A native of Montana, Pat Meras has been living in the Pacific Northwest since 1982. She received a B.A. in Art from Montana State University, which included studies abroad at Le Instituto Francese in Florence, Italy and The Industrial Academy of Art in Eindhoven, Holland. She has done graduate course work at the University of Montana and Eastern Montana College. Never ceasing to study on her own, she has also studied with numerous Northwest and nationally known artists.

For many years, her focus was on drawing, mixed media and various printmaking techniques, until she became interested in a more painterly approach once again. After experimenting with various painting mediums, she found pastel to be a wonderful marriage between drawing and painting, offering the opportunity to move away from the literal interpretation to a more expressive and impressionistic one, thus more painterly.

Says Meras, I paint what I feel are inspiring places to be, yet I'm more drawn to the pattern of light and shadow created by the subject, than by the subject itself. These abstract shapes provide a prominent compositional element. They also elevate a commonplace landscape to a fleeting moment in time, revealing the extraordinary in the ordinary.

With only enough detail to produce the impression that inspired Meras to create the image, the viewer is invited to complete the painting as they wish, and in a little different way every time they encounter it. The true beauty of a painting lies in the beauty of the emotion it inspires.

Having worked as a freelance artist and illustrator, curator and gallery chairwoman, art teacher, volunteer with community arts programs, art docent for the public schools, raising a family and assisting in the family business, she is presently painting full time in her studio.