Patricia  Zinsmeister Parker
    Artist's Statement

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       My work has always had one salient component, that being an autobiographical one.  I feel strongly that my life experiences have shaped and influenced my art.  Many years ago during my time at Kent State University, I began to draw with my untrained left  hand.  What prompted this departure was a boredom with rendering objects realistically and a subconscious need to find a means of expression outside of formal artistic constraints.  As a 12 year old scholarship student enrolled at the Cleveland Institute of Art in the "Gifted Children’s Program", I displayed a talent for drawing that was ultimately necessary to abandon in search of something new and original.  While earning an M.F.A. degree at Kent State, my left hand gave me the tool to accomplished this goal.
       In 1976 I submitted two  paintings to the Cleveland Museum of Art’s May Show Exhibition.  The paintings, Cold Pop and Mother Parker, represented an approach to painting that appeared to be naïve and art brut in style, as well as a drastic break with traditional forms of painting.  This style of painting came to be recognized in the art world as ‘’Bad Painting’’.  The Cleveland Museum of Art has recently acquired The Yellow Table (1976) for their permanent collection , one of my paintings from this important period of my career.
       It becomes apparent from perusing my web site that my work explores many diverse areas in terms of content. There are times when I just want to paint spring flowers, rework vintage paintings or experiment with various new materials in an abstract format.  Because I am also able to paint realistically based on my right hand, whatever I choose to  paint I have tried to stay true to my convictions as they relate to the integrity of purpose and motive.

Patricia Zinsmeister Parker
April, 2016