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Warrenton artist wins silver medal for oil painting

A Warrenton oil painter has received a silver medal in the Associate and Signature Member Division of Oil Painters of America’s Eastern Regional Show.

Patricia McMahon Rice recently received the award for her painting on copper, “Blue River Dream.”

A well-established painter in Fauquier County, with a studio at The Workhouse Arts Center in Fairfax County, Ms. Rice has divided her time between teaching classical drawing and painting in both locations.

During her personal studies of classical methods and materials, she learned about the Baroque Period use of copper as a surface for oil painting. Since then it has become her specialty, using it for both commissioned and gallery pieces.

“I paint on a variety of surfaces and love them all,” Ms. Rice said. “But the unique properties of copper bring out something special in the way that I paint. I love the mid-tone, smoothness and warmth of the copper as it shines through transparent layers.”

Ms. Rice strives to use the visual language of art to describe the world around her, and convey not only the light falling on the form but also the subtle emotional thread running through the setting and mood of the subject.

She is a member of the Portrait Society of America, the International Guild of Realism and Oil Painters of America, where her paintings have won awards in a variety of shows and competitions including a certificate of excellence in the Portrait Society of America’s International Competition.

The Berkley Gallery in Warrenton represents her copper work.

The Stuart Street Atelier in The Plains will be hosting a three-day workshop, Oil Painting on Copper: Exploring a Baroque Tradition, with Ms. Rice in February 2019.

Ms. Rice is the subject of an Artist Focus page in the November 2018 issue of American Art Collector Magazine.

Her painting, “Blue River Dream” will hang at the McBride Gallery in Annapolis, Md. until November 25.