Pat Coffey Patrick

Pat Patrick paints the beauty she once studied from a different lens. A former environmental engineer from a small town in North Mississippi, Pat’s career was spent analyzing streams, landforms, and environmental systems. That same sense of observation and wonder now guides her hand as a watercolor artist—capturing flowers, landscapes, and delicate moments with clarity and care.

Pat found painting later in life, searching for a creative outlet as she neared retirement. Once she tried watercolor, she knew she’d found her medium. Its flexibility and flow suited her rhythm of working in starts and stops, allowing space for reflection and return. Her process is slow and intuitive—she works from her own library of reference photos, sketching and painting in layers, often letting a piece sit for weeks as it evolves.

Her style is decorative and realistic, usually centered around florals. While she started out inspired by the streams she studied professionally, it was her love of gardening that gradually took over her subject matter. Some of her ideas even arrive in dreams—evidence that creativity often blooms quietly, even while we sleep.

Trained through workshops with artists like Norma Dennison and Janice Sumler, and through years of self-study, Pat brings a disciplined eye and a generous heart to her work. She paints in a small studio off her kitchen, overlooking her deck and yard—spaces that inspire her daily.

Pat’s art has been shown across Tennessee through the Tennessee Watercolor Society and other regional exhibitions. She’s received numerous awards, and her work is held in collections as far away as China, as well as in public spaces like a Nashville hotel and a Chattanooga hospital.

For Pat, the greatest joy comes in sharing what she’s created.

“Engineering helped me see around corners—painting helps me slow down and notice what’s right in front of me.”