Meredith Schwab
John Patrick
“I’ve been creating China ink paintings pretty steadily for the eight past years,” says John Patrick, the designer of Organic by John Patrick. But they were done only as gifts, not as a way of making money. All of that changed when Alicia Lubowski-Jahn of Fair Folks & a Goat, the artsy specialty store, contacted Patrick to sign him up for an art show to promote sustainable and socially responsible designs. There were two problems. Lubowski-Jahn, who organized the show, “Leaf // Cloud: Nature Tangible and Transcendent,” loves color, but Patrick’s paintings are black and white. Also, Patrick, who is an environmentalist, did not previously use organic paint.
Patrick had a change of heart when visiting a Saratoga Springs art store (Soave-Faire, 518-587-8448) and stumbled upon M. Graham shades of indigo and sienna derived from natural pigments and honey. “I started to mix colors – when I mixed blue and umber I saw big images, small images. I loved it!” he said. Patrick experimented with the new palette and meditated on indigo, which was the focus of 60 identical paintings. He settled on “Indigo Study No. 27,” which will appear in “Leaf // Cloud.” The show opens June 1 at Fair Folks & a Goat, 7 E. 88th St., #0006 and also features work by Lilian Cooper, Trey Speegle and Emiliano Godoy.
Courtesy of John Patrick Patrick’s inspirations were numerous. He channeled Arthur Dunn, Charles Sheeler, his friend Keith Haring, the Albany Institute of History and Art, film, food culture, art and, of course, fashion. “I’m dependent on so many different elements when I’m designing clothes – the fabric, the cutting, the sewing, the patternmaker and on and on. Whereas with painting, I can be this state of grace,” Patrick says. Organic’s resort collection premieres in June (expect indigo!), and Patrick admits his recent experimentation with color is helping to push him to new boundaries with fabric. So what is his hopeful message? “Mindfulness,” he says. “Picking up water colors and a brush is my personal attempt to slow things down and inspire people to take up their own creativity and not be afraid of it.”