Meet Pat Watson | Artist and teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Pat Watson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pat, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was born and raised along the California coast, born in San Francisco and living in the beach communities of Southern California. In my travels and residencies, I’ve lived along the beaches, in the mountains and on the deserts. My parents divorced when I was young and my mother had a very difficult time. My home life was quite troubled and I learned a number of things from that, the pain of need and the use of creative expression to deal with it, the value of play and the need to confront my issues without blame. I’ve taken those lessons and applied them to my own life, becoming deeply committed to the creative arts, exploring a number of pathways, from visual art to poetry, music and animation. Along the way, I learned that the creative process and a commitment to open ended exploration and play with a creative bent is a wonderful way to open up experience and perceive the world differently. With my ability to enjoy creativity, talk about it and teach it, I’ve made a career out of teaching and learning various genres of creative expression. Within the field of arts education, I’ve had the opportunity as well as obligation to try new forms of expression and challenge myself to make meaningful work with whatever tools have been put before me. That has lead me to this point, where I get to explore this beautiful and dynamic world on wheels, on waves, by foot or in my imagination, finding territories both real and imagined and it’s a lot of fun. With each new creative adventure, I discover new things about my world, both inner and outer.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve always had an inclination to draw and paint and that’s been nurtured, in one way or another, throughout my life. In college, I had a difficult time with many of my art teachers and ended up in poetry classes instead, which proved to be a marvelous benefit to my creative process. For a few years, I struggled with my paintings, destroying most of them, until I pursued my Master’s Degree through CSU Dominguez Hills. In the completion of my degree, while I taught high school art and photography, I combined drawing, painting, photography digital imaging and exploratory writing to create something never before realized, by creating an artist’s made book that wove together threads from disparate creative inspirations, everyone from Carl Jung to Max Ernst, Dorothea Tanning, Ray Carver, W.S. Merwin, Anne Sexton, Hannah Hoch and Paul Klee, with a little Rod Serling thrown in. That experience opened my eyes and heart to new ways of creation, as well as a deeper understanding of my personal evolution. My quick mastery of digital tools led to a few year as a graphic designer in the early years of the digital design industry. Those experiences led to my career teaching college and university art, design and digital creativity. Since leaving university life, I’ve minimized my use of digital technology, preferring the material feel of paper, canvas, pen, brush, ink and paint. For the past few years, I’ve had the luxury of pursuing any creative notion that came to mind and reassured me that the creative process is the pathway to a deeper understanding of what we see and how we live. Now I get to paint what I want and teach it all as best I can.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live on the central coast of California, which means I’d spend a lot of drive time if my best friend wanted to come and I could show them the best time ever. Part of the visit would be trips to the wild coast in this region, from Big Sur to the fabulous beaches in this region and into the beautiful foothill country of San Luis Obispo. That would be the start of some serious driving because I’d have to include visits to my favorite museums and there are too many of those, from LACMA (LA County Museum of Art) to MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) in southern California, as well as SFMOMA (SF Museum of Modern Art) and the DeYoung. That would the core of all the important stuff. As for eating, drinking and hanging out, there are too many wonderful places around here for eating to name any one. Drinking? Not for me any more. Too many other things to do. Hanging out at the beach is awesome or going for a hike or bike ride through the coastal landscape is also great. Visiting friends, fellow artists and other odds and ends are all great but I hardly get to do them because I’m already doing so much of what I love, drawing, painting, teaching and playing at the beach.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My childhood was very challenging and my wonderful grandparents, Robert and Evelyn, not only helped me survive but provided me with the inspiration to be a scholar and an artist and gave me approval to play at the beach along the way. In my undergraduate years, teachers at Cal-State, Long Beach, like David Peck, Dora Polk and Gerry Locklin opened my vision through creative encouragement and skillful critical insights. Beyond that, I thank the loving support of my graduate teachers at CSU Dominguez Hills and other wonderful instructors along the way, most notably legendary teacher and photographer Al Weber. Beyond that, my most wonderful benefactor has been Veronica Reis, my spirit guide and original angel, who has nudged me gently towards the direction that has opened this pathway of light and creation that I now follow.

Website: www.patwatsonart.com

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