Joel Patience uses the context of the jungle when he describes his injuries from a 2004 automobile accident:
If he were an animal and had been that badly wounded, he would have been eaten.
With aggressive medical treatments Patience slowly recovered, but certain vexing problems persist
ed, including a swelling in his hands.
That severe swelling would occur 10 to 12 times throughout the day, a result of gripping the steering wheel so tightly when the crash occurred.
His wife and college sweetheart, Dale, suggested they take a watercolor class together.
The suggestion was good therapy and a life changer.
Today, Patience, 56, shows his watercolor paintings at Semantics Art Gallery in Edmonds. And the Bank of America, 306 Main St., in Edmonds, is hosting a Patience exhibit entitled “Original Watercolors, of Italy.” Patience also learned this month that at least one of his paintings is being reproduced in Italia! magazine.
Now Patience is getting his first building mural.
“I’ve got a wall in downtown Edmonds with my name on it,” Patience said.
In February, the Edmonds Mural Society selected Patience and four other artists as their mural artists of the year. The murals will be painted on the walls of five Edmonds buildings between July 4 and Sept. 15. To see the five paintings that will reproduced on the walls, go to www.EdmondsMuralSociety.org.
The five artists are Patience, Michelle Bear, Sue Coccia, Andy Eccleshall and Michiko Tanaka.
Patience’s winning mural is titled “Edmonds to Starboard,” which depicts a summer sunset with the schooner The Adventuress in silhouette. His mural will be painted at the corner of Main Street and Fourth Avenue W.
Patience said his mural will begin taking shape in August. The challenge will be more than just reproducing a painting onto a wall, brick by brick.
Watercolor painting has certainly helped him heal from his accident, but Patience said this massive mural project will probably take a toll on him physically.
“It’s going to hurt, but it’s the way it goes,” Patience said, adding brightly, “Hey, I get my own billboard.”
A former private developer with a background in urban planning, Patience said he had to give up virtually everything after the accident. Now, instead of constructing buildings, he paints them, weaving architectural designs delicately into his watercolors.
It was about five years ago on a cruise to Italy that his watercolors went from therapy and hobby to something people were willing to pay for, Patience said.
A group of Canadian women saw Patience’s artwork and said, “These are lovely. We’ll buy what you have.” The women spent several hundred dollars, Patience said.
About two years ago, Semantics Gallery in Edmonds invited Patience to show his work there.
For Patience to get a wall in downtown Edmonds to share his artwork with the community is a full-scale measure of how far he’s come in his recovery and as an artist.
Patience put it this way: “When the community comes to you and says we’d like you to do something for us, that is cool.”
Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424; goffredo@heraldnet.com.
Auction and gala
The Edmonds Mural Society, a charitable arts organization, is holding a gala to auction off the five paintings that the five new murals in Edmonds will be based on.
The annual gala auction will be held from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the Edmonds Senior Center, 220 Railroad Ave., Edmonds. Tickets are $35 and include a one-year membership. Treats and wine will be provided.
A magic show, courtesy of Bruce Meyers, is also planned and the Edmonds-Woodway High School jazz combo will entertain.
The Edmonds Mural Society has funded six murals in the downtown Edmonds core. This year will bring the total murals to 11.
To see Joel Patience’s artwork, go to www.joelpatience-watercolors.com.
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