Once Upon a Time in Dallas: Through the Artist’s Eyes

Pat Wheelis Kochan, a native Dallasite and a nationally acclaimed artist, has gathered together in this collection her best work, representative of the city of Dallas?then and now. Pat's work has been featured in American Artist and a variety of other publications. Her art was also displayed in the Dallas City Hall when the late Annette Strauss was mayor. The artist grew up in Dallas and studied art at the University of Colorado. After she married, she returned to Dallas to raise a family and continue painting. In the 1980s she was commissioned to paint an area of Dallas known as Little Mexico, and she quickly became intrigued with preserving history on canvas. She continued to paint the buildings that held fond memories of her childhood, a time when people went downtown for shopping, doctor's appointments, and entertainment. Her depictions of downtown Dallas are greatly influenced by her family life. Her father was a salesman who entertained clients in the finest restaurants in the city, and he would often include his wife and daughter during these outings. Pat also grew up in an era when it was not unusual for an unaccompanied child to ride the streetcar downtown to attend tumbling class. Included in this series are nostalgic paintings of buildings that no longer exist, others that have been saved thanks to the Dallas Historical Society, and some that are still in use or simply vacant. She is not afraid to use artistic license in painting with the colors she likes, adding drama and perspective to each piece. She often paints people in front of buildings, which exist only in her mind's eye and are compilations of her favorite structures and sculptures. Pat says that she feels that shehas a responsibility to report Dallas? roots as she knows them and to do it with mystery and beautiful color. Her philosophy is ?Paint who you are. I am a city girl, so I paint the city and its people.?