Patty Rae Wellborn worked part-time as an art teacher at St. John’s Episcopal School for seven years, in Abilene. She left to become a full-time studio artist.

“Teaching gave me the opportunity to ‘play’ with and learn about art supplies and methods as I introduced them to my students,” Wellborn said. “I wanted to be an artist like the great masters since I was age eight.”

She spent time studying other artists, methods of painting , drawing, painting in acrylics and oil.

Wellborn has taught ArtReach as a signature artist of the Center for Contemporary Arts since 1995. Wellborn also worked as an Event Coordinator for Michael’s Arts and Crafts and represented Michael’s on KTAB TV, where she gave demonstrations on art materials and projects. During the summer months, she is an Art Camp instructor for the Grace Museum and other organizations in Abilene.

“I now understand that I prefer oil painting,” Wellborn said. “I did a lot of abstract impressionism and then have begun portrait painting and the still-life paintings. Then this past October, I took a four-day workshop to learn to paint En Plein Air.”

After she has worked in all three mediums, Wellborn plans to combine all three to create paintings of people in an outdoor setting, with still-life in the setup.

She has a studio in Abilene where she teaches free-tothe-public, figure drawing classes and is available in Abilene and surrounding areas to teach workshops in portrait painting and still life.