Featured Works

As a Hollywood special effects artist, Patrick Lee has worked on such films as "Armageddon" and "Day Before Tomorrow."

But perhaps his greatest illusion is when Lee picks up a graphite pencil and draws a face.

You can see Lee's mind-blowing photo-realistic portraits in the "Deadly Friends" exhibit now up at the Huntington Museum of Art as the internationally known and shown L.A.-based Lee is the Walter Gropius Master Artist in October.

The fortysomething Montana-born, and Minneapolis College of Art & Design educated artist speaks about his work during a free public presentation at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13.

Lee will stay up on the hill this weekend to present a three-day workshop at HMA titled "Drawing Realism" from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Oct. 14-16. Visit www.hmoa.org or call 304-529-2701 for workshop fee information or to register.

An exhibit of work by Lee continues on view at the Huntington Museum of Art through Dec. 30.

WORKSHOP: 9am to 4pm, 14 Oct. – 16 Oct. 2016 PUBLIC PRESENTATION: Thursday, 13 Oct. 2016, 7pm EXHIBITION: 24 Sep. – 30 Dec. 2016

Drawing Realism"

During this workshop, Patrick Lee will share the specific techniques he uses to achieve a photorealistic look in the portraits he creates. He will teach other artists who are looking to accurately capture an individual or an object how to use pencil (graphite). Lee will explain his process, from approaching individuals on the street and photographing them to editing images and choosing what will hopefully be a compelling composition. In addition he will tell the stories behind his drawings in the gallery and help participants focus on how to pick subjects to draw. Drawings will be based on photographs the participants provide and will take shape over the three days of the workshop.

Many of the artists I have selected are ones whom I already collect and admire. When I look at works to buy, I approach them with an open mind and go with instinct. Buy what you love and can’t live without! 

Western Project is proud to present the third solo exhibition by Los Angeles artist, Patrick Lee. For over ten years Lee has worked on his series Deadly Friends; an investigation into the lives of men on the streets of America. Looking to understand the subtle and often forceful appearances of men the artist has created a body of work this time inspired by the environs around LA City Jail and the nearby Union Station.

Photorealism does not especially intrigue me, but in Patrick Lee's work, the technique is just the starting point for further revelations. Lee's graphite portraits of men are meticulous down to the very pores that sprout whiskers. The figures are set in a style reminiscent of the early 1900s, with heads floating in a limbo of whiteness, and I am reminded of the decades old black and white photos of my grandmother's family. Yet these portraits are startling contemporary insights into the society of men. Bald heads, scars, tattoos and ethnically diverse, these men virtually wear the stories of their lives on their necks, faces, and heads. In a culture where youth is trumpeted no matter the class or color of the individual, it's an interesting relief to see men, instead of kids, depicted here. These are men who clearly have lived lives of intensity and peril and are part of a society that signals their wounds with physical visuals.

Patrick Lee’s gorgeous portraits of tough young men are great works of art because they entice you to imagine what it might be like to live in someone else’s skin.

Western Project is proud to present the second solo exhibition by Los Angeles artist Patrick Lee. After a successful show in New York last year, the artist will present seven recent large scale drawings and a new video project.