Pat Thompson has been part of our artist roster since Spring of 2017. Her pastel portraits are absolutely beautiful, and we’re proud to represent an artist who is keeping such a wonderful tradition alive.
We were lucky enough to sit down with Pat and pick her brain a bit about what it’s like to be a working artist.
A portrait in oil paint by Pat Thompson
Pat Thompson: Childhood is the most beautiful of life’s seasons ~ Author unknown. It is the most beautiful of lives seasons and through my life have continually sought opportunities to participate in their season first by raising two of my own, now by painting children’s portraits or creating art for children’s illustration, reaching so many more young ones...
Although I paint portraits of all ages, I love to paint children. Recording their early images is so rewarding... it can also be very emotional; it’s a big responsibility, being commissioned by someone who loves them so dearly...
How long have you been an artist?
PT: I cannot remember a time in my life that I wasn’t doing art. When I was a child, drawing, coloring and painting consumed me, I couldn’t get enough. I’ve heard it said, that if you trace back to what you loved doing when you were nine, it could very well be what you do with your life. That has been true in my case.
What started you on your artistic path?
PT: When I was in middle school, there was an advertisement for Breck Shampoo in a women’s magazine each month. A pastel portrait of a different girl with beautiful soft curls would be on the back cover. I was mesmerized... I began drawing these girls and faces from magazines with abandon. My Aunt noticed piles of my drawings and took me on a visit one day to my Uncles law office. Hanging on the wall, looking back at me was an oil portrait of my younger cousin Lisa. I felt like she was sitting right there... My High School art teacher brought an artist into our class one day to demonstrate a pastel portrait and my fate was sealed!
Are you formally trained in your chosen medium?
PT: I continued and was fortunate to go on to study at The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, then with Daniel Greene in his New York Studio, considered one of the foremost portrait artists in the world. I also studied at The Art Students League NYC and with artist Ted Seth Jacobs in Le E’cole Albert Dufois in France. I then worked as an illustrator for 11 years for Aladdin Industries creating images for their licensed children’s lunch box line, primary Disney. Then three years for Dalmatian Press, illustrating children’s picture books including; The Velveteen Rabbit, The Night Before Christmas, The Newborn King and The Nutcracker.
What is your biggest challenge as a professional artist?
A portrait in pastels by Pat Thompson
PT: One of my biggest challenges as an artist is the amount of time required to work in complete isolation. I enjoy people, being around them, talking with them, so solitude is a challenge for me.
What’s your most important tool, or something you can’t live without in your studio?
PT: My iPad or iPhone is my most important piece of equipment in my studio. I can access podcasts and audio books that keep me company while I paint!
What, in your opinion, is an artist’s role in society?
PT: Artists are record keepers of their lives, traces of people and places that weaved in and out of their time here. I believe that to be important. My hope is that the portraits and art that I create will be meaningful somehow to someone. That someday my children’s portraits will be treasured and hanging in their own grandchildren’s home.
Many have asked me, what is the point of art? Why is it important? A rather large subject actually... I’ve also been asked, when is a painting just a painting and when is it art? I am humbled that someone would think I know the answer, but I do have an opinion. When a painting is created because the artist had an emotional reaction to the subject and later a person viewing it also has an emotional response without the artist being present, then you have art. A while back I came face to face with a small simple landscape of a tree on a hillside. Not only did it look familiar, but also a distinct and long forgotten memory from when I was 12, came to me. The location of the painting was probably a thousand miles away from my memory, but there was an emotional moment that I connected with the artist.
If you’re interested in commissioning a portrait of someone you love, contact us for pricing and scheduling. Pat works out of her studio at the Factory at Franklin in Franklin, TN.