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A Different Kind of Grand Tour: 50 Paintings from 8 Nations and 22 Cities in 1 Summer
🕑 Added 2022-05-20 14:00:09 +0000 UTCA feature on FAA alum Patrick Okrasinski’s journey through Europe funded by the Donald Jurney Traveling Fellowship
A summer of travel, visiting museums, and (most importantly) painting through Europe might seem a distant dream for many, but for Florence Academy of Art - US alumnus Patrick Okrasinski, it was a fruitful and exhilarating reality. In the summer of 2021, after delays due to the Covid-19 epidemic, Patrick was able to make use of a grant awarded by the Newburyport Art Association’s Donald Jurney Traveling Fellowship in 2020 (more information on the fellowship can be found below).
Historically, the Grand Tour was a long trip through Europe (predominately Italy), with a somewhat standardized itinerary, that was undertaken by many upper-class European men, intellectuals, and artists in the 17th to 19th century. It was viewed as an aristocratic educational rite of passage for men who had just come of age, and was usually only feasibly undertaken by Europeans with sufficient means and social rank.
The trip Patrick Okrasinski took, however, is a modern, humanistic, and artistic reworking of this once highly exclusive tradition. Over the course of several weeks, Okrasinski backpacked through Europe visiting 8 countries including Spain, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and the Vatican, 22 cities in total; had an informal residency in Albanella, Italy; and over the course of the trip created the astounding amount of over 50 paintings! Painting and visiting museums as often as possible, almost every day of the trip, Patrick was able to view and study the rich artistic and architectural culture housed in cities throughout the continent!
Patrick Okrasinski “The Duomo”, Oil on paper, 9 x 12 in. 2021
“Highlights” of the Trip:
“The great thing about the trip was all the while I was improving as a painter, as it was just a big chunk of time where I had no responsibilities other than going to museums and painting. Otherwise It can be really difficult to have such a clear schedule and singular focus… I figured I would be able to paint almost every day, for at least two or three hours, and for the most part I did.”
"It was really interesting to experience the different characters of all these different cities and cultures. It opened up my eyes to big parts of the world that I had never traveled to before.”
Patrick Okrasinski “Street in Albanella”, Oil on paper, 9 x 12 in. 2021
Another high point of his experience was being able to work alongside fellow painters while working in Albanella, a small town in the Italian province of Salerno, saying “going around and painting solo is nice, but painting with other painters is tremendous fun.”
He has a handful of paintings that he considers “highlights.” One of the Eiger, a mountain in Switzerland, his painting of the Duomo while visiting Florence, and one of a small alley in Albanella are some of his favorite works and are featured in this article!
Patrick Okrasinski “The Eiger”, Oil on paper, 9 x 12 in. 2021
Academic Influence:
“I don’t think I would be the painter I am today if I had not gone to FAA US. Having a structured regimen where you just focus on really trying to learn to see, and subsequently learn to draw and paint, is hard to replicate, if not impossible. There's no perfect instructional setting - everything I’ve been able to figure out about perspective, composition, and painting outside I got from outside the main program because it wasn’t part of the curriculum - but all of that is relatively easy to learn compared to learning how to draw well. You can get away with being a mediocre draftsman for landscapes, but not for figurative work. Having that strong foundation certainly helps.
On Materials:
It’s a common sight to see young people in Europe with large backpacks scuttling from hostel to hostel throughout the continent. However, when Patrick Okrasinski joined the crowds backpacking in Europe, he had a slightly different set up from these other travelers. In response to the conundrum of how to pack for a long trip along with all of the materials needed to paint, he traveled with two backpacks in tow, one with personal items, the other with the materials for painting. “I tried to really bring only what was essential. If there’s one thing I wish I brought, it would have been some sort of clip on light for my palette for low light situations”
A breakdown of the painting kit included: A camera tripod, a custom pochade box, a 9x12 handmade panel carrier, pads of arches 9x12 oil paper, a bag of paints, a palette cup and small bottle of oil, clips, paper towels/napkins, and brushes and brush holder.
Advice for Painters:
Patrick has some advice for fellow painters interested in working outdoors: “Just paint! Don’t stress too hard. All of your preoccupation of getting your materials right or focusing on the color palette is just a disguised procrastination. Just get out there and do it.” However, even Okrasinski finds the advice hard to follow at times himself, he humorously noted that he is guilty of putting off painting by making his own pochade box!
When asked if he had any final words to share about his experience, Patrick responded “Only a big thank you to Donald Jurney, his wife Ginny, and everyone else at the Newburyport Art Association for making that dream come true. I think looking back, it’ll be a really seminal experience for me. I think anyone aspiring to be a painter should seek out opportunities and experiences like these.”
Despite his impressive itinerary, Okrasinski wasn’t able to make it to everyplace he had wanted to. “I had very loose plans and made the decisions as I went. I had somewhat of a time constraint of when I was able to start and when I had to return home. In the end I didn’t make it to the UK or Scandinavia, and a list of other places…” It seems more adventures, and even more paintings await this FAA alum in the future!
The Donald Jurney Traveling Fellowship
The DJTF is a fellowship providing an annual opportunity for a traditional painter to travel, work and study in Europe. It is intended to be a serious opportunity to paint and draw, without constraint, to deeply infuse one's self with the rich European cultural world.
“Often a painting is a conversation between disparate shapes and forms, ... here brilliant, there disguised---in a carefully-conceived dance of light. This may be a celebration of a place, perhaps, or an investigation of an evanescent mood. For the viewer who has both the time and inclination to really look, one hopes to afford, by way of a painted surface wrought of subtleties, the opportunity to explore at leisure the wonder of the world in which we live.” - Donald Jurney
Click here for more information about The Donald Jurney Traveling Fellowship
More about Patrick:
Patrick Okrasinski was born in New York City in 1996. Even as a young boy, he was consumed by drawing. The time he spent with his grandparents in the idyllic Polish countryside help fuel his love of the natural world.
In the Fall of 2016 he found his way to the US branch of the Florence Academy of Art in Jersey City. There he was able to study at the highest levels of figurative painting, under the tutelage of Jordan Sokol, Amaya Gurpide, Stephen Bauman, Cornelia Hernes, and Edmond Rochat. As a student he won numerous prizes, including the ARC Scholarship Competition.
After graduating, he spent three months as Artist in Residence with the Claude Monet Foundation in Giverny, painting in Monet’s garden and the surrounding French countryside. Since then he was awarded the prestigious Donald Jurney Travelling Fellowship, the Hudson River Fellowship and has won multiple awards at national juried shows.
He is currently based in New Jersey and his work is available through Ann Long Fine Art, Collins Galleries, and Williams Fine Art Dealers.
To view more of Patrick’s work please visit:
Website: www.patrickokrasinski.com
Instagram: @patrickokra
