with the showroom tells me about photographs he's been taking while "on the road".  He passes a field and shoots film of cowboys tailing cattle in a cloud of dust.  Ascertaining my religion, a woman offers me a novena card, guaranteed to "work" -- I'll be careful what I pray for.   Sellers and buyers from all over the United States come into the annex and tell me what matters.  It reassures me that I am not losing the frame of reference that defines my generation in America. The details evaporate into the chestnut-scented air of Paris.

I bought three sets of paints while in America, where the prices are unbeatable.  Later this month, I will begin offering art lessons to American tourists visiting Paris.  It will supplement our art income, as well as satisfy my entrepreneurial spirit.

The train roars through Thomasville and High Point at regular intervals, hauling furniture and textiles, motorcars and coal.  I can feel the commerce shudder beneath my feet, as I pack another painting into appreciative hands.

Laurie (painting and text) and Blair PESSEMIER
"After work"  acrylic on canvas  10.5 x 15 inches
www.artnotesparis.blogspot.com
 
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May 14th, 2006 at 8:58pm

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Makawao,  Maui, USA, HI

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"Paris is a wonderful place to live, if you make your money someplace else," our oldest friend in France has always told us.  Our American painting sales are being put to good use.

We went out to dinner with Q and an American friend of his.  It pulled me out of the rainy-day blues I'd been nursing.   Eating out in Paris is delightful -- it isn't just the food, it's the treatment.  There are beautiful linens and dishes; each course comes with plenty of time to visit; the atmosphere is relaxing and beautiful; and, of course, the food is artfully presented and so delicious. I sigh with relief that the bird flu spared the migrating flocks, as I bite into a homemade fois gras.

After three weeks in the US, we are just getting back into the rhythm of Paris.

I've been painting pictures of people and things this week:  a smoker, a gallery man, two March hares.  The weather has been changeable, like my muse, who hasn't been able to settle on a single theme.   We distribute our painting brochures to hotels around the garden.  "Bonne idee" the lady behind the desk beams.  We still apply for hotel design jobs in exotic places, in case that doesn't pan out.

...

Thursday night we bought a roasted chicken and picnicked on the banks of the Seine.  It heralded the start to summer, as we sat in shirt sleeves in the setting rays of the sun.  Tourists uttering numerous tongues passed before us, the locals wishing us "bon appetit".  A large yacht bearing people in suits weighed anchor at 7:45 precisely.  Although the conveyance was lovely, the trip didn't look like fun.

We run into an old friend, our mover, on the subway.  He hands us a card in our thirty second exchange -- he's cooking barbecue for hire again.

The Catholic Institute across the street had a flea market today.  Mean old ladies (you can't tell their nuns anymore) corral us and our purchases to meet their rules.  Blair is allowed into the "antiques" section, but I am left outside.  We buy a carton of collectible matches, an egg timer and a pencil sharpener for four Euros.  I take a candle I am not sure is free, giving myself the benefit of the doubt just to test fate.

Laurie (text) and Blair (painting) PESSEMIER
"Two little birdies"  oil on linen  14 x 10.5 inches
www.artnotesparis.blogspot.com
 
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