PATRICK PARKER painting

Patrick was born and raised in Southern California in the beach community of Torrance. There he attended kindergarten through high school. His college years were spent at Loyola Marymount University in West Los Angeles. There he majored in Fine Art and Graphic Design, while also playing for the Men's Division I Soccer team.

It was in these years that Patrick started to grow a passion for art. He has always had excellent hand-eye coordination with pen and paper, but had never really expanded his visual thinking. With the study of past artists and help from his teachers, Patrick became more creative in his process.

Painting and drawing took a back seat out of college as Patrick tried his hand in the design world to try to make a living. After working one year as an Art Director at a boutique advertising agency in Santa Monica, Patrick and a couple of his close friends packed up and headed to the Caribbean for a year. In St. Thomas he spent most of his days relaxing in the sun, surfing, fishing, hiking, snorkeling, and, oh yeah, working a little bit on the beach at The Ritz-Carlton or pulling up the sails on a 65-foot catamaran.

Upon returning home via sailing up the East Coast to New Jersey from St. Thomas, Patrick decided to move in with a college buddy in the small South Orange County beach community of San Clemente. Here is where his passion for art began to regain speed at a pace that has yet to let up.

Patrick has been involved in many art shows in places such as Las Vegas, Hawaii, New York, San Diego, Long Beach, and Newport Beach. He has been fortunate enough to have his work reproduced on skateboards by GLOBE International, and in publications such as LongBoard Magazine and MorSurf. He is also featured in a book released in late 2009 called Surf Story Project.

When not in the ocean playing in the waves with the dolphins, you will find Patrick in the studio painting ideas that come to mind or bringing to canvas an idea that someone else had envisioned. On the side he still dabbles in the freelance design world where he creates everything from CD covers to wine labels to magazine and advertising layouts.