Hello, I am Patrick

 Patrick Reid O'Brien. 

" Life is fun! I create for a very specific person who values classical impressionism, passion for color and a joy for living, who embraces the exploration of new places and wants to see the good stuff each day. "

If you are like me, you love great art, how it touches your soul and inspires you. Not a luxury, it is a story and a way of seeing the world, sometimes with a beer in hand, like here, where I was at one of our kid's weddings. ( My Wife's coat made a good impromptu cape for "September" by Earth Wind and Fire and the packed the dance floor.)

"I’ve spent the last 25 years painting coastal lighting on the landscape, traveling the sunny Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic coastline, I'v been to the Hamptons to Sarasota, The Caribbean and Greece, California and Copenhagen, sometimes boating and always playing in the sun, and I live to tell vibrant stories in colors where land meets water. Of course no art matters until the right painting touches the right collector—you don't just see the art, but feel the joy, are immersed in the uplifting conversation between artist and viewer. If that’s you, then this work was made with you in mind."

 I was five years old, and visiting my grandparents in Florida, it was Easter and entered a local art contest, I drew a wicker basket, pastel eggs, and the Easter Bunny and won ! I remember sitting there, immersed, and something clicked. That moment galvanized my passion, it was validation: I was meant to make art, I knew it at the age of five. I drew and painted on my clothes, books , homework, notes, everything as I grew up.

We lived near the water in Maryland, and I was already sailing. The Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic seashore whispered “home” to my ears. The sunrise dance of light on water, the shifting skies, the rhythm of wind and tide made me whole, a part of the waterways. Those early years cemented a deep connection to coastlines that still drives the storyline of what I love to paint. Each Sunday, my family gathered at my grandparents’ home for Caesar salad. ( I still have Popsy’s chef bowl ) On their walls hung the original US Capitol watercolors by Thomas U. Walter. He designed the Dome and House and Senate wings. He was family, my Great Great Great Great Grandfather. Seeing those as a child made an impression and ... I could be an artist. It showed me that art could carry meaning across generations and be part of something lasting. And, art is what our family did! My Grandmother and Mom could both paint and I learned from their art. They encouraged me and my Mom always bought the supplies I needed. When I was 15, my parents divorced. I didn’t address it directly. I threw myself into art, football, wrestling , and lacrosse and every day I stayed busy creating and found a place where I could go to paint a world that felt good, it felt right. Looking back, I see that I was learning how to find and make joy, even when life felt unsettled. That is still at the core of why I paint. Everyone carries something. Pain is part of life. But joy is there too, and it deserves attention, to focus on it. We need to consciously seek it. I look for it in light, then I paint it to share and for others to collect, my perspective of joy and celebration.

I majored in Fine Art at St Mary’s College of Maryland then worked in advertising for 15 years until I left to paint full time at the suggestion of my wife, Valerie. Terrifying. And, yet, the best decision ever. We traveled the entire US for 20 years and I made a living from painting. Lacrosse , Horses and Travel were the subjects. In 2020, our kids flown, we moved to the Low Country in Charleston. The landscape was different from the Chesapeake. The marsh, the light, the way the wide open sky breathes, and it took me three hard years to find my visual language, my voice here. I had to slow down and really feel it. I gained an understanding of how to utilize complex broken color, the shifting shapes, and the constant movement of the Low Country marsh. The light changes everything, and that is what I chase in my work. I want my paintings to feel like an escape. A place you can step into and stay for a while. I keep the brushwork visible on purpose. It is human. You see my footsteps in color. It is more expressive . Your eye can take in far more color than a photograph can hold. That is why a photo of a sunset disappoints not what you felt in the moment you snapped the pic. Your eyes and mind need more stimulation. That is where paint comes in. I use broken color, placing complementary colors next to each other so they vibrate and create energy. Those choices are what bring the scene to life and give it that emotional pull, like life itself. Painting is also a responsibility for me. I believe God gave me this ability to capture joy to celebrate the beauty of the world he created because he loves us so much. I take that seriously. I have learned to use the visual tools of Claude Monet, John Singer Sargent, and Alfred Sisley. I study the California impressionists and learn everywhere I can. Their influence pushes my brush to stay loose and expressive, trust color theory, and infuse what I feel, not just what I see. Masterful art is a sophisticated conversation between the painter and the informed viewer. I begin it with a painting. You complete it with what you feel when you see my brushwork and the conversation calls you to look longer with little rewards to discover. I paint to create moments. I paint to share a joyful vision, to connect people with love.  

"I go deeper into joyful expression than simply rendering form because I know what it means when a collector says " This speaks to me." That feeling , that emotion, that connection is what I am chasing. Every composition, every landscape, every time." 

"I see painting as an intimate conversation with the collector who is part of the creative process. Together the collector and I share a vision of the world. The Lord has created it specifically for our enjoyment. Colors and light talk happily, bringing joy into my collector's home. My art shares that love of life and changes the way they feel about their space. It is truly about love."

“Collectors often tell me the piece they bought years ago still brings them joy as they rediscover details or nuances they never saw before. That’s the excitement I want you to discover: art that grows and invigorates you over time.”

“I think of myself as visual friend who travels into the world to bring back stories you want to see and hear about—happiness you can experience without ever leaving your home." 

My early art career art took off grabbing the attention of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, The Kentucky Derby and The White House, all of whom commissioned me to create collections of art exclusively for them. I have been featured in Southern Living Magazine, The LA Times, Dan's Papers, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and Chesapeake Home to name a few.