About Me

Schappler is an East Coast painter and draftsman with a focus on the human figure. Showing nationally, she is an active member of several societies including the Portrait and Pastel Societies of America, the Women’s Caucus for the Arts, and PoetsArtists. Inspired by the complexity of human relationships and the bond that holds them together, Schappler searches for the sacred within the ordinary. She frequently works from her family and her community of students and colleagues. Originating from her interest in the narrative of home, she often uses fairytale, myth, and biblical story as a means to enter the picture plane, within her imagery, she questions how we define home, where we find it, and how we protect it with the underlying belief that home is, at its’ richest, expansive.

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Recent Awards

Reviews

Publications

Recent Awards

Bank Gloucester Award for Excellence ‘Queen’, Northshore Arts Exhibit New England

Pastel Society Of New Hampshire/Pan Pastels Award, Juror: Kate Hanson, MFA Boston

First, The International Biennial Portrait Competition, Juror: David Hummer, WMOCA, Wausau, WI

8th place, Members Competition, Outside the Box; Portrait Society of America

First Place, Beyond the Boundaries, the 35th Lassonde Exhibit, Juror: Andrew Spahr, Portsmouth, NH

Best in Oils, Newburyport Regional, Juror: Marcus Greene, Newburyport, MA

Best Portrait, Pastel Society of New Hampshire, Juror: Cindy Crimmin, Jaffrey Civic Center, Jaffrey, NH

First Place, Narratives; A Woman’s Point of View (City of Taras), Juror: Cynthia Cutting

HM, Pastel Journal Figure and Portrait category

People’s Choice, Pastel ‘Guardian’, Pastel Society of NH

Pastel Award for Portraits, Pastel Society of NH, Members Exhibit, Juror: Robert Carston

Juror’s Choice (for City of Taras), The National Prize Show, Camilo Alvarez and Steve Locke, Cambridge, MA

Blue, Cambridge Art, Juror: Sarah Montross for ‘One Thousand and One Nights, Cambridge MA

First Place, The Portrait, Gallery 100, Juror: Pam Tarbell, Portsmouth, NH

Awarded Master Artist Status, NAA, Newburyport, MA

Best, Art 100, Portsmouth, NH

Artist’s Magazine 33rd Annual Art Competition Finalist Jan/Feb issue

Reviews

“A remarkably inventive use of various media and textures enlivens and creates intrigue in this work. The patterning with rice paper, making up the form of the seated figure, contrasts with the painterly forms that surround her. Despite the nearly monochrome palette, there is a compelling vitality and emotional expression to this work. The emotional connection between sitter and artist is palpable. The realistic portrayal of face and body provides a compelling contrast with the abstracted forms that surround.”

— Courtney Harris & Julia Welch

“With its frontal pose and triangular design, this powerful portrait speaks volumes about its subject. Top lighting serves to delineate expressive qualities within the sitter’s hands and face that are simply mesmerizing. A masterful portrait.”

— Robert Carsten

“Patricia has a preternatural ability for capturing the truth, the essence of a soul in a given moment, and for finding the utter beauty in that second in time. Her works are honest portrayals, straightforward, rarely apologetic, and most often vulnerable, which is why they are so captivating. These are ordinary souls, special for the individual lives they live. They are captured in a moment of sheer honesty, staring directly at the viewer or lost in a private inner world. The figures that grace her canvases are poetic and rich with emotional content; romantic, yet gritty and startling. Her figures are also perfectly rendered, each figure a solid, technical accomplishment. Schapplers’palette is warm, and the layered hues, shadows and lights breathe life into each figure. (Schappler) is a powerhouse, an exceptional figurative artist, but more importantly skilled at finding the authentic human within that body.”

— Bowersock Gallery

“Patricia Schappler’s ‘Within this Garden’ is a stunning work of art. Technically, it is flawless. The figures are beautifully proportioned, the composition is carefully and intelligently thought out, and the graphite line work, shading, and shadowing are exquisite. Beyond the rhythmic technique, this piece simply reaches out and grabs me, demanding that I study these individuals who, within this garden, are bound together by something bigger than themselves. What is it? My answer changes each time, and that is the genius of Schappler’s work.”

— Ed Rubin