Born in Elgin, Illinois, Beatty studied fine art at Arizona State University and Phoenix College. In 1985 Patricia studied printmaking under Philip March, head printmaker Phoenix Art Press. She has lived in Arizona since 1979, and has a daughter, Talia. "Nothing else I’ve ever done relates to the experience," she says of motherhood in wonderment. She looks forward to the emotional imprint this new experience will bring to her artwork. Patricia Beatty’s emotionally charged abstract landscapes could be described as visceral if they weren’t so beautiful. A light and delicate calmness of color interacts with the passionate movement of shape and texture. The resulting complexity of mood reflects "self exploration and a lot of personal growth over the last nine years", Beatty says. "When I look back at some of my older work, it looks simple to me since I’ve learned to incorporate more emotions and experiences into my art." Beatty calls her pieces "bold and strong." She jokes, "When people who have seen my work meet me, they’re often amazed that such a little woman does this intense artwork."
If her landscapes seem more like blueprints for involved psychological states than studies inspired by the forms of nature, it may have to do with Beatty’s background as a psychiatric nurse. She admits her medical career has influenced the timbre of her art. Surgical gauze is one of the many materials she might incorporate into a composition to create a collage effect. Her original mono-prints are often mixed media creations. Once a one-of-a-kind piece has been printed, "it might still be only half done," she explains. Strips of leather, fabric, sandpaper, metal scrapings, and glassine granules may be worked into a print to add richness and dimension. Though her art is expressionistic, textures and patterns are solidly grounded in everyday life, inspired by the surfaces of old buildings or discarded shapes discovered in a metal scrap yard.
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