artists BIO

Patricia A. Griffin

There is a tingling sensation throughout my body when I witness an animal in its native habitat. I travel from the Arctic to the Equator in relentless pursuit of this experience. It occurs in the last strongholds of our diminishing wildlife.

I am a wildlife painter, photographer, researcher, naturalist, and conservationist. I use my work as a billboard for awareness — a vehicle for the awakening of the human soul to the necessity of protecting and preserving that which does not speak a human language.

Sixty percent of wildlife has disappeared since my birth in 1967. There is an urgency in my work. I hike, swim, ski, drive, fly, and boat to the areas that have been preserved by forward-thinking leaders and activists. I study the diets, footprints, scat, behaviors, history, and environment of the animals I paint. I observe them with a quiet, meditative calmness, and patience that has taken me years to develop. I am intoxicated by their untamed presence, and in awe as they enter my view. The elation that pulses through my veins is not contained within me, and my aura expands out to greet that of the animal I am experiencing.

I strive to capture the subtle glance of a species comfortable with my presence, the recognition of our forms existing in a shared space. The moment the windows of our souls connect is essential to the art I create. The rewards for my perseverance are great; the witnessing fuels a continuum of an experience from the animal to oil paint — an everlasting, archival documentation of an observation preserved for humanity on linen. I am the conduit, the interpreter, the observer, and the medium. I recreate my reality in a way that embodies a connection to the animal kingdom on an intuitive level, to be perceived by viewers as their own awakening to the animal spirit — the totem that exists within, to draw strength and knowledge beyond the human existence.

Oil painting is the declaration, the testimony, that fuels my choices of composition, light, and shadow. Layer upon layer of luscious color creates atmosphere surrounding form, with strokes that bring a moment into perpetual life, the wild extracted into vibrating painting on linen. The resulting image is a window to a broader understanding of shared, universal consciousness.

The work I create is collected internationally, represented by galleries, shown in museums, and published in books. The sale of my work has allowed me to contribute 10 percent of the proceeds to a broad platform of conservation efforts.

In 2012, I joined Artists For Conservation (AFC) as a Signature Member. Their vision is “to lead a global artistic movement that inspires individuals and organizations to preserve and sustain our natural heritage by uniting the talent and passion of the world’s most gifted nature artists.”

I will continue to use my work as a billboard for awareness — a vehicle for the awakening of the human soul to the necessity of protecting and preserving that which does not speak a human language.

- Patricia Griffin, written for Fine Art Connoisseur

Museum Exhibitions

Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA

Desert Caballeros Museum, Wickenburg, AZ

Dutot Museum, Delaware Water Gap, PA

Booth Western Art Museum, GA

Everhart Museum, Scranton, PA

Greater Plains Art Museum, Lincoln, NB  

International Museum of Art, TX

Hunterdon Art Museum, NJ

Monmouth Museum, NJ

New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, NM

Old West Museum, WY

State Museum of Pennsylvania, PA

Tucson Desert Museum, AZ

Women's Museum Of California, CA 

Associations

American Women Artists For Conservation, Signature Member

Lehigh Art Alliance

Oil Painters Of America

Society of Animal Artists