What a find!

What an amazing discovery! Tacoma Art Supply is showing paintings and sculptures by a wonderfully authentic outsider artist, Tyrone Patkoski.

Patkoski is an outsider in the purest sense of the word. He spent the past 20 years as a homeless man living and creating art wherever he could, be it in the back of a car or in a relative’s home. He has never studied art and expresses little or no interest in exhibiting or selling his work.

A 59-year-old half-Snoqualmie Indian, Patkoski is self taught and paints mostly in oil, often combining the paint with flotsam found on the streets. The paintings, especially many of his latest works, are densely encrusted with an unimaginable collection of found objects. They are inventive, colorful, and highly personal.

Patkoski’s art was discovered and is being promoted by Joan Staokes Baum of the Tahoma Indian Center Program and photojournalist Casey Madison, who has provided biographical information.

I saw his work yesterday and will review it for my “Visual Edge” column in the Weekly Volcano April 29. But you need not wait for my review. Go to Tacoma Art Supply now and see this work for yourself. You can also see it online at http://www.caseymadison.com/personal/tyrone/ - but you need to see it in person.

[Tacoma Art Supply, 1552 Commerce Street #101]