December Roses

December Roses
6 x 6 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$100

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This is probably my last painting till after the holidays. My husband gave me some of my favorite white roses the other day and I had time for a small study yesterday.

Roses have been a theme this past year. They are among my favorite flowers- probably the favorite (although hydrangeas are a close second). And at some level, I also think it was an homage to my mom, named Rosemary, ( or called "Rosie"by some)  who passed away last summer.

They are so beautiful and special, each unique and so many varieties I never tire of them.

As the year draws to a close, I'll leave you with some of my personal favorite paintings of the past year. Thank you so much for all your support as I've been healing from an accident in April. And thank you for your interest in my artwork. As artists, we paint because we have a passion for it, but it also is rewarding to know that something you created can uplift others and is appreciated.

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Beautiful 2018!

                                                        

Another Way

Another Way
16 x 16 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$1200


One of my favorite paintings I've done this year is " Heaven Scent", a still life of fragrant O'Hara roses.  I originally painted them from life, but always take a photo of the set up in case I want to refer to it again.

 This weekend I decided to give the same subject another shot with an entirely different approach, hence today's posted painting is titled"Another Way". This one was done 100% with palette knives, no brushes at all. I also changed the colors a bit. Went for more yellow- greenish centers versus the pink.  The palette knife gives a totally different texture using a lot of thick paint. Good to shake things up a bit and experiment.

Holiday Mood

Holiday Mood
12 x 16 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
 $650

While I had a live poinsettia plant in the house, decided to use it as a painting subject. Initially, I had thought of painting them in the pot as a still life, but then decided looking down into the pot might be a more exciting viewpoint. 

The plant was variegated and initially I painted it with too strong a contrast of red and white and then decided to tone it down and move more towards the pinker tones.

Peonies, Calla Lilies and Hydrangea

Peonies, Calla Lilies and Hydrangea
12 x 12 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
SOLD

This is my latest bridal bouquet painting, just shipped off to a new bride in New York.  A gift from her new in-laws to the bride.

Love using my artistic skills to help others express and celebrate love!

To learn more about my "Forever Bouquet Paintings, see my website.

Dahlia a la Sorolla

Dahlia a la Sorolla
8 x 10 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$300

 

I wanted to do an experiment and paint something in the spirit of one of my favorite artists Sorolla.

I had a photo of a beautiful dahlia and had turned it into black and white for  a photo challenge on Facebook.   The shape and form of it was striking and it inspired me to give it a try as a painting. I painted it once from the black and white photo just focusing on value and to get familiar with this type of flower (see last blogpost Dahlia Drama) but wanted to push the colors further even though it was  a white flower.  The real flower photographed was in fact pink, but I wanted to let that go and use my own color choices to depict a white flower in sunlight. I added more warmth to the white in sunlight and cooled off some of the areas and shapes in shadow.

Original photo

Colors dropped out

Dahlia Drama

Dahlia Drama
8 x 10 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello

I recently was asked to participate in the 7 day Black & White photo challenge on Facebook. The idea was to post B&W photos for 7 days in a row, no people, no explanations.  In doing so ,I went thru some of my photo's and just dropped the color out to focus on the beauty of the shapes and the contrasting lights, darks and mid-tones. Some of the photo's in B&W inspired my curiosity to give them a go for painting. This Dahlia was painted using only the black and white photo as a reference.

Roses & Ivy

Roses & Ivy
 12 x 16 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
 SOLD

What's more important than celebrating love? I enjoy using my artwork to play a role in that.

A recent groom commissioned a painting of his wife's bouquet for a surprise first anniversary gift for her. It was a beautiful bouquet filled with roses and flowing ivy.

Here's what my client shared the day after his anniversary:

 Hi Pat! Thank you for the sweet note! 
We had a great day, and Rachel loves her painting! 
We are both very impressed with your work and will happily recommend you to anyone who is looking to have a painting commissioned. 
Thanks again!

W.C., Atlanta, GA

 If you'd like me to create a special painting for someone you love, just contact me and we can set up a time to talk about what you're interested in.

Learn more about my "Forever Bouquet Paintings" here.
Gift certificates are available.

Fine Art Prints on Sale at Imagekind- 50% off Thru Midnight 11/12

Piaget by Pat Fiorello
Fine Art Prints now available

A select collection of my paintings are available as Fine Art Prints through Imagekind.

Wanted to let you know that they are running a special sale this weekend- 50% off through midnight November 12.  Prints are available on archival paper, canvas or even gallery wrap canvas and you can customize the size to your needs. You can order on-line and they will ship directly to you.

It might be a great opportunity to add some new color and inspiration to your home or get an early start on holiday shopping.

You can see which of my paintings are available at:
https://www.imagekind.com/artists/Fiorello

There are 3 collections: Florals, Italy and Landscapes so check out all 3 galleries.

To take advantage of this special sale, enter THANKS1750 when ordering.

Please feel free to share this special offer with friends and family who might be interested. Thank you!

Love Blooms- Bridal Bouquet Painting

"Love Blooms"
12 x 12 "Forever Bouquet Painting"- Oil
by Pat Fiorello
SOLD

"Love Blooms" is bridal bouquet painting I created as a gift from a mom to her daughter who recently got married.  The groom's family is from the Southwest and the couple has moved there so they included some succulents and other foliage for a bit of that southwestern feel. The bouquet was created by Blooms of Dunwoody in Dunwoody, GA.

If you'd know someone who might like to give a gift of a bridal bouquet painting, you can see more here or message me directly. It's a beautiful and lasting way to commemorate one of life's most meaningful occasions.

Some closeups and work in progress on the easel below.

Heaven Scent

Heaven Scent
16 x 16 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$1200

 

Aside from the apparent visual beauty of these O'Hara roses, a distinctive feature is their wonderful fragrance. I enjoyed having the scent in my studio while painting "Heaven Scent".

Bliss

Bliss
12 x 12 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
 SOLD

This is my latest bridal bouquet painting just shipped off to a recent bride in New York. The parents of the groom gave one of my gift certificates to the couple for an engagement gift.

 As soon as the photo's were in I started on this painting. It provided some challenges not only that it was an all white bouquet (as many of them are) but the sweet peas are very delicate and almost paper thin, unlike some of the more typical wedding flowers like roses, hydrangeas and peonies which have a more solid form.

The broach on the handle was of special significance in that it was a wedding knot broach that belonged to the bride's late grandmother, so I gave it a little more detail.

Below is the reference photo from the wedding.

Here's what the bride had to say, 

"Hi Pat,

Confirming I received my painting last night and I absolutely love it! I cannot wait to get it framed and hang it on my wall. I really think it came out beautifully and it is such a special reminder of our wedding day. I cannot thank you enough. I will most definitely be referring your work to my engaged friends!

Thank you so much,

Laura"

If you are interested in commissioning one of my "Forever Bouquet Paintings" for a special bride-to be or for an anniversary gift, please contact me. More on my website.

Seeking Stillness

Seeking Stillness
9 x 12 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$425

 

Wanted to create an elegant, peaceful feeling painting of roses and hydrangeas. Below is my set up and steps along the process in creating this painting. Note photo's exaggerate lights and darks so didn't want things to be quiet as dark as they appear in the photo of the set up.

The set up, lighting from overhead.

Initial general drawing- get things in the ballpark of where they will go.

Start blocking in darkest value shape

Then next darkest value shape

Shadows on flower shapes added

Background and tabletop blocked in a lighter value, but leaving room for lightest value yet to come

 

Added lights, block in complete. From here is a process of refining shapes to resolve things to the level desired.

June Joy!

June Joy!
16 x 16 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
 SOLD

June Joy! is a recent bridal bouquet painting that a loving husband commissioned as a special gift for his wife.   He asked if I could include their wedding date in the painting somehow. The date is embedded in a leaf, so it's there if you're looking for it, but not too obvious to take away from the flowers. A beautiful collection, primarily peonies, roses, sweet peas and ranunculus. Some close ups of the painting are below.

If you'd like to arrange for a special painting to be created for someone you love, please contact me directly.

Click here for more on my "Forever Bouquet Paintings"  

Garden at the Hotel Baudy

Garden at the Hotel Baudy

12 x 16 Oil Painting

by Pat Fiorello

$650

This painting was inspired by garden roses I had seen growing in the garden of the historic Hotel Baudy in Giverny France. The hotel is not far from Monet's Garden. The Baudy is now a restaurant, but in the heyday of the impressionist movement, many artists, not only Monet, were drawn to Giverny to paint. Back then the Hotel Baudy  started as a shop, but was converted to a hotel. It was a place where artists might stay overnight. Madame Baudy even built a small studio in the back which still stands there surrounded by beautiful gardens.

To learn about this historic place more click here.

I know the reference photo was taken there because I recognize the distinctive chairs they have in front of the studio (see a piece of the green chair in lower right corner of the bottom photo).

I didn't want to make the flowers quite as pink as the original photo, but was more interested in getting a feeling of being right up close to the garden to you could touch and smell the roses and also to have a feeling of sunlight on the flowers. I cropped in quite a bit, selecting which groupings of flowers I wanted to focus in on.

I usually take photos of my finished paintings outside in daylight. With the dark background and wet canvas there is a bit of glare on the photo of the canvas.  

While I was outside for the photo,  I placed this painting near some foliage to see how true it felt to the feeling of a garden in sun and was pleased that the foliage colors rang true.

Petite Roses

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

 

Came across a charming little pot of tiny roses at Trader Joes last week. I couldn't resist them so they were coming home with me! Decided to paint them leaving out the pot and imagining how they might have been still growing in the garden.

Cloisters Garden Study

Cloisters Garden Study
8 x 10 Oil Painting
by Pat Fiorello
$300

 

 Have a scene from a garden Italy that I've always liked. Did a small study here to test it out and see what I might want to emphasize or change if I scale it up to a larger painting. Had to greatly simplify the reference photo to get it even to this stage.

Summer in New York

Summer in New York
8 x 10 oil painting
 by Pat Fiorello
 $300

 

Inspired by some of the beautiful roses I saw during a visit to the New York Botanical Garden last summer. They have an absolutely exquisite collection of roses in all colors, shapes and sizes. A feast for the eyes.

Everything's Coming Up Roses!

Everything's Coming Up Roses!
12 x 12 Oil Painting
SOLD

"Everything's Coming Up Roses" is one of my recent bridal bouquet paintings. I've painted dozens of bouquets, often as gifts from parents of the bride or groom or a husband to his wife as a special wedding or anniversary gift.

 Each bouquet is so different. Some are bold, some are soft and romantic, some are delicate blush tones or even all white.  You can see a variety of bouquets at bridalbouquetpaintings.com

This one was a very classic bouquet of exclusively red roses. 

The photo I worked from is below.

         

The best part is seeing the joy on people's faces when they get a surprise gift that is a meaningful keepsake of one of the most special days of their life.

Here's the happy couple who received their painting commissioned by mom and dad for a first anniversary gift.

If you know of someone who might be interested in giving a special gift, please share this with them.  More at:.  bridalbouquetpaintings.com

Thanks so much for helping me with my mission of using my artwork to spread love!

Wherefore Art Thou?

Wherefore Art Thou?
16 x 20 oil painting
by Pat Fiorello
 $1600

 

The other day I shared a painting called "Modern Romance".  It was a painting of this bouquet of  David Austin Juliet roses but with a simplified background. 

The background I set up included a tapestry I bought in Italy. I was a bit intimidated and not sure how to  approach painting it but I decided to  face my fears and give it a try with this 2nd version of the same scene.

 I simplified the tapestry design, but tried to keep the feeling of the scene on the tapestry which had mountains, a lake and columns with flowers. Had to minimize details and keep edges soft so that the tapestry would stay behind the  flowers which were the main event. Eventually I eliminated one of the columns in the background as it started getting too busy. The flowers are a little pinker than the real flowers were which were more peachy, but I liked the pink with the greenish tapestry. So decided to leave them as is for this painting.

Below is a photo of the still life set up and steps along the way in completing "Wherefore Art Thou". 

It's amazing the difference the background made in the feel. With basically the same exact flowers, "Modern Romance" feels a lot more contemporary while "Wherefore Art Thou" Feels more romantic and old world.

Work in Progress

Modern Romance

Modern Romance
 16 x 6 oil painting
by Pat Fiorello
$1200

 

Recently set up some beautiful Juliet roses for a still life painting.  The flowers are pretty complex so I decided to simplify the background at first and just focus on the flowers for this painting.  I did a second version afterwards where I included a suggestion of the background tapestry. I will share that one in an upcoming blog post.

Below are some steps along the way in creation of this painting which I call "Modern Romance".