Proud in Paint
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap radius”]M[/dropcap]any local artists in Denver choose to bring cannabis into their work, but very few blend local pride and cannabis culture into their art as seamlessly as Patrick Kane McGregor. A Denver native, born and raised, McGregor has been drawing for as long as he can remember.
“I have been drawing since I could hold a crayon,” he told CULTURE. “I started drawing ‘Eddie’ from the Iron Maiden album covers and staring at Frank Frazetta art and later making flyers for bands. Then I worked for Tower Records in Dublin and Berkeley, California as the store artist. I got into graffiti after that, and eventually I got into signs and advertising murals for work, and now I’m trying to utilize all of these things in my art today.”
“Cannabis helps the process and gets me focused, and will un-fog my creative mind. Cannabis can pull me out of a rut when I hit a wall or when I get uninspired as well.”
McGregor employs his graffiti background to create awesome murals around the city. “I usually work in sign painting enamels and artist oils,” he stated. “Brushes and rollers. I am not against spray paint and will use it from time to time, but prefer the old school method of billboard art. My themes are portraits and photorealism on a large scale if possible, a lot of figurative stuff and a few landscapes here and there.”
“I have a few murals planned for Denver in the Spring,” he adds. “I am always looking for a new wall to paint or working on new canvasses when I have the time and inspiration. I still travel a lot from coast to coast painting advertising murals for Colossal Media in Brooklyn, New York, and I will be travelling to California in January to paint an advertisement over 10 stories high.”
McGregor also enjoys painting while using cannabis, and tries to work the plant into his art as a theme. “Yes, I just did a mural for Pax off Colfax and I painted a wall of marijuana for my friends at Alife in New York City,” he told us. “It was for a secret Cyprus Hill concert in their backyard. You can also find me painting under the influence. Cannabis helps the process and gets me focused, and will un-fog my creative mind. Cannabis can pull me out of a rut when I hit a wall or when I get uninspired as well. It’s a good medicine for me, but not for everyone.”
In addition to supporting cannabis, McGregor also has a lot of love for the local art scene. “I was born in Denver, he stated, “so I am happy to see the art scene growing here, and it is getting bigger every year. It is becoming a hub for international artists. Certain communities, like RiNo and South Broadway, have really embraced the art scene. You can discover really amazing art in every corner of the city, from the murals that were painted during Colorado Crush in RiNo, to the Colfax MuralFest. Denver is definitely where I want to be now, and where I want to be doing art and murals in the future. I want to leave my mark in my hometown, and paint as much as possible. So give me your walls, Denver!”
www.patrickkanemcgregor.com | @patrickkanemcgregor
