Artist takes bite of the Big Apple
Patti Fontaine’s paintings chosen for Agora Gallery
Chills ran up and down Patti Fontaine’s spine when she learned she’d been chosen to showcase her paintings at the Agora Gallery in New York City’s Chelsea art district.
Up until that point, Fontaine had maintained a low profile with her work. Then the Tindle Bay area resident was selected to show her artwork in the New York gallery.
She’d never entered any competitions and almost exclusively displayed her pieces at Nancy’s Art and Frame on Monaghan Rd.
She’d painted for about 20 years before even branching out that far.
“I was still building myself and working towards showing,” said Fontaine.
The self-taught artist took up painting when she decided to stay at home to raise her two boys 45 years ago.
As time went on, Fontaine took several workshops to improve her craft.
Her work evolved from traditional to abstract, with Fontaine using acrylics and textures to create her latest pieces.
“I put paint down and texture and just let it work. And then it says something to me and I respond and I have a dialogue with the painting,” she said of creating her designs.
After initially turning down Agora Gallery’s request to show her work, Fontaine came across the Chelsea International Fine Arts Competition.
With artists selected through a juried process made up of judges from four different countries, the mother of two said her interest was piqued.
“I thought that would be a good overall judgment and fair to the artist.”
While her first reaction to making the cut was disbelief, when Fontaine found out her odds, she was overwhelmed.
Out of 1,000 international artists who’d applied, only 28 were selected. “It gave me an idea where my art stood.”
Before the competition, Fontaine said she didn’t know exactly where she landed with her creations.
“It really made my work real to me – that it is good.”
She attended the show’s grand opening on Aug. 27, meeting folks from around the world at the event.
“It was just wonderful. I felt very honoured to be able to take my work to New York – New York is where every artists hopes to end up sometime.”