ABOUT
Patrick Kirwin, Master Artist.
I first began loving trompe l’oeil while studying for my MFA while at GWU in 1984. I painted clothing because it defined and filled the most illusory space without any linear perspective, which should be eliminated or minimized in trompe l’oeil. Slowly, this painting of fabric evolved into being a very large curtain and tapestry illusions painted directly onto walls.
In 1991, I attended the Skowhegan School of painting and sculpture in Maine. I painted landscapes using long grass as the brushes to apply acrylic paint. Sometimes parts of the grass would break off and stick to the painting and were left there. This related to trompe l’oeil in the sense of “mark-making”, but was not illusory. I investigated this kind of imagery from 1991 to about 1994 at the Griffis Art Center in Connecticut and the Hambidge Center for Arts and Sciences in Georgia.
I returned to trompe l’oeil, decorative faux painting, and mural painting in 1995. This is when I started painting large curtains and tapestry illusions. I also began teaching these subjects at the Art League, The Corcoran College, and the Smithsonian Institution.
I have done many interesting and large commercial projects. I painted 30 banners for the Tysons Corner Center, designed and painted a shopping bag, and built the Easter Bunny display. The banners were eventually turned into a children’s book.
I have painted the interiors of many boutique shops, private wine cellars, and murals in homes.
PATRICK IN THE NEWS!
PATRICK IN THE NEWS!
Alexandria Times
Patrick was commissioned to refinish parts of the famous ballroom once frequented by George Washington. He sanded the doors and window sills, primed them and meticulously hand-painted each wood grain. About a year later, he did the same thing for the baseboards of the Lee-Fendall House.
WUSA 9
WASHINGTON DC — Patrick Kirwin brings life with intricate wall paintings to the new Tiny Tiki Bar at 1914 9th Street NW, Washington DC.
DC News Now
ALEXANDRIA, VA — It’s called “The Dogs of Del Ray,” and features the furry faces of the neighborhood dogs on the Stomping Ground restaurant exterior in the Del Ray neighborhood.
Teaching History
1994 – Present
THE ART LEAGUE
105 N. Union Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
Teaching all ages and skill levels
Adult and Teen Classes: Introduction to Drawing, Figure Drawing, Linear Perspective, Perspective in Drawing and Painting, Mural Painting, Trompe L’oeil and Photorealism, Decorative Painting, Figure Drawing, Wood Graining and Marbling. Workshop Classes: Painting Water, Painting Skies, Linear Perspective, Decorative Painting, Graining and Marbling.
Children’s Classes: 5–11 yrs., Painting, Drawing, Print Making and Sculpture.
Special Classes: Art Teacher for the “SOHO” Project, (Space of Her Own), teaching “at risk” teen girls art and interior decoration. Based on home improvement TV, girls aged from 11-15, redecorate their rooms while learning social, health, and life skills through artwork.
2014 – 2015
WORKHOUSE ART CENTER
9601 Ox Road, Lorton, VA 22079
Teaching all ages and skill levels
Classes: Drawing, Oil Painting, Painting, Trompe L’oeil Painting, and Watercolor.
Responsibilities: Teach classes, design curriculum, prepare the classroom, schedule models.
WOUNDED WARRIORS
USO, Fort Belvoir, Virginia
Taught and led classes in recreational art for PTSS/Head Injured veterans, 2014-15
Responsibilities: Teach classes, design lessons for age-appropriateness, and sequence of material. Compile material lists, sometimes order materials, Lecture, and demonstrate the use of materials and tools. Lecture on philosophical aspects of painting, art, and art history. Schedule models. Lecture on exhibiting and artwork presentation, participate in school fundraising auctions and exhibitions. Organize student shows.
1994 – 2004
THE SMITHSONIAN ASSOCIATES
1100 Jefferson Drive, SW, Washington, DC 20560
Adult Classes: Decorative Painting, Floor Cloths, Trompe L’oeil, Wood Graining and Marbling
Responsibilities: Taught classes, compiled materials list, purchased supplies, cleaned room.
1998 – 2001
CORCORAN COLLEGE of ART and DESIGN
500 17th St. NW, Washington, DC 20006
Adult Classes
Responsibilities: Taught classes., designed curriculum, compiled materials list, demonstrated tools, and materials. Presented slide illustrated lectures of art and painting.
International Activity
In 1996, I was invited as a Smithsonian Institution instructor to attend a meeting of international decorative painters in Quimiac, France, at the studio school of Yannick Guegan. This was a very successful meeting featuring an exhibition, painting demonstrations, and illustrated lectures. These meetings continue annually in a different world city.
It is now called the International Decorative Painter’s Salon. The Salon, for short. Individual participants volunteer to host the Salon in a different world city each year. As a founding participant, I hosted the Salon in 1998 at the Art League School.
At each Salon, participants exhibit, creating paintings, demonstrate painting techniques give slide illustrated lectures, learn about new materials, network and paint a group mural, of which I have been the mural “captain” on four occasions.