Sunny Spot

Sunny Spot
12 x 16 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$600

This is a closer view on some of the plants I discovered in the sunlit courtyard in Pienza Italy. You can see the full garden scene in a previous pos. See Blog post Nov. 2.

Hydrangeas in Stresa

Hydrangeas in Stresa II
12 x 16 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$600

 Completed this painting over the weekend. I did a version of it when I first was learning to paint in oils so I decided to give it another try to see how I could improve upon the original. Happier with the brushstrokes the 2nd time around.  Every once in awhile it's a good thing to revisit something you've done before to see how much you've grown or how you come up with new approaches for the same inspiration.

Siena Cat

Siena Cat
9 x 12 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$400

I have to admit I'm not really I cat person. I grew up with dogs and am totally a puppy lover, but while in Siena, Italy last month, I saw a cat perched in a window looking down to the street. It was just waiting to be painted. I have never painted a cat before, but having mustered up the courage to try something out of my comfort zone last month with the first car painting I  ever did, I figured I'd give it a go.  Kept trying to forget it was a cat and just looked to simplify shapes, light and dark. I was pretty happy with the results.

Tuscan Corner

Tuscan Corner
12 x 12  Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$500

A sunlit view of a restaurant at the end of the main street in Pienza Italy.

Roses in Tuscany

Roses in Tuscany
6 x 8 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello

Experimenting with a little thicker paint on this little study.

Radda Afternoon

Radda Afternoon
12 x 16 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$600

Continuing to work on my Italian series, fresh back from my trip to Tuscany in October. This scene from a small town- Radda in Chinati. The day we were there it wasn't that sunny, but  my feelings about Italy are mostly associated with the joy and warmth of dramatic sunlight, so I took a little artistic license here to alter the values and colors .. and okay, maybe added some more plants.  The original reference photo is below.

Villa Borghese Garden

Villa Borghese Glories
16 x 20 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello

While in Rome, I recently visited the Villa Borghese Gardens and came across these beautiful flowers and vines. Below is the original photo which I  modified to create a different pattern of light and shadow which resulted in the painting above.

Limone

Limone
9 x 12 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$350

This painting was inspired by the charming town of Limone on the shore of Lake Garda in Italy which I visited last fall. Lake Garda is in northern Italy, not far from Switzerland. It's not as well known by Americans as Lake Como, but is just as beautiful and is a vacation destination for many Europeans. Lots to paint- classic Italian architecture, the lake, mountains,  tropical/Meditteranean foliage (e.g. lemon trees, palm trees, bougainvillea).

I'll be returning to teach another workshop there next fall. If you'd like to come paint with us, please let me know. Details are on this flyer   and you can save your space by registering on the Il Chiostro website .

Golden Arches - Italian Style

Golden Arches- Italian Style
8 x 10 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$300

This painting was actually inspired by a place I visited on my trip to  Lake Garda, Northern Italy last year . I loved the light and even had done a value sketch awhile back in preparation, but had never gotten around to painting it till now.

I'll be returning to teach another workshop on beautiful Lake Garda September 2013.   The workshop is starting to fill up and the price is guaranteed till year end, so if interested, please get in touch soon at patfiorello@aol.com.   For more info see: Lake Garda flyer

Inspired by Italy- Pienza Garden

Pienza Garden
12 x 12 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$500

I've just begun a new series of paintings from my most recent trip to Italy When I returned last week, I loaded the 1100+ photo's I took on to my computer  culled thru to get down to the top 85 or so and form there printed out about 15 that I could not wait to paint.   Those are typically the images that grab me emotionally and also have good design potential in terms of light and shadow patterns. I put those photo's in a binder and then each day that I  am ready to paint  it's like going into a box of chocolates. I know I love them all, but which one will I choose today?

I find this prescreening process helps me to have ready reference material for inspiration  yet gives me some freedom to choose what I am in the mood  and excited to take on any particular day.

Pienza Garden is  first one I chose to do. Pienza was a new town I visited and I fell in love with it. Up till then I had taken 500 photo's on my trip and that afternoon I took 300 just in Pienza. It exudes classic Italian charm.  A pretty  little town with lots of great architecture, great views and I even found a little hidden garden. The sunlight was great which always helps me find interesting compositions. The photo I took of this particular area had started out as a rectangle( original photos is below) but I wanted to see how it would look as a square format.

I was pretty happy with the first in this series. At least for me,  it did capture the feeling of joy that I had standing in that sunny garden spot.

Original photo

Value sketch

Initial block -in