“Wellfleet Revisited”  Paintings by Patte Ormsby at Left Bank Gallery,  Wellfleet, MA  August 24- September 6

                                                                            Opening Reception:  Aug. 24, 6 to 8 PM

To the Morning

When I close my eyes to quiet my mind, the place I find is Wellfleet. I see the dark blue starry skies of childhood summer, Newcomb Hollow nights. I feel golden sand under me, still warm from the daytime sun. I hear the water, lapping at the harbor shore, as a soft breeze cools my skin.  I am floating, weightless on the clear fresh surface of a sparkling Dyer Pond surrounded by a forest of mossy green trees and a soft blue sky. I find a treasure of smooth stones beneath my feet in a salty low tide as a deep red Duck Harbor sunset turns the warm day to misty night.  This is where my paintings begin.

I have arrived!  In Wellfleet that is, and my paintings are with me to be delivered later this week and hung on Friday afternoon.  It is soooo nice to be here!    “Let the wild rumpus begin!”

 

http://leftbankgallery.blogspot.comMonday, August 19, 2013

Patte Ormsby: Wellfleet Revisited

The final solo show of summer opens at Left Bank Gallery in Wellfleet on Saturday, August 24 with Patte Ormsby’s Wellfleet Revisited. The exhibit is at Left Bank’s 25 Commercial Street, Wellfleet location and begins with a reception on August 24 from 6 to 8pm.
“Few times in the history of art are as symbolically and visually compelling as that of the Italian Renaissance,” Patte says. “This continues to influence my paintings as I use elements of deep color, texture, gold leaf and pattern to present that sacred historical richness in a contemporary context. Using these elements in my paintings is my way of expressing the quiet solemnity or simmering energy of places that are sacred to me.”
Color, texture and gold leaf are where the connection to the Italian Renaissance ends. Geometric grids and repeating shapes are layered within the scenes. Layers and layers of patterns and textures, in a mix of order and chaos. Through it all lies the richness of a renaissance.
Patte uses unconventional materials with traditional techniques, applied in a contemporary way. She’s drawn to aluminum-faced fiberglass board for its reflective and uneven surface qualities. Sometimes she includes other metals: aluminum or iron, with craquelure and oxidation techniques for textural interest and an aged quality.
Building the paintings layer upon layer, Patte starts with brightly colored pattern, sprayed through screens, followed by translucent oil glazes and varnish resists for a luminosity achieved when combined with the aluminum ground.
“I top this with imitation gold leaf, a copper and zinc alloy, to create the composition,” she says. “I treat the leaf with a mild acidic solution of natural ingredients found in my kitchen, to develop a blue green patina or to melt it away entirely exposing more of the underlying shapes and colors, and enriching the layered effect.”

It is only at the very end of the process that Patte picks up a brush!

Meet Patte Ormsby at a gallery reception on August 24, from 6 to 8 pm. Left Bank Gallery, 25 Commercial Street, Wellfleet.

 

“Wellfleet Revisited”  Paintings by Patte Ormsby at Left Bank Gallery,  Wellfleet, MA  August 24- September 6

                                                                            Opening Reception:  Aug. 24, 6 to 8 PM

Night Shines72

When I close my eyes to quiet my mind, the place I find is Wellfleet. I see the dark blue starry skies of childhood summer, Newcomb Hollow nights. I feel golden sand under me, still warm from the daytime sun. I hear the water, lapping at the harbor shore, as a soft breeze cools my skin.  I am floating, weightless on the clear fresh surface of a sparkling Dyer Pond surrounded by a forest of mossy green trees and a soft blue sky. I find a treasure of smooth stones beneath my feet in a salty low tide as a deep red Duck Harbor sunset turns the warm day to misty night.  This is where my paintings begin.

Wellfleet Revisited

My paintings will be featured in “Wellfleet Revisited” a show of my work, at the Left Bank Gallery in Wellfleet, MA from August 24 through September 6!   Opening reception will be Saturday, Aug. 24 from 6 to 8 pm.

A collection of Cape Cod, especially Wellfleet, inspired paintings. Come see me and my paintings at the opening, 6 to 8 on the 24th. Or anytime during the show. I’ll be there!    Keep checking back, as I will be posting sneak previews of paintings included in the show.

 

LeftBankpostcardfront72 LeftBankpostcardback72

martini left       martini right

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s not to love about a martini? I mean the drinking kind.   Presentation is everything, so for me, a huge part of the allure is the glass.  I love the delicate shape of martini stemware.  Forget those squat little glasses some trendy establishments try to pass off as a martini glass.

Give me the clean classic elegance of  a see-through triangle perfectly balanced atop a slender  stem miles above a smooth round base.  Though illusive of fragility, there’s strength in this glass, this ballerina of drinks, a cocktail en pointe.

I want that shallow conical vessel dripping with frosty deliquescence. Oh to lift it. Gently. By the stem. Between fingertips and thumb, and taste the  cold clear liquid. Not sweet. Not sour. Just strong and subtle.   A grown up drink to savor, to sip, to swill.  The promise of sophistication for the eye and the tongue.

Above:  “Martini Homage”  33x24x30″   Wire: galvanized, copper, brass Contents: clear & irridescent architectural glass, crystal beads, prisms,patinated moon shells, a knitting needle, olive crackle agate, quartz, amethyst, African Krobo beads, found objects.

This sculpture along with “Ever Fresh” a hanging fish, is currently available at “Shor” in Provincetown, MA.  Click on image for link to their website. 

martini  detail

 

Welcome to my  website! A new and improved www.patteormsby.com has been a looooong time coming!   Perhaps a lot of you have been wondering what I have been working on and pretty much this is it.   My art skills are much better than my  computer skills, hence I did not do this alone.  I owe a huge debt of thanks to the lovely and talented graphic web designer, Michelle Via Jones (www.michellevia.com) for her graphic skills, her artist’s eye, and infinite patience with me in the making of this website.

In addition to this website, I have created a new artist page on Facebook, so please follow me there as well  at  www.facebook.com/patteormsbyart  for my Patte Reider Ormsby, Art page.     This is all new to me, so consider this a work in progress and be on the lookout for the latest news of my paintings, hanging wire & glass sculptures, and exhibitions where you can see them in person!  Stay tuned for info on my show at Left Bank Gallery, Wellfleet, MA opening August 24!

To-the-Other-Side-detail

Detail of “To the Other Side”

The Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts presents “Ave, Patina,” an exhibition of works by local artist Patte Ormsby, at the Members Gallery for the month of November. Ormsby’s paintings, an all-new body of work, are fantastic, hard-hitting explorations of color and layering. Her work has an aged quality, yet possesses a distinct urbane, avant-garde style, as she continues her interpretation of the visual mystique surrounding Renaissance holy paintings. Patina, a rich finish that forms on the surface metal, is central to the artwork in the exhibit. In Ormsby’s work, it invites unceasing interest.

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