Patrice Newell’s paintings grow out of a lifelong habit of watching the natural world with quiet attention. As a child, she spent long afternoons studying clouds as they drifted, thickened, and scattered across the sky. Water held a similar attraction, especially the way light moves over its surface or collects in rolling waves. That early fascination never faded and eventually became the foundation for her work as a landscape painter.

Patrice is drawn to the moods and shifts of the seasons. A bright, wind-swept day offers one kind of energy, while a foggy morning brings out subtler colors and forms. Living above the Carquinez Strait, she has a front-row seat to dramatic skies, restless water, and constantly changing light. That daily display inspires her paintings and keeps her exploring new ways to capture atmosphere and movement.

After retiring from a career in health care, Patrice began painting in 2022. She started with acrylics but soon moved to pastel, a medium whose immediacy and luminosity matched the subjects she loves. She has since studied with noted painters including Randy Sexton, Nikki Basch Davis, Bill Cone, Liz Haywood-Sullivan, Kim Lordier, and Alain Picard.

Her work has been shown in group and solo exhibitions at aRT Cottage, Arts Benicia, Umpqua Bank, and the El Cerrito Arts Association, where she has received both an Honorable Mention and a Merchant’s Choice award. She is a member of the Pastel Society of the West Coast.

Patrice’s goal is simple: to invite viewers into the serenity, power, and ever-changing beauty of the natural world she observes every day.