Westside Story – Pencil Art

Story & Photos – Joseph Boyle

I have been on the planet for almost 70 years.  You give me a number 2 pencil and I have to tell you; I am lucky if I can write my name so you can read it.

Not true of my Starbucks friend, Patrick Pastor.  You can’t believe what Patrick can do with a pencil especially with a box of colored pencils.

He recently had an amazing display of his art at the Lakewood Towne Center (LTC) Starbucks Art Wall located at 6040 Main Street SW, Lakewood, Washington 98499.  He told us he is working on some other pieces and may be back with a second show.

I had the opportunity to visit with Patrick so he could tell me about his art.

If we move back in time about 20 years to 1992, Patrick is in the 5^th grade and rolling down a steep hill on his bicycle.  When he gets to the bottom of the hill, disaster strikes.  Patrick hits a moving car.  The result is a broken leg.  That is the bad news.  The good news is while he is holed up inside the house recuperating, he began to read and study ancient history.  Not only is Patrick reading about history, he begins to make pencil illustrations of historical scenes he finds in his books.

Patrick brought a couple of sample books, Attila And The Nomad Hordes by David Nicole and Pictish Warrior AD 297 – 841by Paul Wagner.

Patrick gets inspiration for his art as he reads about history.  He gets to thinking about composition and detail.  The art contained inside the two sample books is the quality of artwork Patrick aspires to.

Patrick took a few art classes in high school, but other than that, he is self-taught.  His art flows from inside out to the paper using the colored pencil as his artistic conduit.

Patrick tells me he is a perfectionist.  He is probably his own toughest critic.

He did admit that it was enjoyable to be a part of the Starbucks Community Art Wall.

Here is the amazing part.  Without even suggesting that his art was for sale, a Starbucks regular, my pal, Alex, bought one of his pieces.  Alex plans to donate it to an Indian museum.

Patrick’s objective is to attempt to capture the spirit of the Indian people, to preserve their culture.

I told Patrick I thought his art is “distance art”.  I made up that term.  What I mean by “distance art” is that I found it easy to just walk by the art display without paying too much attention.  Conversely, if you stop and focus on his drawings, the detail is amazing.  His art draws you in.  Patrick pays close attention to detail as he guides his colored pencils towards a truly beautiful work of art.

My photo does not do Patrick’s pencil drawings justice.  You will want to see them in person when he has his next show.

See you at the Art Wall.