Tuscany: The Road Home

Tuscany: The Road Home
9 x 12 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$400

Sunday, I  did a painting demonstration at The Chop House at La Prade's Marina, a wonderful restaurant on Lake Burton in North Georgia.   The demonstration was coordinated by one of my galleries, The Burton Gallery, who has developed ano ongoing partnership with the restaurant including showing paintings there as well as creating art events, like monthly artists demo's. The restaurant even coordinate themes with the artists. My painting was of Italy and they had a special on Italian wines for the event.

Above is the finished version of the demonstration painting. I call it Tuscany :The Road Home because of the path, but it also has special meaning for me because this year I'll be returning for the 5th year to teach another workshop in Tuscany from October 13-20.   Going back to the same place is like going to camp each year( with better food and wine!)  Getting reacquainted with familiar places and discovering what's changed since I was there last. The workshop is open to painters of any medium and all skill levels. I've even had beginners come on the trips and leave jump started with new skills and a new passion. If you are interested in joining in on the fun, please email me at patfiorello@aol.com or click here for flyer with the details.

Here I am painting in open patio area of the restaurant overlooking beautiful Lake Burton.

Tuscany: The Road Home -Study

Tuscany The Road Home
 6 x8 Oil Painting Study
by Pat Fiorello
$100

Was scheduled to do a painting demo of an Italian scene this past Sunday.  I had some different photo's  and wanted to combine them,  so  did a little "test drive" with this miniature 6 x 8 to see if I liked the composition, colors etc...

 Will share the final larger painting in my next post. Stay tuned.

Sunflower 2

Sunflower 2
6 x 6 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$100

Here's another take on a sunflower. Tried a cooler background compared to the last one.  Background give's it a whole different feel. 

Sunflower 1

Sunflower 1
6 x 6 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$100

I'm in pretty good shape with larger paintings for my upcoming show at Callaway Gardens, so decided to get back to some smaller studies for awhile.

Here's one of a Sunflower. No matter how many I do, they are always harder than I expect. Balancing keeping it simple with suggesting multiple layers of petals is a delicate balance.

Also, I think yellow flowers are one of the most challenging colors.  You have a more limited value range to work within since yellow in it's most intense state is so high key by nature, say compare to a red flower where you have a broader range of values to work with.

Roses & Gold

Roses & Gold
 6 x 8
Oil Painting by Pat Fiorello
$100

Did this little painting of some roses and a small gold pitcher  a few weeks  back. It's amazing how you can get the illusion of metallic gold without gold paint.
Okay... if I can only remember how I got that...

Carnations

Carnations
12 x 12 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$550

This is one of the few times I've attempted carnations. They are not necessarily my favorite flowers ( I think a lot of people feel that way- remember the "Sex and the City" episode where Berger gets Carrie carnations).  They are not as big and showy as sunflowers or hydrangeas or roses, but they do have their own charm- and last a long time which is helpful when painting from life. One of their essential characteristics is a lot of frilly, almost serrated edges which is important to try to suggest.

Sunflowers and Irises in Oil

Sunflowers & Irises
12 x 16 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$600

A few weeks ago I did a couple of demonstration paintings for the watercolor classes I teach. I arranged a small bouquet of sunflowers and irises to paint from life.

The flowers are long gone, but I decided to try the same arrangement in oils from a photo I took that day.

 Here is the oil version as well as a similar composition done in watercolor ( that painting has since been sold, but the oil is still available.)

Sunflowers & Irises II
12 x 16 Watercolor
by Pat Fiorello
Sold

Hydrangeas and White Roses

Hydrangeas & White Roses
12 x 16 Oil Painting
 by Pat Fiorello
$600

For this painting, I had some white roses available and thought they might look nice combined with hydrangeas. Pulled in some ivy from the garden to add a little movement and the lemons to add a complement to the lavender hydrangeas.  I've been playing around with ideas for backgrounds and on this one decided to try a really dark background which was done with Indigo.

Favorite Art Books

The Joy of Geraniums
8 x 10 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$200

For the next 3 weeks,  I'll be co-hosting the "Artists Helping Artists" radio show. If you're not familiar with it, it's a free weekly show that's been running for a couple of years on blogtalk radio which you can access on-line. It's designed to help artists be more successful in their careers and offers useful information for artists on marketing their work and also inspirational interviews with artists.

 The show airs on Thursdays at noon EST and there's a link in the show announcement  below  that you can use to listen to it while on the air or after it airs at your convenience.

This weeks topic is favorite art books. So share your favorites with other artists and listen in to perhaps learn about a few new ones you might want to add to your art library.

Hope you'll listen in for some inspiration.

The Best Art Books II Scheduled Air Date: Thursday, June 14 at 9:00 am PST, 12:00 noon EST "The Best Art Books II" Join artist and marketing expert Leslie Saeta as she highlights ways to sell your art on-line. On Thursday’s show Leslie is joined by AHA June co-host Pat Fiorello. Join Leslie and Pat as they discuss the Best Art Books. The show addresses why you need to have an "art library" and includes all of the "best art book" suggestions submitted by our listeners.  Find out which art books are a "must have"  and the best places to buy them! To listen to the show click here

Petite Roses

Petite Roses
10 x 10 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$300

Found this adorable small rose plant at Trader Joe's. They often have a pretty good selection of flowers at very good prices. Combined it with some red berries and red glass  container for a complementary red & green color scheme.  It was fun to paint the tiny roses for a change. Similar to regular roses only the shapes are smaller.

Sunflowers & Roses

Sunflower & Roses
12 x 16 Oil Painting
 by Pat Fiorello




Painted this one in a limited palette of yellows and greens for the sunflower and yellow roses. Tried a light background for a change from the more dark  backgrounds I often do. I can't decide which type of background I prefer. The light seems a bit more contemporary and the dark is more "classic" and dramatic showing off the light patterns.

Roses & Sugar Bowl

Roses & Sugar Bowl
12 x 16
 Oil Painting by Pat Fiorello
SOLD

Been down in St. Simons for the past few days studying with one of my favorite artists and instructors, Robert Johnson,   I met him 2 years ago and have studied with him about every 6 months since then, so this was my 4th workshop with him. I do like to try out new instructors and approaches, but I also think once you find someone who is a good instructor and who you feel aligned with in terms of aesthetics and approach, it's good to go deeper  and stick with that guidance for awhile to develop a sense of focus and mastery instead of being all over the place.  It's also important to take a break in between workshops to digest what you've learned and integrate that into your own style and process.

 The workshop was graciously hosted by Mary Anderson of the Anderson Gallery in St. Simons. If you haven't been to the gallery,  it is exceptional, featuring exquisite work by 20+ representational artists.   Mary is passionate about art and the gallery business and you can feel that being in the gallery. She has also put together a great workshop program featuring top notch artists from all over the country.

I will post my other new paintings completed during the workshop next week.

Here I am hard at work painting from the still life set up.

Hydrangea & Tea

Hydrangea & Tea
12 x 16 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$600

Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day Weekend. I was away all week visiting mom in New Jersey. She's having some health issues  that I've been helping her deal with. There are lots of  support and logistical type things to help with- doctors, lawyers, in home health care options to consider, making her home safe and comfortable etc.. But by the end of the week there, I realized that while there are lots of things I can do to help her,  probably one of the most important things is create "moments of joy". There is a lot that she can no longer do or understand, but the few things she can really experience and enjoy- beauty, her small garden, bird feeders, nature, tea  and chocolate- are important.  So we spent time creating a beautiful, peaceful place in her garden to sit and enjoy all of that. 


At the end of the day it was a powerful reminder that that is all we've got- creating moments of joy in our own life and for others to enhance the quality of life no matter what other circumstances are going on.


This painting was one I did the week before I left  and it includes a teacup I got from my mother .
So this blog is dedicated to you mom- my source of inspiration, love and strength.