Pat Lytle

Pat Lytle is an artist based in Fairbanks, Alaska. She specializes in an abstract painting and a photo-realistic style of drawing.

Alaskan artist Pat Lytle was born 1959 in New York, and raised in Southern California. She moved to Alaska in 1987, where she resides to this day.

Lytle works in a variety of mediums. This gives her the freedom to explore and discover new concepts by blending the techniques from the different styles.

She has always been intrigued with texture. By drawing her inspiration from aged surfaces, she studies and simplifies what she finds intriguing about the subject. It could be the transformation of color brought on by time, the interaction of the new textures and old, or the way the peeled layers reveal their secrets. Through the expressiveness of abstract, she is uses highly textured acrylics. Each piece has over a dozen layers of paint, which is applied to a sculptural surface. This causes the colors to shift and interact, bringing depth and movement.

Thinking outside the box, Lytle came across a different style of painting. Using acrylics, she paints mostly in reverse on the back of 2 to 5 conservation grade acrylic sheets. The images then show through the front. Some of the surfaces are then scraped, burnt, scored, or sanded, depending on the effect needed. When assembled with space between, all sheets are visible from the front. This gives the viewer the opportunity to look into the piece, like into the looking glass. Most of her subjects depict ice or water. The result is engaging and different.

When it comes to drawing, Lytle likes the control of the photo realistic style. Her preferred mediums are charcoal, pen & ink, and graphite. Her drawings often have so much detail that a single piece could take 25–50 hours. This, of course, is spread out over many days. This style of drawing is so intense that she can only work for a couple hours at a time before having to move on to something a little less taxing. But the finished piece reflects the time put into it and captures a moment in time.

Pat Lytle received her Fine Art education at UAA Kenai Peninsula College. She has had many showings over the years and was won several awards. Her artwork can be seen at Frames and Things Gallery in the Soldotna Blazy Mall, Central Peninsula Hospital in Soldotna, UAA's Kenai Peninsula College, and in private collections throughout Alaska and the lower 48.

Pat works out of her studio, Off The Canvas, in Fairbanks, Alaska. Her work can be seen at www.offthecanvas.com