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Lakeview painter, Patrick Doherty often has ideas for paintings flash into his mind while he is lolling in a languid state in his bathtub. And he finds he must quickly get himself up from out of the bath and scribble down the idea before it is gone. And adds it to the file holder in his head, as well, for possible future painting of individual art piece or an extended series of creations. Doherty was born youngest of five in Winnipeg to a Cree native from Saskatchewan and a Canadian Irish father from New Brunswick. He recalls excelling in theatre in public school and, after high school graduation in 1983—and working for a year—followed up with pursuit of theatre at George Brown College in Toronto—primarily filming student productions. Next, he took a job as an assistant to a financial manager at Bank of Montreal. And after a year there, Doherty became a bike courier, an occupation he thoroughly enjoyed for the four years he spent doing it. And then with biking in his blood, flew to Edmonton and rode across B.C. to Vancouver and continued on over to Vancouver Island. Meanwhile at one house-sitting pause, he was permitted to use art supplies in the home and knocked off a set of 18 landscape paintings. And, upon returning to Vancouver, framed the works and had a show at a place called the Firehall Art Centre and sold all of the works—a monumental point that set him seriously in the course of fine art creation. Since 1990, Doherty has been painting full-time; and, after landing permanently in Toronto around that time, he eventually established himself and his art in the Kensington Market area in the early 2000s. He also connected with Musclow cottager artist, Ketha Newman (longtime Studio Tour participant) and began frequenting her family property and joined the Tour. Four years ago, he purchased his present home and property on Lakeview Road—where he has set up a studio and turns out an eclectic mix of fine art paintings. In his own words, Doherty says he “does not set out to create ‘aboriginal’ art but his work has always been influenced by his native heritage. Throughout his career he has experimented with various media, |
finding much satisfaction combining unusual objects with traditional formats. As an off-reserve artist, Patrick continues to evolve creatively but has strong roots in his childhood traditions.” Connect with him at patdoherty6@gmail.com (Profile writing and photo by Allan O’Marra) |
