Ep19 of Thinking of Art features NY-based artist Paddy Cohn. Cohn discussed the simplicity of growing up in the Caribbean and how that environment shaped her art today.

Educated at FIT in New York and mentored by a master figurative painter, Paddy has committed to pursuing art full-time while juggling a family. She shared details of her largest commission to date in Dublin, Ireland (12×16 feet!), how Reggae music helps her get into the creative flow, and how honored she is to exhibit work with the Artists of St. Barth.

In 2019 during her time in Cambodia, she was deeply inspired to create two Angkor Wat paintings that captured the connection she had both spiritually and emotionally. It was exciting to also see some of the new works that have been created during the pandemic called “Unity” and “Immunity.”

Cohn is an abstract artist whose mysterious explorations into textures, layers and distressed materials reflect a childhood spent in the landscapes of the Caribbean. After graduating from FIT, Paddy spent a decade in New York City as a successful textile designer, only to return to her roots in St. Thomas in 1989. There, a passion was born for vibrant optics, distressed textures and the forgotten elements of nature, from sand to mica to driftwood.

Her work began with more literal renderings of the Caribbean landscape, expressed in seascape and portraiture. It evolved into the opulent color, mixed-media abstractions she is known for today. Work still born, though more quietly, of Caribbean inspiration. Cohn’s work has been collected, commissioned and displayed in corporate and private collections from the Caribbean, New York, & Europe. | Purchase works on artstager.shop