Painter Spotlight: Patricia Coonrod, an Inviting Place to Be

“There is a sense of stillness in the paintings. I think that comes from being content,” Patricia Coonrod says.

“Two Pears, a Fig and Raspberries,” 2013, by Patricia Coonrod. Oil on canvas, 12 X 16 inches. Courtesy of Patricia Coonrod

After Patricia Coonrod earned her bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis, she moved on to the graduate course at the New York Academy of Art.

“People were very focused on conceptual art in Washington. I had only one or two teachers who were teaching the fundamentals. That just had more interest to me. I thought that’s what I would like to be good at, if I could,” Coonrod said.

“New York Academy was the only venue I knew of at that time,” she said. “There are a lot of academies coming up now, but in the ‘90s it was rare.”

"There is a sense of stillness in the paintings. I think that comes from being content."

— Patricia Coonrod