My Formal Declaration: I Am In Love with Art!

Dear Humanity,

My Formal Declaration of my Love of Art! The addiction began at six.

I have been formally educated in art, with a Bachelors of Fine Arts, cum laude, from Tulane University, and a Masters in Fine Arts from Pratt Institute, where I was awarded an assistantship. My oil paintings have been the subject of favorable reviews, featured in a five page  article in elan magazine, April 2011, and I have been invited twice to participate in Invitational exhibits at the Athenaeum.  I am also the second vice-president of the Art League. My paintings can be viewed on my website www.patriciauchello.com, as well as across the Metropolitan Washington, DC area:  in A Show of Hands, The Art League, Beall and Brumbaugh Gallery, Green Springs Gardens, NIH, the Georgetown Hospital Lombardi Cancer Institute, and River Farms, home to the American Horticultural Society, during various intervals throughout 2011-2012.

My love for art began at the tender age of six, when I sent in my first juried art work to Romper Room, the children’s television show, for the approval of Miss Ginny. It came back with a check mark, and the words “very good.” I was hooked. I then graduated to gazing lovingly at my Crayola Box of 64 and designing paper dolls. In high school, I was taught how to use oil paints on canvas at the age of 15.

My first paid portrait commission was at age 19. I continue to study art, because one can never be quite satisfied.

Art lifts us up to a higher plane, as does watching a play or ballet, or listening to great music. The arts are a mark of a highly developed civilization. So please support the advancement of civilization by buying my art!

Most sincerely,

Patricia Uchello

February 2012

SO Funny: Cat Facts

 Dear Imaginary Friends,

The above is a messaging hoax. I squealed with laughter when I read it. The annoying persistence of Cat Facts sent me over the edge.

Hope you love it too. I did not create it, but wish I knew who did so that I could give them credit.

Your Imaginary Cat Owner,

Patsie

Tools of the Trade

In the process of making art, I play with color, light and shadow, and composition.

Miami's Beautiful South Beach

The striped cabanas above, in sherbet colors, belong to the Delano Hotel in South Beach.

What is South Beach famous for? Well, in addition to Art Deco architecture, beautiful white sand, turquoise water, and beautiful people, it's glamtastic, thanks to some newer fabulous hotels such as the Delano, Shore Club, the Raleigh, which is home to the Ford Modeling Agency, and a beautiful Loew's, all right on the ocean.

Another Beautiful day in Maimi

Shot at Miami's Bayfront Marina

What Makes a City Glamourous?

Dear Imaginary Friends,

There are several factors contributing to a city's glamor factor: Wealth, chic restaurants, chic fashion, and fabulous homes. Several cities in the United States come to mind:
New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco. Boston? Nope. Omaha? ARE you kidding???

The glam factor means over the top fabulosity!

On the left is a lowly parking lot in Miami South Beach , and on the right is a lowly movie theater

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Miami Glamour: The Architecture

Art Deco construction in South Beach

Classy and glassy

jazzy new parking lot in South Beach on Alden Road

Van Dyke Cafe on Lincoln Road; reclaimed by vines

Miami, Florida, is a fairly new city. It was established around 1900, with loads of landfill building it up from the swampy shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Because of hurricanes, non historic architecture is constantly being torn down, and rebuilt. Consequently, there are numerous new buildings of striking architectural styles from Art Deco to yesterday all over downtown and South Beach.

What is cool there? Everything but the weather. The famed Route One which is a mile from my house ends in Miami. And then shoots up north past Alexandria all the way up to Maine. That is one very long road!!

The most devastating hurricane to ever hit Miami in our lifetimes was Hurricane Andrew, which flattened Homestead, FL, just south of Miami, on the way to the Florida Keys. Hurricane Katrina did some serious damage to Miami before it made its more famous landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi.


Believe it or not, the Everglades, which are just to the west of Fort Lauderdale and Miami, are actually a river, albeit a slow moving one. When hurricanes are scarce, the Everglades  become dangerously dry, and there are brush fires every few years from the dry heat. Hurricanes and large tropical storms help flush the water from the wetlands and bring fresh nutrients.


More than you wanted to know!
Patsie

Greetings from the Front Porch Cafe in Miami!

Your Imaginary Reporter :)

Enjoyed the breeze on Ocean Drive in South Beach this weekend.

The weather was 80ish, the beaches were packed, the sunburns were happening.

As for me, I ate every meal outdoors, sunning myself into a stupor of Vitamin D. I only brought one sleeveless top. So, if you go to Miami in January, please do bring your shorts and short sleeves.

And have a shrimp taco for me at the Front Porch Cafe across from the Atlantic Ocean. (I know; what a sacrifice!)

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

How Do I Love Thee, Gelato? Let Me Count the Ways

Dolce Vita, Gelato Emporium located in South Beach, Miami. Mmmmm.

What You Really Dread

Dear Imaginary Friends,
What chain store do you most dread adjacent to your hotel?
"Bedbugs and Beyond".
Your Imaginary Friend,
Patsie

Ooh Warmth!

What is warmer than Miami this past weekend? Not much!

On Display This Month Only at The Art League

The Pink Purse, Oil, 16 x 16", was inspired by my very own pink purse and love of lipstick. I am now showing this piece throughout January 2012 at theartleague.org 

If you know a girly girl, then this is for you.

Your artist friend,

Patsie

Traffic Accident Casualty

Truck Hit and Run; Black Cat Latest Casualty

Naughty and He Knows It

Evil Grin

Le sigh* Parker is naughty, and he knows it. His new trick is trying to climb onto the glass side table at my house and standing on it.

Here he flaunts a threat in our faces, as if to say, ha ha! Look what I am going to do next!
And then he bit me, right on the thigh. OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

On Display This Very Minute at A Show of Hands

Dear Imaginary Friends,

In an effort to take over the art world of Northern Virginia (not really), I have four shows currently running. One of them is at a charming shop on Mt. Vernon Avenue called A Show of Hands. The title comes from the basis of the store, which is that all the work sold there is hand made. In addition to paintings, there is mucho jewelry, crafts, knit wear, sculpture, etc.

Herewith are the paintings I currently have on display there, now that the Ostrich painting has been adopted and sent to a new home. (I hope that he is using his litter box.)

Three Roses

Obscene Phone Call

Three Friends

A Daffodil Study, and Cache Pot with Pansies

Cherry Pie and Amethyst Waterlily

Please visit  ashowofhands.biz

It is a great place to buy your sweetie a gift for Valentine's Day.

My art makes a great gift. Nine out of ten doctors agree!

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Three Generations: What Does Love Look Like?

Patsie, Virginia and Parker

 

 

Dear Imaginary Friends,

Don't you just love family birthday parties? I do! My daughter had a great birthday party this week, and we posed for a three generation photo.

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

The Patrons Show

Dear Imaginary Friends,

Do you like a deal? Do you like games of chance? Then you should toodle on down to the Art League in Alexandria, VA, tomorrow bright and early, for a $175 ticket, which will buy you a piece of original art.

If you must still be in your pj's, so be it.

The names are called at random, so one does not know if one will be picked first (lucky devil) or last (Don't worry; those people win free dinners, hotel rooms, etc.)

SO what do you have to lose? The earlier you line up in front of the Torpedo Factory main doors, the better. Doors open around 9 am, and the tickets go really fast.

Bon chance!

theartleague.org 

Your art league ticket line minder,

Patsie

In the Long Cold Month of January

Dear Imaginary Friends suffering from the cold,

Just when I think that I dwell in the blustery tundra of permanent winter, along comes a small sign of imminent spring.

I cut the small branch of flowering quince above from my back yard yesterday. My Japanese quince is mildly confused, as are my neighbor's forsythias, blooming ahead of schedule.

They are struggling optimists. And they are helping me see Spring, hiding behind corners of chilly streets.

I, too, am a struggling optimist.

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Closed to the Public

Dear People,

Yesterday morning, I hung an art show at City Hall, in the City Manager's Office/Conference Room.

It consists of two long walls: one is hung with Landscapes and one is hung with Still Lives.

I would invite you to visit the exhibit, but I cannot. It is closed to the public, and you would have to have a conference with the City Manager to be there.

So get on his agenda, ASAP! Just kidding.

Yours very truly,

Patsie

Parker Says His Work Is Never Done!

Eau de Lorina-One of My 30 Paintings at Green Springs This Month

Eau de Lorina,

For sale

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What's Fun to Do and See This Weekend?

Six Irises

Miami Deco

I am so glad that you asked! Please head on down to Green Springs Garden Park, off Duke Street in Annandale, Virginia. I have a new show, open this weekend, with thirty oil paintings of all things related to nature.http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/gsgp/

Harmony in Orange

Wall in One of the Two Tea Rooms

The show fills two large rooms in the Historic Tea Rooms in the Manor.//www.gardenvisit.com/garden/green_springs_gardens_park

The old manor house was built with old boards, some of which were salvaged from a bordello! 

It is a lovely space, and it is all Uchello work for the next two months. They are open Wednesdays through Sundays.

Please take a peek, and have a cup of tea, while you are at it!

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Bad News for General Bonkers!

Sometimes The Onion hits the nail on the head!! I love this headline, as I used to have a cat named Bonkers.

He was a tyrant, and I can easily picture him in a uniform, bossing all the other cats around.

Google "The Onion" for more creative fake news.

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Bored Yet?

Dear Imaginary Friends,

Are you wishing that you had a new challenge for the new year? Then you should head on over to the Art League in Old Town Alexandria, to check out the exciting classes they offer!

Have  ever wished you could sculpt in alabaster, blow glass, paint, make a mosaic table, learn faux finishing, create your own earrings, weave, or throw a pot for each family member?
Well, nothing is stopping you from making 2012 a year of widening your mind and your life.

theartleague.org

The world of art, is out there waiting for you to try it!

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

PS Classes start next week, so hurry and sign up!

The Windblown Look

What is the newest look for babies these days, I heard you wondering out loud? Well, it is the bee-stung lip and windblown locks, favored by models the world across.

See Parker here practicing for the catwalk.

He needs to start young, for that competitive edge! 

He also has a signature facial expression, which is known as the Nyah, nyah. It also happens to be his current favorite saying.

Zoolander, baby style!

Alone and Afraid

I can relate to anyone moving across the country to pursue a dream. I was 22, fresh out of college, when I moved alone from New Orleans to New York. Not only had I never been there before, but I did not own warm clothes. I only weighed 100 pounds, and Pratt Institute was in a bad neighborhood.

But I hate to change my mind once I have announced that I am doing something. Maybe it is sheer stubbornness, but I hate to look afraid or even wishy washy. The day of my flight, I felt so ill from a bad case of nerves, I could hardly walk. I was moving up with three suitcases, laden with clothes for warm weather from New Orleans and a bunch of art supplies. 

I have never felt so alone in my life. I did not know a soul in New York City.

Looking back, it was the best choice I ever made for my career.

Your Imaginary Friend,
Patsie