Painting from Nature

Spring is upon us, ( I promise it's coming for those of you in the Northeast)  so it's an especially nice time of year to go outside and paint from nature.

Next weekend, I'll be taking a group of artists out to paint on location at Callaway Gardens in Georgia where I have been teaching for a number of years. If you've never been there, it's a wonderful huge garden and park that the Callaway family graciously created for families to enjoy leisure time together in nature. I took this from their website www.callawaygardens.com:   Open since 1952, Callaway Gardens is the centerpiece of 13,000 acres nestled in the southernmost foothills of the Appalachians.  Founder Cason Jewell Callaway longed for a place where man and nature could abide together for the good of both, and now more than half a century later, his retreat continues to offer solace, inspiration and discovery for all who come here.

 While it's a wonderful place year round, April is prime time at Callaway- it's azalea time!

Each year when I return, I get reunited with the feeling of peacefulness of being surrounded by nature. As soon as I drive in the gates, it's as if my body has had a huge sigh of relief. It's only about an hour and a half from Atlanta, but you feel a world away. Being outside painting on a beautiful day, in the midst of natural beauty is a really pleasurable experience.

 If it's been awhile since you've been outside to paint, it might be time to get that easel out and enjoy the springtime!

Keep posted. I'll share  updates from the workshop next weekend.

Getting Started

Yesterday I taught my "Art for Non- Artists" Workshop. It's a one day workshop I developed and have been teaching for over 12 years. It's designed to help people who are interested in art, but feel they are not artistic, to get started exploring art. In just one day they learn basic techniques and then how to apply those techniques to a painting start to finish. Over the years I have had hundreds of people get their start in art this way and continue on to include more art in their lives.

Picasso said " Every child is an artist, the secret is to remain one when you're an adult". 

And it's true, Studies have been done showing that when school children have been asked "who is an artist", the kindergarteners and first graders almost all raised their hands. As they got to 2nd, 3rd, 4th grade, fewer and fewer kids raised their hand to that question. And then by the time they got to high school, typically only one or 2  students raised their hand. Betty Edwards, author of the well respected book, "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain", concurs. When children are young, they draw and paint naturally. They are free and in the moment playing with art. But as they develop, judgement sets in. At some point they conclude they are not naturally artistic ( or they don't make art it as well as their sister, brother, classmate, it's not how it should look vs some standard ......) and they go on to other interests, so they don't continue their development.

Judgment can keep us from learning and growing.

I was one of those kids who gave up on art in the 3rd grade after a bad experience in class. I got reintroduced to art at age 35 ( although  my skills were still where I left off in grade school- they did not magically improve without further education and practice) . I have since learned everything that I know about art as an adult.

That reconnection with art has totally altered my life. It had now become my career, life and passion and I am grateful that I got back to art. It has also altered the way I view and appreciate the world. Through art you see life with new eyes. It has added tremendous richness and pleasure, enhancing the quality of my life.

If you would like to have more art in your life, but believe you are not "artistic", suspend the judgment and take a class- just for fun. By giving up the notion that you can't, you might just be opening the door to Yes I can!

I even had one student who came to learn how to paint at age 93! The good new is it's never too late.

Henry Ford once said "If you think you can or you think you can't , you're right". That applies to many areas of life including your own opinions about your ability to create.

So stretch out of your comfort zone and open yourself up to the opportunities that art can add to your life!

Bella Italia

One of my favorite places to paint is Italy. I have been teaching workshops there for several years in both Tuscany and the Northern Lake Region. On my first trip there I was curious about why so many people were drawn to paint Tuscany. Of course it's a beautiful place, and great fun with wonderful art & history to explore, but looking at it from an artists perspective, there's something there that's naturally paintable.

 One of the things I noticed right away is the dominance of diagonals.There are so many diagonals in the landscape of the hills rolling, vineyards, mountains, and even rooftops that it makes for an inherently dynamic landscape. Also there's natural color harmony. Most of the buildings are very old with lots of character.  They are made from local materials from the earth, so the colors of the buildings and land are  naturally harmonious. There's a variety of textures from the stone buildings and lush foliage. Those great dark cypress trees and strong sunlight and shadows provide opportunities for dramatic value contrast on most days. And then there's the intangible, but palpable spirit of La Dolce Vita. A sense of peacefulness and contentment with life that pervades the area and it's people- Or maybe that's the Chianti???

Here are a couple of my recent paintings of Tuscany:

 If you've ever dreamed of going to Tuscany or painting in Italy, there are still several spots available in my May 28 workshop. It's open to artists of all mediums and all levels. Even total beginners have come on the trip before and enjoyed every moment of it ( and left with some nice paintings of memories of their trip). If interested, please get in touch with me at patfiorello@aol.com.  I would appreciate you sharing this with others you know who might be interested.  It might be the dream trip of a lifetime for an artist.

Follow Your Bliss

 Most likely you've heard the Joseph Campbell quote about following your bliss. Sometimes it can sound like a cliche or even a pipe dream, but you can choose and take actions to create the life of your dreams.  I also appreciate perspective of the quote "Never get so busy making a living, that you forget to make a life".  At the age of 43, I decided to take the plunge and shift careers from business to art. That was about 9 years ago and I don't regret the choice for a moment. I have a life I love, aligned with my purpose and have an opportunity to share that with others.

I was recently interviewed for an article in  the April 2011 issue of Best Self magazine which shares the stories of several people who made big life changes to follow their hearts. You can read the entire article called "A New Definition of Success" on:

http://www.bestselfatlanta.com/best-self-articles/life-enrichment/a-new-definition-of-success.html


Beyond the dream of living my life as an artist, one of my specific dreams was to paint in Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France. Not only did I do that, but I taught a  painting workshop there in 2008. Here I am with some of my students - Sue Wierzba and Pauline Buchanan - in front of Monet's Japanese bridge.

If you have a dream- go for it- life is short!
 Like Wayne Gretzky ( the champion hockey player) says  ...
                                          "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"

Oil Painting- Hydrangeas

Friday was the last day of a wonderful workshop with Hedi Moran, painting floral still lives in oil.

I worked on a painting of hydrangeas inspired by this set up:

It was the last day for the workshop and I had only 1 small canvas( 9x 12) left, so I had to simplify a bit from the set up.

Again I started with an initial loose block in done in transparent paints just to establish placement of the big shape positive shape- go for the darkest version of the colors you see and we'll build lights on top.

Then added an underpainting for the background. At this point, everything is still transparent and not defined.

 

Once the entire canvas is covered in a loose block in of color and shape, then thicker opaque paint is applied to develop the painting further .

The approach Hedi shared this week is different than any other training I've had, but after 5 days in a row, I feel more comfortable with it. It offers a way to start very loose and free and then build to the desired level of looseness or detail.

Trying out new approaches and learning from new instructors is always good. Even if you don't continue on with their approaches, you will pick up something to incorporate in how you choose to paint and make it your own.

Sculpture from a live model

There are 5 other workshops going on here at the Scottsdale Artists School in addition to the one I'm in this week.

 One is a sculpture class. I've never done any sculpture so don't know anything about it, but one thing I was surprised at is that the students were sculpting from a live model- a horse! Tuesday morning a trailer pulled up and off walked a horse for the class. I asked one of the students about it and she says they can refer to them model for proportions. so even though the horse doesn't strike a pose like a human model does in sketch class, it is there to glance at for proportions, muscle structure and other information to lend authenticity and accuracy to the artwork.

It was fun to watch the artists at work.

Here's one of the students in action.