Acrylic, watercolor, pastel, or just plain graphite provide Pat Malony various mediums to teach potential artists incarcerated in San Quentin the finer points in painting.
For the past 23 years, Malony has been working for SQ Arts in Corrections. He began when he was 53 years old. He’s seen many changes in S.Q. However, his art class has survived these changes.
Three times a week Pat has the opportunity to teach student artists understanding. Mondays are devoted to color theory. On Tuesdays, prisoners learn the art of portraits, using live models. And Saturdays give prisoners the chance to work on individual projects.
The program is funded by grants provided through donations, food sales, and various benefits.
The Arts in Corrections provide all the materials, but prisoners may bring their own. Pat has a B.A. in art. When asked about his retirement, he said, “I don’t plan to. I love my job too much to consider retiring.”
Prisoners in the program say that art allows them to express themselves and enable them to relax – like therapy.
The program plans to put on shows sometime this summer.