Tuscany- Beyond the Poppy Field

Tuscany -Beyond the Poppy Field
18 x 24 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello

This may look familiar. It is similar to another painting I did a couple of years back (and included in my "Bella Italia, Italy through the Eyes of an Artist" book), but I had a request from a gallery to make a larger version. One of my goals for this year and next is working larger so it was right in line with the direction I've been pursuing. A fun way to end the year, painting memories of travels to Tuscany.

Happy Holidays to all and may 2014 be your best year yet!

Holiday Beauty

Holiday Beauty
8 x 8 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$200

While I have some beautiful live poinsettias from Pikes here at home, I decided to do a little study of one of the pink and white variegated ones today. Poinsettias, holly and other traditional holiday plants and flowers can do a lot to really dress up a home or business and make it feel festive this time of year.

A good friend of mine,  John Grady Burns, is a floral design expert. He has an exquisite sense of style and taste and works magic with flowers and foliage. I studied floral design with him and am blown away by his mastery.  I asked him for some tips to share on how we can add some beauty to our homes this time of year and here's a suggestion he offered:

 "To add some beauty to your home for the holidays in a simple and easy way: Save the trimmings from the bottom of your tree and place them on the mantle. They do not have to be in water as they will dry a nice shade of green and still add that wonderful fragrance to your home. If you have access to some holly shrubs or trees just cut several branches and place them in a vase. A mass of one type of greenery (holly in this case) always makes a statement. If you wish you could easily pick up a few stems of red roses or red carnations (large or miniature blooms) and add to the holly arrangement when you have guests in your home. Simple and easy is what we like..."

Thank you John. For more tips (or for a holiday gift for someone special)  you can see one of John's two marvelous books, Evergreen, Decorating with the Colours of the Season. ( The other book Personally Yours is equally gorgeous)

Someone recently asked if I had a youtube video of my approach to oil painting and I don't (yet) but will share at least some photo's  of a progression of an oil painting to show how things unfold.

The person who was asking me  is learning using a classical approach with grids and layers etc.. so I shared that my approach is quite different from that- it's more free flowing and alla prima. Unless there is architecture or specific man-made shapes in my subject matter, I don't do too much drawing upfront. Instead I  first block in large shapes with transparent paints only. The come back and further resolve specific areas. It's kind of messy and organic and if I did the same painting again I might do things in a different order, but that is part of the fun and challenge of it. To extract something of beauty from something that starts out kind of a mess. Like Michelangelo said, I started with a block of marble and took away everything that wasn't David. After the block in stage which is very rough, I know there's something in there, I just need to pull it out with shapes and colors of paint.

Many years ago I read an article in one of the art magazines, and forgive me for not remembering and crediting the author, but  I recall her saying "every painting has to go thru an ugly stage". That really stuck with me, because it seems true. There is a point in every painting where it's a mess and you think "this will never turn out".  If you listen to that little voice in your head, that judgement will make you want to quit. But knowing that that ugly stage is something to expect and a natural part of the process allows me to go on and follow thru to create something more in line with my original intention.

So the moral of the story; don't stop till it's done.

Happy Holidays!

Took a photo of one bloom to get an idea of it's shape, but worked from the plant itself while painting

Initial block in of the approximate flower shape

Continuing block in with leaves and background

Begin forming individual petals

The finished painting

Garden Spot

Garden Spot
10 x 8 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$300

Raining for the 8th straight day here in Atlanta. Wishing for the return of sunnier days like this one inspired by a photo and memories of a lovely garden in Alabama this past spring. At least I can imagine that and be taken back there with my painting.

Each month I offer "Bringing Beauty to the World" where I share art, news, upcoming workshops, special invitations and inspiration about life, art & beauty. If you are not receiving my monthly newsletter  and would like to do so, you can click to see a copy of the December issue and sign up to receive it free via email in the right column of this blog.

Fresh

Fresh
16 x 20 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$1200

Just completed a much larger, more detailed version of an earlier study based on one of the photo's taken during a workshop I did with Ovanes Berberian in France earlier this year. The flowers were set up outside against a stone wall.

The small 6 x 8 study and the original photo reference are posted below.
Every piece of art reflects the artist's choices- what to include, delete, emphasize.

In the small study I was focused on the light and shadow of the flowers and pot and totally changed the background to keep it simple. In the larger painting, I still eliminated the plants from the background, but wanted to at least suggest the stone wall and focus more on the distinctive shapes and form of the flowers.

Funny,  after nearly 3 months I did not remember the name I had put on the small study when I posted it back in September. When I  just went back to check it, I see that it is called Fresh Morning. The new one is called Fresh. Probably no coincidence. That's how I feel about monochromatic groupings of white flowers against green leaves- it has a feeling of freshness to me.

Fresh Morning
 6 x 8 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$100