Patsy’s obvious artistic talent lay dormant until her early 60’s when she became laser-focused on pursuing this much-loved, but undeveloped and rarely-used, gift. At 63, she flew across the country to attend a four-day workshop, coming home with a beautiful portrait of her granddaughter. And that was the beginning of what is now Patsy Ruth Fine Art.

Just two years later, 2015, two of her portrait paintings were juried into the Mile High International Pastel Exhibition, and she was awarded an honorable mention for “In Daddy’s Safe Grip.” 

Patsy had quickly gone from barely knowing what pastels were and wondering why pastel paintings are called paintings to an admired artist, and she began taking commissions. 

Four years later, in 2019, she began submitting her work to more juried shows, which has resulted in acceptance of six of her paintings into three different shows, with three of her paintings being finalists in an international competition, and two garnering merit awards.

Patsy paints in acrylic occasionally, but the vast majority of her work is in the pastel medium. She uses three different methods to accomplish her desired results, and although she is developing skill in impressionism, she is primarily known for the stunning realism she achieves despite near blindness in one eye.