Added Jun 29, 2019
What’s On The Easel, July 2019, Vol. I, No. 4, A monthly newsletter from Jim Fischer
What’s On The Easel, July 2019, Vol. I, No. 4, A monthly newsletter from Jim Fischer
There’s more to art…
…than paint on canvas and this past month for me has seen little time in the studio. I have been focused on finishing the design of the back garden and in the words of a famous man, “It is finished.”
This is the fourth formal garden I have design and developed. The raised beds have 15 different herbs, a very nicely grown garlic patch, five varieties of peppers, tomatoes (of course) and four different lettuces. We are calling it the Buddha Garden. And, of course, Cafe Fischer is open for visitors.
House renovations as well
Another agenda keeping me from the studio has been a number of major projects around the house that included painting several rooms (not by me, I’m out of that business this late in life but I did do the gold decorations ala Whistler’s Peacock Room in the dining room):
Also, work was done re-pointing the brick work on the entire outside of the house (again, contractors, you ain’t gettin’ me up those 30 foot ladders), replacing the deck in the back garden (almost broke my neck on the old one when one of the feet of the chair I was on fell through), a new, chef quality stove and various furnishing projects the most interesting of which was making a replica of a Frank Lloyd Wright lamp for the living room (got the plans online):
And, the Whistler’s Venice pastels have found a new home in our guest room…
Most every day I take some time in the late afternoon to listen to some music in this room. The pastels make for a very pleasant background. You are welcome to come visit us and see for yourself.
A New Website Host
This month I also completed the transfer of my website to a new, much improved carrier, Art Majeur. They are, obviously, out of France and, after exploring numerous sites for artists to archive and display their work, they have what I regard as the best set up. My website address remains www.theartistjimfischer.com. Take a look (and, if you are an artist, consider their services, I believe you will be impressed).
In Other News…
To make all of the above work more difficult, I blew out my right knee as a result of the foot injury I suffered earlier in the year and have been hobbling around first on crutches and now with a cane. It’s getting better each day, the pain (and, ouch, this was painful) has subsided and I am able to climb the stairs again (when this happened Steph dubbed it The Steinbok Curse, Alan will understand). I did get to buy some neat canes (waiting on one from Turkey).
I am an avid reader of The New York Times online. I read during my morning coffee and at lunch. I also comment on a regular basis (and I know many of you are not surprised). Well, it appears I have been flagged by the Times comment moderators as my comments are now being immediately approved and I reached a milestone with a recent post. I made a comment on an article on Ernie Pyle and D-Day celebrations. It became the #1 reader’s pick with 517 likes and a Times selection. Here’s what I wrote:
“My father never talked about his service in the war until one day, knowing he had been at D-day and having just seen 'Saving Private Ryan' I cornered him. It was during a holiday visit late at night, everyone else had gone to bed. "So," I said way to flippantly, "Was it really that bad." For the next hour I found out it was. My father drove a landing craft of Rangers in the lead part of the first wave. He watched the twenty odd men in his craft be slaughtered as they hit the water, saving his own life by hunkering down behind a thick steel plate, trying to obey his orders to "Bring this boat back at all costs". He did this three times in the first six hours of the invasion. Each time returning with a boat full of blood and body parts that he cleaned out by opening the gate on the return and letting the sea to the job. We believe now he suffered from PTSD for the rest of his life. He drank too much and would often be found sitting in the kitchen late at night, in the dark with only the light of a cigarette. I told his story a few years ago to a group of friends, some the children of survivors of the Holocaust. When I finished a friend (Alan) told me, "Thank you. I never met anyone who's father actually fought in such an important action in WWII." My father's story is a sadness that comes over me from time to time. We did not get along (Vietnam, and all that). Now I better understand.”
That’s all for now. Drop me a note if you like. I’d love to hear from you.
Everyone be well.
Jim
Jim Fischer, 530 Liberty Avenue, Jersey City, NJ, 07307
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