Painting Color & Light - Day 1

 In my last post,  I shared about my experience at the Susan Sarback workshop on color and light. The approach is in the spirit of the impressionist study of the effects of light and atmospheric conditions on color and what we see. Here are some photo's from my first day trying out this approach-it's radically different than anything I've ever done- and I painted only with a knife- no brushes.It's a 4 step process, starting with bright colors for large shapes in either shadow( cool) or light(warm), then refining to mute colors down,  adding the effect of light on color and then touching up final details and edges. Here are some of the stages from start to final study( sorry about the sun glare on the photo) . Done on location in Charleston SC Monday afternoon. It was fun and I'm learning a lot . More to come.
                                      

Boundless Enthusiasm

Giverny Trellis

Oil Painting by Pat Fiorello

(sold)

One thing I love about meeting other artists is their passion for art. When people are sharing about something they are passionate about,you can feel the heightened energy and aliveness.

Talking about art supplies, classes, mixing colors etc.. can go on for hours.

 You can substitute in anything you are passionate about- music, cooking, traveling, dancing...

At one point I asked myself - what exactly is passion?  I found this definition in the dictionary which I felt captured it pretty well.

Passion =unbounded enthusiasm

 That lead to what is enthusiasm?

Enthusiasm-  from the Greek en theos- “inspired by God”

When we are engaged in what we are passionate about, we are consumed. We love to share with like minded individuals( and anyone else who will listen) . We are present to our own enthusiasm and sense of aliveness when we share our passion with others.

The painting above is one I did based on some photo's form my trip to Monet's gardens in Giverny  France. When I think of Monet', not only do I thin of his great paintings, but also his passion for gardening. he created that garden at Giverny over the 40+ years he lived there and used it as his muse for painting.

Here's another quote I like on success- passion is a key ingredient.


"A Man (or woman, or artist) can succeed at...anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm". ~ Charles Schwab


What are you passionate about? If you haven't shared about it in awhile, I invite you to do so today- it will make your day and someone else's a little brighter. Have fun spreading your enthusiasm!

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"