PATTY LAGE
Patty Lage has always been a visually creative person. Her early retirement from the corporate world afforded her the opportunity to pursue her desire to paint. She began by enrolling in classes at Maine College of Art (MECA), beginning with classes in drawing, then acrylics, and finally transitioning to oil painting. Patty found she enjoyed oils because of the richness in the colors and how these colors transferred to the canvas.
Through the influence of her mentor, Barbara Butorac, Patty learned how to use color and subject matter in her work. This mentorship honed Patty’s skills and increased her desire to paint.
At MECA, Patty became friendly with a group of like-minded artists. They continued to practice figure painting, at a studio in the Westbrook Mill during the winter months, and plein air during the summer months.
Patty has traveled from her home in Maine to Kentucky and even France, to take classes and practice her craft. While walking the countryside in Emmet, France, Patty saw a woman working her garden with a hoe. It was so beautiful that Patty had to paint the scene. It remains one of her favorite paintings.
Painting from her home studio in Cumberland Maine, Patty’s eye for color and shape is evidenced in her subject matter, which includes figures, farms, animals, equipment, and fruit. She uses her own photographs and paints commission pieces where the client supplies the subject matter. Whatever the subject, Patty has found her passion and enjoys getting lost in the creative process and the pure joy of painting.