Pat has always loved drawing. As a child, her father would take the family on photographic outings where he would stop every few minutes to take pictures and study the surrounding area. These adventures created a strong desire to really see and appreciate nature, especially after following her dad on photographic workshops led by Minor White, a protégé of Ansel Adams. As an adult, Pat started out wanting to put real paintings on her walls, so she took oil painting workshops. Painting quickly became a well-loved pastime. She joined local art organizations, served on their boards and started showing in galleries along the Oregon coast and the Portland area.

After Pat branched out to colored pencil, she found her niche. She is both a charter member and signature member of the Colored Pencil Society of America, and has found this organization to be an amazing opportunity. She has been juried into all but two of CPSA's international exhibitions, and has received five special awards and earned her 15 year merit awart in 2009. Her work has been featured in International Artist Magazine, American Artist Drawing, The Artist's Magazine, American Artist Magazine, and Art Business News. Pat has also been a contributor to art books including Step by Step Colored Pencil (2003) and Watercolor Pencil Step by Step (2004) by Walter Foster Publishing, Painting with Water-Soluble Colored Pencils by Gary Greene, Creative Colored Pencil and Creative Colored Pencil Landscapes by Vera Curnow, among others.

She has received awards from CPSA international exhibitions, CPSA DC201, Beaverton Arts Showcase, NW Color Show, International Miniature Show, Lake Oswego Festival of Arts, and Gresham Juried Art Exhibit. Pat has most recently had shows at Gallery 7126 in Portland, Oregon. Other Oregon shows include: Oregon City Carnegie Center, Belinki & Du Prey Gallery, Gango Gallery, National Colored Pencil Exhibition, a miniature show in New Mexico and a national juried exhibition in New York City.

Pat has taught at different venues: local community education centers, community colleges, art guilds, in homes, and workshops throughout the US--Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Arizona, Texas, Florida, New Mexico, Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi. Both writing and teaching have been instrumental in teaching Pat more about her passion: to see and express heartfelt emotion through art.