Born in Montreal, Patrice Stanley attended the University of Ottawa, The University of Toronto and Concordia University in Montreal. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including those from the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council and was a finalist in the RBC New Painting competition in 2001. A seasoned, mid-career artist, she has been invited to attend several residencies, most notably the Pouch Cove Residency in 2001 and the Vermont Studio Centre Residency in 2010. Her work can be seen in many private and corporate collections, including Maple Leaf Foods of Canada. Patrice’s work is committed to the tradition of oil painting. Conjuring up the spirits of both post-war Abstract Expressionism and 18th Century landscape painting, her work is authentic, innovative and full of historical references.

Artist Statement
Underlining themes in my work deal with universal transcendence, mortality, and the sublime. By distilling sometimes fleeting atmospheric conditions on panel, canvas, or Mylar, I wish to move the viewer; to have them focus upon the transcendent power of the land, to convey a subjective and highly emotional response to nature. I have always been compelled by landscape, having lived in Canada all my life, I have been fortunate to have been able to explore through my work, a variety of ecosystems, lakes, oceans, and forests. What one sees in my work, depends on the viewer. It might be a spiritual connection, a fear of the unknown, the manifestation of a greater power or presence or the responsibilities of instigating climate rehabilitation and preservation. Collectively, my work affirms the heroic aspects of landscape painting. I continue to conjure the spirits of both post-war Abstract Expressionism and my heroes: the 19th century Romantic Landscape painters, Caspar David Friedrich, and J.W. M. Turner. I am searching for those same transcendent themes exemplified in their work while bringing my own into a contemporary and universal context.