Patricia Samanta is taking us to her outdoor studio in this week’s Arty Afternoon, which is where she’s currently working on creating a portrait of her daughter walking in the garden alongside the family’s beloved dog.
To watch and be inspired, please click on the ‘Play’ button below
She shares that much of her painting is done from resource photos, which means many of the plants featuring in the piece are of a particular seasonal moment. However, she also lends her work a little artistic license by simply including some of her favourites that are currently in flower.
Using high quality oil on linen, with some medium too, Patricia shares that her preference is to work with her material in a uniquely ‘inky’ sort of way. This is especially relevant for the element of the work she’s currently focussing on, as it’s the foliage that you’ll see is currently attracting her artistic attention.
Being that this is one of the easier places to start if it’s your first time working with oils, or indeed if this is your first creative foray ever, Patricia’s video is perfect for those starting out, whilst her ability to try using a cloth and different equipment will equally be of interest to those of a more professional persuasion. Essentially, trying something new is part of the appeal of art, regardless of how familiar with the world of creativity you are.
Using a loaded brush and fresh brushstrokes is Patricia’s way and one she shares is a fun approach to painting, as it means you can meander across the page to wherever the little marks you make from observation take you without having to constantly return to the palette. It’s all about enjoying a fluid, gentle, no pressure style and just letting each little addition become part of the picture.
Two final pieces of wisdom are shared towards the end of the video, the first being that Patricia tends to grow plants in her garden that she enjoys painting; an approach that’s certainly different and one that we’d certainly be interested in trying!
The other concerns bringing the foreground and the background together with the artful use of colour, which along with a special guest appearance from Patricia’s gorgeous dog brings the video to a rather humourous, warm, informative close.
Patricia’s kindness can be felt throughout her video and is something many people were lucky enough to encounter in person when she was previously our artist in residence in Horatio’s Garden South West both in 2017 and 2019.
As she also works on portrait commissions, she has the wonderful quality of always putting people at ease, which is naturally reflected in her work. Having gained a BA (Visual) in Painting with First Class Honours from the Australian National University (Canberra School of Art), Patricia specialises in alla prima contemporary portraits of children, using oil on canvas in an expressive wet in wet ink/watercolour technique to capture movement of figure, as seen in her video. Additionally, she creates contemporary yet traditional pieces of pets and botanicals.
Signing off her contribution, she wishes everyone all the best with their art, whether that be painting or anything else! It’s a sentiment we share and one we’d like to return to Patricia too, along with our thanks for creating a lovely, calm, uplifting Arty Afternoon.
