After spending nearly a quarter of a century in interior design, Pat Puckett made a career shift as bold as the use of colors in the paintings she’s now known for, having decided to follow a dream to turn her passion for art into more than just a hobby. “I’ve been involved in the arts for most of my life and feel I was born to create,” notes the painter, who has spent more than a decade perfecting her technique, honing her skills and making a name for herself beyond Charleston. “I led a successful career in interior design, creating spaces for people to relax and feel a sense of peace and comfort, and that’s ultimately where my connection with art began to take its deepest root. Life experiences have provided a solid platform from which my artwork is created, and that is what people respond to—what gives them an emotional connection to what they see on the canvas. There is always a story underneath the layers, and I love capturing those fleeting moments, almost freezing them in time so that people can look at them, remember their own, feel them for themselves in the depths of their soul.”
Raised in a historical little riverfront town, Puckett’s “life experiences” are inherently tied to the Lowcountry, colored with the patina of fond memories of family gatherings along the banks of the Waccamaw River, fish fries, oyster roasts and summers spent at the beach. Naturally, her work draws largely on those treasured moments. “There is a special allure in bodies of water and openness of space that draws me,” she says. “The beautiful rivers and salt marshes that have surrounded me all my life have become my muse, and I love painting them in various seasons. I am fortunate to live in one of the most beautiful areas on earth, one that represents a wide range of scenic variations, with winding dirt roads, endless pathways and waterways, ancient oaks and historical gardens. It has given me endless inspiration, and I am hopeful that this feeling of excitement comes through in my work.”
Indeed, it does, seeping through in her use of color and dramatic exploration of light. It is light, especially, and the ever-changing whims of nature that so inspire her love of plein air painting, working outside to meet the challenges of the conditions before her and capture them even as they change. “The play of light is captivating, and the reflection of inherent color from one object to another is something that makes painting nature so exciting,” Puckett notes. “Nature does not always present a perfect composition, so you must rearrange and create an effective design and movement in the painting while working quickly because of the fleeting light. I’m often in the studio or painting plein air as the sun is rising, contemplating my next composition and how best to capture the light and mood of a particular scene. Rather than painting the colors I see, however, I paint what I feel. Because of that, my paintings have become more expressive throughout my body of work.”
Puckett works from both plein air studies and photographic references, preferring to work in large scale, which grants her more creative freedom without the worry of being confined to the limitations of a small canvas. Over the course of her artistic journey, she has studied extensively with mentors and attended workshops both nationally and internationally to establish a strong foundation in the French/American impressionist technique—all of which has culminated in her own unique artistic style.
“I have a consistency of style that’s distinctively my own, and it has become like a signature of my work,” says the artist. “I prefer virtuoso brushwork and the use of thick, multilayered paint application, imbuing my pieces with texture and dramatic color in addition to creating a sense of light that gives them incredible depth and dimension.
“I also enjoy challenges and paint a variety of subject matter, from landscapes and architecture to still life, wildlife and figurative pieces, all of which expand my artistic growth and feed my creative personality. I start a painting with an open-mindedness, experimenting with design, form, line and color, pushing myself to work expressively. I use the oil paint as my language, constructing and deconstructing while building up layers of rich pigment with a variety of tools, like squeegees, palette knives and oversize brushes, knowing that the painting will eventually arrive at its destination. Regardless of what I create, you will find those elements that tell you it’s mine. A collector once told me, ‘You make art that, once seen, is not easily forgotten.’ As an artist, that is incredibly rewarding to hear.”
As an art lover, Puckett knows how important that quality of being unforgettable is for the viewer to feel, as well. “As a painter, I love to create art, but it’s also fascinating to collect and appreciate all aspects of artwork and visit museums to see these works under the bright lights and marvel how subject matter is depicted,” she says. “I visited Monet’s garden at Giverny in 2014, which was one of the most inspiring moments in my art career and a turning point for my own work. There is nothing like seeing an artwork in person, especially the works of the painters I have always admired, and feeling their colors, their brushstrokes and their passion soak into your soul as you look at the canvas. That is truly memorable. That is what every artist longs to accomplish. Beyond the fame of your name, it’s the feeling that you leave people with.”
Puckett is a student of life with an unslakable thirst for knowledge to reach her artistic goals and more effectively express herself creatively. She stays actively involved with community arts organizations and has served on several visual art committees, chaired local plein air events, and donated paintings to museums in addition to being a member of the American Impressionist Society, Brookgreen Plein Air Guild, Mount Pleasant Artists Guild and Oil Painters of America. Adding a timeless allure to both classic and contemporary settings, her fine art hangs in private and corporate collections throughout the United States.
Puckett’s paintings are available in South Carolina at Perspective Gallery in Mount Pleasant, Sara & Beth Gifts in Georgetown and Macdonald Marketplace on Saint Helena Island. Selected works will be featured in an upcoming show in March of 2025 at Charleston’s Lowcountry Artists Gallery.
Liesel Schmidt lives in Navarre, Florida, and works as a freelance writer for local and regional magazines. She is also a web content writer and book editor. Follow her on X at @laswrites or download her novels, Coming Home to You, The Secret of Us and Life Without You, at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.
