Pat Rose is a clinical psychologist in Dallas. Texas.  She uses her art like therapy in order to process her inner emotional and spiritual journey.  Consequently, the resulting pieces are very intimate expressions of her being at various points in her life--intimate snapshots, if you will.  She is a partner in The Flea’s Ear Art Studio and Gallery, founded by the late Nancy Marabella, as a place for artists to explore their very unique artistic styles and capacities.

I have real difficulty with an “artist’s statement” because I think my work should be its own statement or maybe that’s my excuse for having difficulty writing or both.  I’ll give it a shot.

I have to paint.  It is my therapy, my processing of my emotional reaction to events in my life as well as an expression of my inner spiritual journey.  It’s personal.  Pianist Glenn Gould liked a “one to zero” approach to his audience because in the studio he could perfect his sound.  I like a “one to zero” because I am not painting to an audience.  I enjoy it when people like my work (or at least have some viceral reaction to it) but each painting is a reflection of where I am at a given moment, one painting at a time, something I do for myself.  Sometimes I don’t enjoy the process of painting, sometimes I do.  I don’t always like the way I feel after painting, sometimes I do.  I don’t always like the result of my artistic efforts, sometimes I do.  But the process is what is important.

I have a variety of inspirations.  Sometimes my husband’s poetry and other writings inspire me to paint and my paintings in turn lead him to change his work and the words and paintings talk to each other, a conversation.  Sometimes a phrase will enter my head, like:   “You must paint yourself into a corner before you can get out of it” or “You must devour the dragon.”  Impactful events of any kind can lead me to paint --  sometimes wonderful events sometimes sorrowful events.

I very often paint in series doing many paintings around a particular  issue until I feel it is dealt with, frame after frame in a very slow movie.  I do not seem to have a style in my painting, at least not one I can see.   I do use dragons and panthers a great deal.  The Dragon is rage. The Panther is unconditional love.  The two often co-exist or even meld.  The idea of a corner is another common theme, when you have your back against the wall and no way to go but out, giving you the strength to stand your ground.  Also, on occasion, someone will have a phrase or idea that is important to them, and I will paint around that idea.

My art has forced me to believe in a muse -- more real at times than the more tangible world.  Sometimes a force takes over me and does things I neither understand nor feel reponsible for and in any event cannot imagine reproducing.

I hope that this “statement” told you something about me.  Please look at my work; if you don’t like it that’s okay, I don’t always.  If you do like it or it speaks to you in some way, that’s great.  And, if after looking at my work, you want to help me re-write this statement, please do so.  I am clearly not ego-involved in my writing.  I believe there’s a reason why I have always signed my works with PRose for they must do my speaking for me.