Pat's Blog

John Ellis

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Pat

Some of you might remember John from the Tuesday night class or perhaps from the art show last year. His painting was on the invitation for the show. He painted those beautiful ocean scenes. Although John came to the studio to study oils, he was already an accomplished painter in acrylics so he didn’t need much help from me. His forté has been murals. Below are some of his recent creations. The first photo is of the prep work before he could even begin the creation of the barber shop mural. As always, 60 to 70 percent thinking and planning, whether it is a mural or a painting.

Click on the photos below to see how fantastic it turned out.

Each of the panels below left are 12 feet tall. On the right is a close up of a portion of the first panel (it was hard to see it because of the light coming in the window). These were commissioned by a company in Quincy. Wow, John, they all look really great! Thanks for letting me share these with everyone.

If any of you would like a mural in your home of office you can reach him at:

John E b_1941@hotmail.com

As always, thanks for visiting, and have a great day.

Posted in acrylic painting, adults, artwork, painting | Tagged acrylics, John Ellis, murals | Leave a comment

More Fun at the Studio

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Pat

Lexi and Maddy are at it again. See what an interesting crayon melting design Lexi created, (below left). The yellow shape is a cut out, allowing the yellow paper behind to show through. Lexie, I love everything you do.

Maddy, “took off” after I showed her how to make bows. I bet she made even more when she got home. She made one for each of her friends. Soooooo thoughtful!

It’s really easy to make these bows. If any of you want to learn I’d be glad to show you. Imagine all the creative possibilities! There is no limit!

Next is Avery, (below), with her interesting crayon art. It looks even better in person, very harmonious and full of movement. Very nice Avery!

Thanks for stopping by and making my blog a part of your day.

Posted in artwork, kids | Tagged Avery, bows, crayon art, Lexi, Maddy | Leave a comment

A Valentine Gift

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Pat

Happy Valentines Day, may this day and everyday be filled with love, joy and giving.

Speaking of giving, this wreath was given to me by Kincaid and Violet (below) last week. Aren’t they adorable girls and so pleased with their creation. They used cupcake papers and twisted them to make this wreath. It was a lot of work but together they figured out what and how to do it. What a creative, interesting and lovely gift. Thank you girls! I love it!

These two creations are Izzy’s. I just found them in my telephone-camera and learned to download them. They looked so creative I wanted to add them to this blog.

I hope you are enjoying my postings.

Thanks for reading. And thanks to all the kids that gave me gifts. I love all of them.

Posted in artwork, imagination, kids | Tagged cupcake papers, giving, Izzy, Kincaid, Valelntines Day, Violet, wreath | Leave a comment

Noelle Sciuto … Exceeding her Expectations

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Pat

Below is Noelle and some of her recent paintings. Several years ago her family bought her a gift certificate for Christmas. She came to class saying she was not good at drawing and didn’t think she would be very good at painting. What she did have was enthusiasm and desire, in spades! Noelle eagerly wanted to learn to paint because she loved color. She started with watercolor but after awhile decided it wasn’t for her. The paintings below are all acrylics. They are lively and full of color. She is still learning and striving to become more satisfied with her work.

The photo above right was taken this past fall on our yearly painting trip to Ogunquit.

The painting below, is taken from a photo of a path near her house on Plum Island. She added a lighthouse for interest. Can you tell looking at her paintings that her favorite color is blue?

The next two paintings below, are her most recent. Noelle has started adding suggestions of people to her finished paintings. The one on the left, below, is a copy of a fairly famous painting so she will not be able to sell it. Notice the sense of depth she achieved! Good job Noelle! Copying paintings we like is a very good exercise as long as the painting is by an accomplished artist. The painting on the right is an original, done from a photo she took at a cranberry bog.

Below left, is Noelle painting outside. She happens to be blocking in the first stages of the completed painting on the right. Noelle, you look like a pro! Luscious looking garden!

Thanks for reading my blog. I love sharing all the goings on at the studio and showing you that everyone’s hard work is paying off.

Natural abilities are like natural plants that need pruning by study. (Sir Francis Bacon)

Our duty, as men and women, is to proceed as if limits to our ability did not exist. We are collaborators in creation. (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin)

Posted in acrylic painting, adults, artwork, painting, Watercolor | Tagged acrylic painting, copying, Noelle Sciuto, Ogunquit, original | Leave a comment

Fun with Crayons … and More!

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Pat

Luke (above), showing his original mixed media art work using crayons. Eleanor’s crayon work is on the right. It reminds me of a flower arrangement. Neither of these two pieces of art will ever be able to be repeated in exactly the same way. Melting crayons in this way takes patience but the final product can look unusual and interesting. Often, the first one or two you do might look just like a big mess. However, if you keep trying and experimenting you could get something quite intriguing, not to mention, you could incorporate it into your art work. I hope someone tries painting watercolors on top. Or what about doing crayon melting on top of an acrylic or watercolor for texture and interest? It will be interesting to see what the kids and possibly adults come up with. I’ll keep you posted.

Below, Julie and Sadie are having fun with shaving cream. These two are great friends and love trying many different mediums. They are really good at cleaning up, and that’s a big help with over 100 people using the studio every week. Thanks, girls!

Avery, below, is having fun with clay. She also loves everything and everyone. What a delightful little girl. She is full of joy, along with being really good at drawing from observation.

Below is Clara. Her painting of the waterfall is almost complete. She said she likes the way it is coming along. Her finished painting has more rocks and a third central branch in the tree along with all the finishing touches. This is one of the best paintings she feels she has ever done. Great job Clara! I hope it encourages you to paint more. Sorry I forgot to take a photo of the finished painting before you took it home.

The collage below was created by Avery using felt and crayon. I’ve been waiting for someone to use the felt pieces my granddaughter, Kate, donated to the class. Avery, it looks very colorful and interesting. Good job!

The acrylic painting to the left is large, I think 24×36. Molly got the canvas for Christmas. I thought she was finished when I took the photo. But she brought it back this past week and said she wanted to work on it a little more. You can tell when the kids are older because they are willing to take more than a few minutes on a painting.

Molly has made several changes. She likes the circle in the upper left corner, along with she laid small shiny beads on the violet areas. I am not sure she is finished with the painting. We’ll see!

Thanks for reading. Have a colorful day!

Posted in artwork, imagination, kids, painting | Tagged acrylic painting, Avery, Clara, collage, crayons, Eleanor, Emily, Julie, Luke, Molly, shaving cream | Leave a comment

Dungaree Dolls

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Pat

Caitlin and Katherine asked last week if they could bring their old dungarees in and splatter paint on them. I said ok and they remembered! Look below to see what a good time they had. Next week they are going to splatter on the backs of the pants. I couldn’t have let young kids do this activity because it would be too messy, but these girls are older and have been with me for awhile. They were both thoughtful and considerate of the studio, other kids and each other. These girls are great kids! (Their parents taught them well.) Notice how they put paper down to protect the floor. It helped a bit. I hope they use the white paper next week to create something special. Maybe they could make boxes. Who knows, the possibilities are endless. I’ll keep you posted.

Look at the contrast, above, left. All the kids are sitting quietly doing their respective projects while Caitlin and Katherine are ‘branching out’ to new frontiers. Jackson Pollack, look out! On the right, above, are the finished fronts of the dungarees, drying on clean paper put down on the gallery carpet.

Caitlin, above, holding her finished pants, right. Below is a close-up of Caitlin from last week.

Katherine, below, right, squirting right from the bottle. It will take the whole week for the paint to dry completely. But, the pants sure look good!

Left is a photo of Katherine from last week. I decided to add these close-ups of the girls so you could see their faces better.

Their pants look like works of art. The colors show up better on the darker pants than on the lighter pants. They also would have shown up on very light pants. Once again, value plays a part in the outcome. The middle valued pants have a quieter look to them and the darker pants have a stronger look. What do you think? Always remember, it is not about good vs. bad or right vs. wrong. It is really about one kind of look compared to another kind of look.

As painters, it is our job to figure out what we want to say and then find the best values, colors, textures, etc. to best express ourselves. These kids wanted to have fun and their canvas (dungarees) sure show their exuberance.

As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed sharing in the fun these kids had.

Posted in artwork, kids, painting, spontaneity, teenager | Tagged Caitlin, dungarees, fun, Jackson Pollack, Katherine, splatter painting | Leave a comment

Shapes-the Foundation of Paintings

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Pat

Notice below that I have 6 paintings. Although they suggest landscapes, the three shapes used to create these paintings are nothing more than a large, medium and small shape. The first four are the basic, block-in shapes. If you create 3 to 5 large shapes from the very beginning of your block-in you will be off to a good start designing your canvas or paper. These are all very simple shapes. However, none of the shapes are equal in size, shape or value (we will post more about the design element value, at another time). Nothing, especially when creating, is set in stone. You may find that a complex painting, with many objects, needs more basic, block-in shapes. Ten would be a lot but I would not recommend you have more than fifteen. More about this subject in future posts!

The last two paintings, below, have shapes inside their bottom large shapes. Creating shapes inside shapes is the second step in painting a picture. (that is if you are following the 3 step process, click here to see the post about painting a picture.)

Notice how the proportion of the medium and small shapes at the top are reversed. The one on the left has a medium light shape and a small dark shape. Whereas the painting on the right has a medium dark shape and a small white shape. Don’t you think they are both off to a good start in becoming finished landscapes?

Keeping it simple in the beginning helps you see if the painting is going to be worth your time. Everyone new starts out worrying about the exact color or detail before they have developed the overall design, which needs to convey why they are painting the picture in the first place. Is your painting about the sky? Trees? Land? You decide, and give the preponderance of space to that area. It will be clearer to the viewer and your larger shape will have more power.

I hope this is helpful. Thanks for reading.

Posted in adults, lesson, painting | Tagged Large, Medium, Shape, Size, Small, Value | Leave a comment

Incredible Photos of the week

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Pat

Wow, look at some of the work taking place in the studio. No cookie-cutter art going on here.

On the left, below, is Fiona’s Egyptian study. It looks pretty incredible! Fiona is also a very good portrait and figure artist. On the right is Kylie and her gorgeous oil pastel painting. Great job! Thanks for letting me show it in the window of the studio for a week. Everyone loves it.

The charcoal on the left, below, was done by Kristina and the one on the right was done by Jason. Kristina’s charcoal was set up in the gallery using one light source. She didn’t think she could draw but she ended up being quite surprised and pleased with the result. These two are putting their portfolios together because they are both applying to Mass. College of Art for the September enrollment. She already has her BA but has decided she loves designing and making clothes more than anything else, so she is going for fashion. Jason is interested in illustration. He is the young man I blogged about a couple months ago, to see more of his work click here.

Isabel and her acrylic Toucan painting are on the left, below. Click on the image to see how beautifully the application of paint was handled. Isabel is an excellent watercolorist. This is her first acrylic with me. I love her quiet energy, plus lots of experience and talent.

The painting on the right, below, is an underpainting created by Sandy Galanis. She is a watercolorist who has recently switched to acrylics. Click on the painting to see all the interesting layers. I can’t wait to blog about her and her work – soon I hope. Stay tuned!

Sandy’s was the first photo of a painting I downloaded from someone else’s camera at the studio. As you know, I am still like a baby learning all this tech stuff. So I was very proud of myself, even if it did take me a while to figure it out. Just like art, we make a lot of mistakes before we get it right. One step forward, two steps back. Thank God Chuck is patient.

Next, below, is one of my favorite kids, Katie. She is smart, curious, patient and loves intricate patterns. Katie has been with me for several years. We both love swimming and doing art and we don’t like serious competition. Instead, we just enjoy doing the work. I don’t think it gets much better than this. Joy in the moment!

Finally, remember Robert, the man I posted about who is taking art classes on line? Well, he has had a month off and decided to spend the time playing with Photoshop. Look at the image below of his rendition of Jimmy Hendrix. Robert will be taking an illustration course soon. I’ll keep you posted. By the way, his main teacher said he was the most improved student she ever had. What a compliment to him. It meant he worked really hard. Great likeness! I love the purple! To see more of his work and to read about him, click here.

As always, thanks for reading and telling your family and friends. I still can’t believe all the people who have visited our site, over 2500 in just 4 months. It is amazing. Thank you all, it encourages me to keep blogging.

Posted in acrylic painting, adults, artwork, drawing, kids, painting, teenager | Tagged acrylic painting, charcoal, egyptian study, Fiona, Isabel, Jason Jewett, Jimmy Hendrix, Kattie, Kristina, Kylie, Oil Painting, Robert, Sandy Galanis, underpainting | Leave a comment

Mother and daughter creating together

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Pat

Above, left, is Elaine Baker working on an original painting using a photo her husband Jim took. In her words, “The painting is from a photo Jim took in Eze, France. We were vacationing in the Mediterranean in May, celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. This place was the most romantic place we’ve ever seen, atop a mountain over looking the French Riviera. This painting will always be a reminder of why we need to go back someday.” Wow, what a great reason to paint a scene.

On the right above, is Dolly Pendexter, Elaine’s mother, painting a picture to give her granddaughter as a wedding gift. They both live in the Ipswich area and come to the studio together each week.

They have been with me for a while, first studying on Monday nights and now on Wednesday mornings. They came with some experience but were willing to learn more. Can you tell which painting, below, is done in oil and which in acrylic? It is hard to tell, isn’t it?

Dolly’s painting of the geese (left, above) is painted in acrylics. Elaine’s painting is done in oils. Wow, don’t they both look incredible! Mother and daughter are realistic painters, using photos and adlibbing when needed.

Elaine has explored watercolors, acrylics, & water based oils. She has found that straight oils are her favorite. Dolly loves watercolors and acrylics and she plans to try oils soon. I know it looks like Elaine and Dolly have “arrived” so to speak. However, they are still learning, studying and growing. Doing art is a process, not, as some hope, an event. They are both quiet, focused and serious artists. As you might imagine, it has taken years for these two to be as good as they are and they are constantly improving. It will be interesting to see what they will be up to in a year, or more. I am blessed to be their guide.

Thanks for reading.

Posted in acrylic painting, adults, artwork, painting | Tagged acrylics, daughter, Dolly Pendexter, Elaine Baker, focused, growing, learning, mother, oils, realistic | Leave a comment

Mary knew the answers

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Pat

Remember when I said I thought Mary Shapiro would know the names of the artists Elise was emulating? (click to see Elise’s art work). Aren’t I proud of myself. HA! HA! Yes, she know almost every one of them. That’s what happens when you have been teaching art for 30 or so years. Mary is a wealth of information and a great painter. See the painting (below) she is doing of her granddaughter. WOW!!!!!! Boy is she talented! We are all blessed to have her in the Wednesday morning class.

We have also made a new friend, Christina Ouimette (I hope I spelt that right). She is going to be assisting me, hopefully, in the Thursday afternoon kids class. She has her BA in Art Education, as does Mary, although Mary might have her Masters. I’ll find out. Look at the photo’s below and you can see how Christina just jumped right in to help. She arrived 10 min. early for a meeting we were going to have and saw how busy I was and just matter-of-factly started helping. What a sweetheart! Perfect for me and the studio. I could tell the kids liked her right away, just like I did when I first meet her. Thanks Jan for getting us together.

Really, does it get any better than this?

Thanks again for reading my blog!

Posted in adults, artwork, kids, painting | Tagged assistant, Christina Ouimette, Mary Shiparo | Leave a comment

John Ellis

More Fun at the Studio

A Valentine Gift

Noelle Sciuto … Exceeding her Expectations

Fun with Crayons … and More!

Dungaree Dolls

Shapes-the Foundation of Paintings

Incredible Photos of the week

Mother and daughter creating together

Mary knew the answers

Subscribe to MY Blog!

Art Lessons

Art Supplies

Search My Posts

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Tags