Patti MacHale Bartol
“My work is shaped primarily by a sensitive connection to nature. Painting imparts a visual language that allows me to express my emotional responses to the landscape through the handling of form, color and light.”
Patti Bartol works both from her studio in Mechanicsville, Virginia and from the immense studio of the outdoors. It is here in nature that she focuses on the restorative sights and sounds around her, capturing color and fleeting light with her watercolor paints. Her work has been described as color filled, yet peaceful and serene, having at times an Oriental quality. Patti is drawn to scenes that feel distant from the complexity of modern life: old mills and barns, lush gardens, marshland, streams and mountain vistas are favorite subjects.
Patti’s formal education began with a BA in Fine Art from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She has continued her education through studies with well known artists in the fields of portraiture, abstraction and landscape. Bartol is an active member of several art groups: Metropolitan Richmond Artist Association, Uptown Gallery , the Jack Woodson Sketch Club, and the Virginia Watercolor Society. Her work is exhibited in several Virginia galleries, corporate collections and juried shows. She has taught classes in drawing, pastel, watercolor and oil.