"Portrait" Contemporary Landscape and Figurative Paintings by Arizona Artist Mary Opat

This is a portrait that I started a couple of days ago and finished this morning.  

I actually had trouble painting from the same photo earlier, so I trashed that one and started over. 

 The painting has a lot of texture in the sweater that I can't seem to capture in the photo.  I

really need to figure out how to get more accurate photos of my work!
To view or purchase my work, follow this link:
http://www.cfai.co/maryopat

"Shades of Blue" Contemporary Landscape and Figurative Oil Paintings by Arizona Artist Mary OIpat

Here is a painting that hangs in my living room.  I painted it from a photo taken in

Greece by world traveler Galen Frysinger.  If you're curious about life in other

countries, I recommend you check out his website.  It's a well organized site and

easy to navigate.  You'll not only see thousands photos, but also learn

about the history of cities and countries throughout the world.

Here is a link.....enjoy!  http://www.galenfrysinger.com
check out more of my paintings at http://www.maryopat.com

Mary's Pick for "Art Blog of the Month"

At the beginning of each month I'm going offer a link (with permission, of course), to a blog published by one of my friends or relatives.  It may be a personal blog site or a web site from a local business or organization I'm familiar with that supports the arts.  So I'm urging my friends to keep those sites updated!  Look for the first link on June 1st.

"River Walk" Contemporary Landscape and Figurative Oil Paintings by Arizona Artist Mary Opat

This painting is of the River Walk in San Antonio.  Several members of my family and I 

were able to get together to celebrate Phil's graduation and the beginning of his 

career in the Air Force a few years ago.  We have a family joke that "in San Antonio, all roads

lead to the Alamo".  It seemed that whenever we took a wrong turn, we ended up 

at the Alamo and River Walk, so we just went with THAT plan!
To view some of my recent work, follow this link!
http://www.maryopat.com  

Pieces of My Past

Here is my favorite easel, the one that Grandpa Noonan made for me years ago 

when I was in high school.  Dad had just bought me my first set of paints and

a roll of canvas.  The easel is on my "painting table".  It's a table also made by Grandpa

 which once served as a small kitchen table in their home.  

I put together a new "big girl" easel today.  Only had a few parts left over!

"Plein-Air Study" Contemporary Landscape and Figurative Oil Paintings by Arizona Artist Mary Opat

10" x 10" Original Oil Painting

This is a study I painted in the gardens at East Side Gallery on
April 21st.  It was a wonderful relaxing day with
good friends surrounded by nature.  I tried to
capture the colors and textures of the plants in the
foreground and decided to accentuate the sculptural quality
by eliminating the plants in the background.  You can check
out more of my work by clicking on the following link:
http://www.maryopat.com

Scottsdale Artist School Workshop

April 30th through May 2nd five members of the Gilbert Visual Art League 

attended a landscape workshop by Dick Heichberger called "Landscape Painting 

from Photographs".  Below is an example of the many unfinished quick studies I did

from reference photographs.  Jean, Bev, Barb, Jen and I were apparently 

so into his method of painting that we forgot to take a group photo!
I'll be finishing this painting and offering it next fall in the local art shows.  To see

more of my work, follow this link to:http://www.maryopat.com

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

A photo of the  Gilbert Leadership Class XXI cutting the ribbon at the 

dedication ceremony.  There was quite a crowd attending with speeches and cake. 

 I was given twenty seven beautiful roses which represented one rose from each 

of the Leadership Class members.  

Gilbert, AZ Mural
Panoramic View

To see or purchase my oil paintings, please follow this link:
http://www.maryopat.com