Pat was born and raised in the U.S.A. - South Bend, IN, and then Philadelphia, PA She obtained a B.A. from Swarthmore College. After college she lived for a few years in the Boston area, but then moved abroad to Geneva, and finally to London, England.
After years of self-taught drawing and painting, she began her formal art education at the Putney School of Art in London, showing and selling work. In 1998 she was accepted into the Wimbledon School of Art M.A. program (in the U.S. this would be called an M.F.A.) on the basis of her existing portfolio. Having gained an M.A. in 'Drawing in Fine Art Practice', she was then awarded a full scholarship for further study, and in 2004 she received a Ph.D. in Visual Arts frPm Goldsmiths College, University of London. This degree comprises both theory and practice. There was an exhibition of 12 of her large canvases for the viva, and an abstract of the thesis is included on her website: - www.patpaxson.com.
From 2004 to spring 2008 she maintained a studio in the 100-studio complex at Wimbledon Art Studios, London, regularly showing and selling paintings and the occasional drawing.
In the spring of 2008 Pat and her husband moved back to the U.S., where she now maintains active studios in both MA and AZ.
The paintings are spontaneous, figurative but ambiguous, full of energy and a sense of excitement. Improvisation is an important part of her procedure. Her enjoyment and commitment are seen in the book published last year of poems and paintings from the 1980's and 90's: 'Bars and Windows - diary of a poet/painter'. Using the two languages of poetry and painting allows the works to enhance each other, but not directly illustrate each other. It is a 'diary' in the sense that the moods move from despair through anger to joy in 7 chapters. The website for the book is: www.barsandwindows.com. As well as drawing and painting, she has now published a second book: 'Art and Intuition', which is about intuition from an artist's (and also a viewer's) point of view, a concept important to her practice, and one she explored initially in her PhD thesis at Goldsmiths College. Both books are currently available on Amazon.
Her paintings consist of acrylic paint on canvas. She also works with drawing, and other media on paper.
The paintings allow us to look into them rather than just look at them - there are often figures, almost always figures - and there are indications of interactions between these people - often ambiguous interactions, but allowing a kind of story to emerge in our minds about them. Often different viewers 'see' different stories. The ambiguity also allows a feeling of moods, qualities of personal space, as well as references to space, time and memory.
The distinctive black lines and marks which are a hallmark of her work are the remnants of the under-drawings: a palimpsest of markings first done in charcoal. Some of these are retrieved in paint as she rescues them from the oblivion of being forever painted over/out. The lines and marks contribute to the feeling of mood and energy, they provide emphases, and can contribute flow lines for the eye to move around the painting.
Pat pushes the boundaries for painting and drawing. She considers her work in both disciplines is more a matter of raising questions than providing 'answers' or illustrations.
Pat has now published two books. The first is 'Bars and Windows, diary of a poet-painter' a book containing a large selection of her paintings and poems from the 1980's and '90's. The second book, published in the spring of 2011, is 'Art and Intuition' a book about interactions between intuition and making art, with helpful insights into ways to encourage their interaction. It is based in ideas from classical psychoanalytic thought, tempered by her experience in the studio. Both can be found on Amazon or the Xlibris website.
