Patrick Gill, Painter, Designer
Patrick Gill’s boyhood love of Art started in the late 70s, ignited while his mother studied painting and left him to meander the galleries of the hometown San Antonio McNay Art Institute, eagerly studying the collection – Picasso, Giacometti, DeKooning. The fondly remembered smell of oil paint and turpentine stayed with him while the focus of his passion pivoted to figurative drawing, inspired by photo-realism, primarily using charcoal and pencil. Patrick Gill fostered that passion through school years and onto college where he dove deep into fine Art and different media. Away from the classroom he organized shows of his own drawings and photography along with works by local Texas contemporaries. Organically flowing on, Art then led him into the design and advertising business of the late 90s. At college he opened his own first business. “ Big “ was a design studio of just three employees that grew into its name with a staff of 30 before he sold his stake, relinquished his dual roles of Lead Designer/Creative Director and moved to Colorado. Next, Patrick Gill went on to work for, and eventually purchase, a nationally respected boutique design firm, which he recently rebranded as ‘ Common Good ‘. Over 25 years Common Good has grown to be 50+ employees strong and has become a Certified B-Corp which demonstrates its commitment to sustainability. Patrick Gill has won many prestigious industry awards, and has been featured in several design annuals and publications. 2021 brought Patrick Gill to a fork in the career path, a re-evaluation of his life led to big family first changes that also favored exploration and Art. Patrick, his wife Laura, daughters Lily Mae and Georgia, relocated to Antibes, France in 2022, embracing the vision. A storefront in Juan les Pins serves as atelier – where painting has finally resumed, working most days and enjoying the vibrant local community Juan les Pins, the memory of smell of fresh oil paint rebooted amid the beauty of the Cote d’Azur. The rest is yet to be written.
