For my Italian readers who may not be familiar with the English poet John Keats, my title is the first line of his poem Ode to Autumn. and I always think of it when October arrives.
The main event in my calendar since I last wrote was the ceremony in Paris that I mentioned in my last blog.
It is aways a thrill to be in Paris and this time it was extra special. As I previously mentioned, earlier in the year I received news that I had been accepted as a member of the French Society of Arts, Sciences and Letters, and would receive an award at a grand ceremony in Paris on 6th October. Grand was certainly the word. The event was held in the Hotel Intercontinental near the Opera House. The Salon d’Opera where the ceremony took place is the most lavish location I’ve ever seen. I was awarded a pewter medal (between bronze and silver) that comes with a diploma.
The Society supports Art, Science and Literature not just in France but globally and I received my membership and award not just for the quality of my work but the breadth of my exhibiting CV. The Society has been working in Oman on an educational project and there were many members of the Oman royal family present receiving their awards.
As a member I am in good company as past members include Marcel Pagnol and Colette.
Eccomi
Back on earth -
In August we spent 10 glorious days in Sardinia. We stayed on the coast - the Costa Paradiso. I managed to make some small sketches of the rocks and the sea, thinking of an exhibition at the Maison Bleue Gallery in Fort di Bard that opened last weekend - see later
.
During September there was a marvellous artist in residence project in Piemonte - three lovely artists shared premises around our little piazza where our gallery is situated and helped create a wonderful artistic area and brought lots of visitors to Cocconato.
Here are some images of them and some of the works produced at several locations in the project
Speaking of the gallery we have done well over the summer and we have all sold work. We are seeing many more visitors from abroad compared to previous years and on Sundays we have many visitors from Milan and Turin. That said it is now quietening down a bit and we shall be closed for the first three weekends in November, then we will open every weekend until Christmas. We are planning some christmasy events - yet to be fixed, so keep an eye on my facebook page for details.
I was especially pleased to sell a little painting to visitors from California in July. Here are four that have found new homes.
Mont Viso is an iconic image in our region and I had just finished a painting of it in September when I received a call from someone who was looking for a painting of it for a wedding present. So now it is hanging on the walls of the bride and groom. I was painting it as I have an exhibition of my mountain paintings -“Più o Meno Turner” - installed this week in the Michelin starred restaurant Paganini in a gorgeous castle - Alla Corte degli Alfieri in Magliano Alfieri - more of that below. I also sold a painting of Mon Viso last year which had been destined for the same exhibition when it was first held in Turin in February this year.
Monviso 2023 Monviso 2024
Maybe another one will find its way into the exhibition next year which I will be showing in a solo exhibition at the Maison Bleue Gallery in Fort di Bard, where this last weekend saw the opening of a collective exhibition of gallery artists. It was my first exhibition with them. It was a very special occasion - the exhibition is dedicated to the memory of the Italian poet Alda Marini- unfortunately she is not that well known in the UK but she would be the equivalent of Ted Hughes here. Her daughter Emanuele Cartini who is also a writer, opened the exhibition. It was a great pleasure to meet her and describe the sentiments of my two paintings and read the poems that inspired them.
Then to really round off what had already been a great day, when I got home I received a message from the gallery that represents me in Sicily to say that they had sold two of my paintings.
For the exhibition - Two very different paintings. The first one is in response to the poem "Ho Bisogno di Silenzio" - "I have need of silence". Along the bottom I have quoted a line in the poem. "Ho bisogno di silenzio come te che leggi col pensiero" " I need silence like you who read silently"
The second one is in response to the poem "Mare e Terra" - "Sea and Land" which desciribes the poets' struggle with her desire for both. I have chosen a particular line to illustrate - "un giorno d'aprile è esplosa un onda che avrei voluto baciare" "one day in April a wave exploded that I wanted to kiss"
Regarding the exhibition "Più o Meno Turner" at the Michelin starred Paganini Restaurant I mentioned above. I hung the exhibition last week but the restaurant will be having a special inauguration on the 10th November where the chef Stefano and his wife Giada will be hosting a dinner called called “Cena con la Pittrice” where I will be talking to guests about my paintings. I am nervously looking forward to it.
I will be putting more publicity about it on my facebook page nearer the time. It is an open event so please let me know if you can come - I realise it is a bit far for many of you!
For the near future - I am participating in Torino Art Week at the end of the month. The theme for the exhibition is the Urban Environment and I was really pleased to have two paintings I made of Hamburg a few years ago accepted for the exhibition
Impressions of Hamburg
As I mentioned above - with my colleagues at the gallery in Cocconato I am planning some Christmas events during December- there will be more news about that on Facebook next month.
After Christmas I am hoping for some quiet time to really focus on painting. I want to take my mountain and landscape paintings to other level and I need time to experiment.
That’s all my news for now. I hope you have enjoyed reading it and don’t forget to recommend friends to subscribe to my blog , and of course I would love to see feedback from you in the comments box
Also do follow me on facebook and /or Instagram.
Facebook: Joy Moore Artist
Instagram: JoyElaineMoore
Comments