Pat Fiorello - Art Elevates Life

Art & Inspiration from professional artist and instructor Pat Fiorello. Pat is known for her romantic landscape, garden and floral paintings in oil and watercolor. Her paintings often depict beautiful places like Italy and France. Pat teaches painting workshops in the U.S., Caribbean and Europe. She is passionate about inspiring others to include art in their life. Whether creating it or simply appreciating and enjoying it, there are so many ways that art elevates life!

Saturday, May 11, 2013





White Hydrangeas
12 x 16 Watercolor
by Pat Fiorello
$300



This is a demo painting I did at the workshop I recently taught at The Bascom in Highlands North Carolina. The workshop was specifically on "Capturing the Essence of Flowers in Watercolor". One lesson specifically addressed how to paint white flowers since in watercolor we don't typically use any white paint.



Here was the set up of white hydrangeas lit from the left.
 This was the initial layer, underpainting to establish form on the white flowers. I used blues, lavenders to establish the cool shadow side and warm yellow greens to tint the lit side.  I tend to exaggerate the color rather than go with grays. At this point the color and value seem pretty strong, but remember we're comparing everything relative to lost of white paper.




I next added a background so you could  better see the shape of the hydrangeas. It's hard to know where the edge of the  white flowers are when the background is also white. On a painting of a colored flowers, I might do the entire painting of the flowers and then come in with the background at the end, but here I wanted to eliminate any unnecessary white paper to better judge the white flowers.




The flowers might look dark, however once I started adding the dark leaves, the value of the the flowers looked more accurate.


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The painting as it stood at the end of the demo is pictured as the first photo on this blog. I may make some further adjustments to refine the leaves. But will revisit in a few days to re-look and decide if it's done or if some adjustments may improve it. It's always a judgment call to avoid going too far and overworking your initial impression.

Here are a few of the students having fun painting their lovely flowers.

I'll be back at The Bascom later this summer teaching a 3 day workshop on Painting Landscapes in Watercolor, Aug 26-28. For more information or to register on-line see:
The Bascom




Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Bridal Bouquet- Roses Flowing

Roses Flowing
12 x 9 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello


Here's another interpretation of a beautiful bridal bouquet.
For more information on having a bridal bouquet painted for yourself or as a unique gift for someone special see this link.


Wedding Flowers by Anik Designs

Monday, May 6, 2013

Tropical Burst - Bridal Bouquet Painting

Tropical Burst
12 x 12 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello


Here's my interpretation  of the colorful and dramatic bridal bouquet pictured below.
I used some artistic license and altered a few things but tried to remain true to the essence of the bouquet.



Wedding bouquet by Anik Designs

To learn more about having a bouquet painted for yourself or as a unique gift for someone special  see Forever Bouquet Paintings.

Friday, May 3, 2013

A Celebration of Flowers & Boxwoods Delight



Boxwoods Delight
8 x 8 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
Click here for purchase
This painting was inspired by a beautiful little plant I bought last weekend at Boxwoods, one of my favorite shops in Atlanta.  I couldn't resist the purple flowers and they looked especially charming in the yellow/green container. They said this plant was a campanula, but when I looked on line I couldn't find a flower with that name that looked like this, so if you know what this is, please let me know. The flowers look like little tiny lavender roses-round, not bell shaped.

Tonight is the opening of my show and a special evening is planned - "A Night of Classics, Art & Music.   Twenty of my oil paintings are featured in a show called "A Celebration of Flowers" in Atlanta.  Details are below. The event is free and open to the public. Hope you can join us.

Genema Gallery/ChristChurch Presents
A Night of Classics: Art & MusicMay 3, 2013 - 7:00-9:00pm

7:00-8:00pm Exhibition:  A Celebration of Flowers by Pat Fiorello 
8:00-9:00pm Recital:  Classical violin and flute works performed b
Josh Holritz and Kristen Holritz
(Juilliard, U of M, UGA Schools of Music) 

The art show will run from May 3 - June 23, 2013. 

Genema Gallery 404-605-0505
ChristChurch Presbyterian
81 Peachtree Park Drive
(off Peachtree, across from Bennett Street)
Atlanta, GA 30309

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

The Marianna

The Marianna
12 x 16 Watercolor
by Pat Fiorello
NFS

Painted this watercolor as a gift for my stepdaughter and new son-in-law. They were married at The Marianna in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago and I thought a painting for their home would be a nice way to commemorate their special day and keep the memories present every day.

The Marianna is a beautiful building built in 1900. Lots of charm and classic design features. It has been restored relatively recently and is very nice, intimate space for special events.






Monday, April 29, 2013

Roses & Peach

Roses & Peach
9 x 12 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello

Inspired by another bouquet. The white flowers were definitely a challenge.