About the Artist

Pat Ryan was born in New Rochelle, New York in 1941 and raised in Levittown on Long Island, eventually migrating to Los Angeles in 1962, where he attended Art Center School of Design. He worked for various advertising agencies on Sunset Boulevard as a young art director. But when the Vietnam War loomed large, Pat turned on, tuned in, and dropped out. In 1971 he packed up his belongings and young family, soul singer wife Cyretta, their four young children, two cats and a dog, and moved to the small town of Fairfax in Marin County, California, just north of San Francisco. He first opened up a tiny studio in the stairwell of Litho-Color Graphics, a printing shop on Bolinas Road in Fairfax. Tiny – it was 64” wide and about 10 feet deep! He discovered three local art supply shops within walking distance of his studio, and loved the sleepy atmosphere of the town.

Eventually, he met and befriended many of the local poster and T-shirt artists, and together they rented a building on the corner of 2nd and B Streets in San Rafael. Collectively known as the “Peanut Gallery,” Pat shared the building with the greatest California rock poster artists; Alton Kelley, Stanley ‘Mouse’ Miller, Victor Moscoso, Larry Noggle, Linda Miller, Tim Harris, Enid Hansen, and Dave Sheridan. They mingled, collaborated and got turned on to each others’ medium and style.

The Humboldt Years
“I left Marin County in 1992,” said Pat in an interview with High Times in 2004. “A friend and I used to go to Reggae on the River every year and we’d end up with a whole entourage of people, all from Marin County. All our friends and their kids would show up, it was like our own little city. It went on for 10 or 12 years in a row. When we stopped going to Reggae on the River (because of the cost increase), we had our own party at our house in Redway. We had a flat bed truck, and set up speakers. All of our kids are musicians, so they came and played. We had people from Reggae on the River coming because they had to drive by our house anyway, so all these Rastas showed up and we had our own little jam at home and it was great.” Needless to say, being in one of the prime growing areas of the world, Pat spun his talents into creating new, vibrant and hilarious herb labels. He also became the defacto poster artist in residence for Reggae on the River, Sierra Nevada World Music Festivals and the Mateel Community Center’s never ending array of cool world beat and reggae shows. Over the next seven years, Pat did over 50 music posters for the Mateel Community Center, and witnessed some incredible shows. In 1999 Pat and Cyretta moved back to the Bay Area so they could be closer to their 5 grandchildren. They still wanted to be in a “country” environment, so they settled in the Sonoma Valley in the picturesque, woodsy town of Glen Ellen in the wine country. Here Pat worked out of his home producing posters and t-shirts for festivals and concerts and did several jobs for clients like Grateful Dead Merchandising, Phil Lesh & Friends, and the Doobie Brothers. He produced several custom designs for wine labels for local wineries, (links to wine labels) and came out with his own line of greeting cards called “High Again,” based on t-shirt designs he did while living in Humboldt County.

Pat has created well over 100 posters for various musical venues and festivals throughout his career. He has exhibited his poster art at local wineries and galleries and is part of a group of exhibiting artists at T.R.P.S. (The Rock Poster Society) poster shows. In fact, his work can always be seen at the T.R.P.S. Annual Springtime Show at Fort Mason in San Francisco, and in the fall at the Hall of Flowers in Golden Gate Park.

Pat lives in Sonoma County and can be reached at pat@pat-ryan-art.com.