Pat Dillon

Work samples

COVID at the Beach

The new normal. This is a pretty large painting (36"x48") of a selfie I took at Bethany Beach, Delaware
Lance

Lance, the subject of this portrait, has been a close friend of mine for over 30 years. We have visited countless museums together and have spent many hours discussing our favorite and sometimes our least favorite artists and their work.
Bubbles Triptych_B.jpg

This is a triptych with three oil paintings stacked vertically. The source material is from photos taken on the Oregon coast.
Divided We Fall.jpg

About Pat

Pat Dillon is an artist who lives and works in Columbia, MD. He works predominantly in oils and pastels. Subject matter includes portraits (with an emphasis on musicians), the figure, landscapes, and still lifes. Pat draws inspiration both from the natural world and from study of the masters. His other job for many years as a traveling musician afforded him the opportunity to visit art museums throughout the United States and overseas. His openness to a diversity of art forms and his broad… more

View Pat's Resume

Musicians

This is a series of musician paintings, many of the subjects are close friends. In this series I chose in a few of the paintings to focus on the hands. I find that hands can be as interesting and expressive as faces.

Eugene

This is a portrait of a close friend and professional colleague of 33 years.
Take Five
String Quartet

This work features the hands of my multi talented friend Bill
Self Portrait with Saxophone

This is a painting of me with my tenor sax. I think of it as an old friend. Coincidently it was built the year I was born.
Ornithology

The title of this piece “Ornithology” alludes to my friend Eugene’s vocation as a jazz saxophonist. Most fans of jazz are familiar with bebop alto saxophonist and jazz legend Charlie Parker, whose nickname was Bird. Parker wrote a jazz standard entitled “Ornithology”, its title making reference to his nickname. My friend Eugene, has spent a considerable amount of time studying Bird’s music, hence my choice of the title “Ornithology”.
Street Jam

Street musicians jamming in New Orleans
Street Quartet

Classical string quartet performing on the street in Paris
Jazz Club

Style wise, this was a departure from the other paintings in the group. I created a fantasy composition compiled from a variety of photos of jazz musicians

Social Commentary

Americans behaving badly.

American Circus

My take on what many Americans choose as entertainment
Proud 2B an American
Trinity

A friend of mine showed me a photo which she took with her phone of this scene at a family Thanksgiving gathering. The juxtaposition of Christian symbols with a hand gun got my attention. I immediately felt there was some kind of story behind the image.

Travel

These paintings are all from photos I've taken while traveling.

Crow, Monterey, CA

I was drawn to the shapes, colors, and texture of this one.
Rainy Night, Cannes

I got the idea to use this half circle canvas when I noticed the reoccurring shape of the umbrellas.
Limerick Docks

This was a scene from my hotel room in Limerick, Ireland.
Light at the End of the Tunnel

A scene from the Left Bank of the Seine River in Paris
Gene Buys a Cigar

The name for this piece refers to my friend Gene (or Eugene - seen in several of my musician series paintings). Here he has his back to us. This was in South Beach, Florida. While I was waiting for Gene, this guy came by with his dog in the basket of his bicycle. He stopped and took a moment to pose for me.
Gare Saint Lazare

This is a famous train station in Paris which was the subject of paintings by many impressionist painters including Claude Monet.
Checking the Map (Edinburgh)
Homage to Inness

This is a painting where I tried to evoke the mood of a George Inness painting