Pat Brahs
always had an inclination to be an artist. Over the years, she dabbled in
different types of art and took a few classes. But it wasn't until #3 of her
four sons, Dale, died in January of 1993 that her art became a focal point in
Pat's life. "He always encouraged me to do more with my God given talents", she
says. "He was, and is, my inspiration". Pat paints a rose on all her paintings
in Dale's memory.
Pat did many original paintings for her friends and relatives, but soon found that these recipients were not the only people moved by her images. Pat decided to make prints of her work. And since that time, Pat's images appear on the walls of homes and offices in all fifty states and most industrialized nations of the world.
Her watercolor subjects range from personal to general topics. Her bathroom series: boy and girl angels hit home with many collectors as does her "funny stuff" series of seven outhouses. "There is not a lot of art out there that works well in the bathroom," Pat says.
Whenever she has the opportunity, Pat turns her attention to several children's books that she is illustrating and writing. With four grown children, and grandchildren, she has enough experience to know what children like. But her main goal, simply put, is to "teach kids how to be nice to each other through my books."
But no matter what she paints, Pat's collectors remark about the sensistivity and the warmth of her work. For many, her art triggers a memory of a kindred moment of feeling. Pat always has several pieces that she would like to finish and is always racing to catch up with her thoughts: "I don't hurt for ideas....I hurt for time," she says.