Loretta Pruett
The PebbleCreek Art Club is pleased to award Curtis Patchin our Artist of the Month for February.
Curtis was born in Saskatchewan, Canada. Since retiring four years ago, he and his wife, Joan, spend six months a year in PebbleCreek and reside in Calgary, Alberta the other six months. Finding a home in PebbleCreek took five tanks of fuel, ten days of searching and a wrong turn. Curtis and Joan visited the valley for a couple decades knowing that the Phoenix area and PebbleCreek checked all the desired boxes: gated, 55+ and resort style living.
“When vacationing in Yuma, AZ in the late 1990s, I went to a flea market and a guy was airbrushing t-shirts, I couldn’t stop watching and studying what he was doing. I had never seen an airbrush before. The next winter our family was headed to Mexico for a short vacation, so I went to the book store to get some reading material for the plane. I found this airbrush magazine and read it cover to cover at least four times while on vacation! When we got home, I bought the basics and told my wife my goal is to master this within a couple of months, well that didn’t happen! I was horrible! The airbrush would not cooperate; I had so many issues. I was so bad that I thought a color change meant I had to take apart the airbrush clean it, then rebuild it, getting it ready for the next color. I didn’t know all I had to do is rinse. Two things came out of this lengthy procedure. First, I was the slowest painter in North America. Second, nobody can breakdown and rebuild an airbrush like I can. After a year of total frustration, I found a class in Las Vegas teaching beginner airbrush for a week and the rest is history, I never looked back.”
Curtis has developed a distinctive style of painting, grinding, and manipulating metal to achieve eye-pleasing backgrounds that resonate with brilliant colors. Working in the sheet metal industry for 40 years, starting in fabrication, installation, and then co-owning a commercial mechanical business with an amazing 240 employee base. Curtis has found success by melding these practical skills with an art education from the Alberta College of Arts and Design to become a photo-realistic painter.
The rugged and beautifully colored landscapes of Arizona have served as an inspiration. Curtis has spent decades visiting and exploring the terrain, observing vibrant sunsets and botanicals like none he’s ever seen elsewhere. Curtis has won many awards and ribbons from numerous juried events. Some of his artwork can be viewed at the Desert Botanical Gardens April auction event. His proficiency and professionalism in acrylic airbrushing has made his January classes very popular. You are invited to view Curtis’s artwork on display at the Creative Art Center and at the Tuscany Falls and Eagle’s Nest Clubhouses.