The Lay of the Land

Pat Garrity captures local landscapes

There are two favorite conversation topics in the Hamptons: art and real estate. Long time resident Pat Garrity is deeply immersed in both. Garrity first moved out east in 1989 after working in New York as a designer in the textile industry. Her plan was to continue her art career but as luck would have it, a friend said, “You’d be great in real estate.” And they were right. Garrity worked first at Agawam Realty, then Allan Schneider which was bought by The Corcoran Group where she continues her successful career today.

Even though she didn’t have much time to paint, Garrity said to her partner that she wanted to build a second floor over their garage at their Water Mill home for a studio. “I knew if I didn’t have the space, I wouldn’t do it.” Fortuitously, in an if you build it, it they will come sort of way, she returned to painting and the result is stunning oil landscapes.

“The thing that inspires me as I am driving around to show property in the Hamptons is that there are so many beautiful places,” she says, “You can take a photograph but it’s not the same to me as trying to paint it and capture the atmosphere of what I see and feel.”

There is a visceral quality to her paintings that strikes the viewer. While she will take a photo or sketch as reference for the composition of the painting she explains, “The goal is not to duplicate it but put the emotion into it.” She says with a laugh, “It’s not about there are six blades of grass and I only have two.”

With four distinct seasons on the East End, Garrity is keen to capture the way local beauty morphs over time. A la Monet’s famous haystacks, she says, “I like to pick a spot out here and photograph it every month to see how it has changed, whether it is due to weather or nature or human intervention.” Capturing some of the iconic landscapes on canvas before they disappear becomes even more important. Garrity finds that people appreciate having paintings of local landscapes in their homes. “People love it out here and they love what they see. They want something in their home that reflects that.” 

Garrity is also dedicated to using oil which is never the fast food of the painter’s palette. “I find that the colors are richer and deeper and you have a range of mixability with oil paints. I do like the fact that they dry slower and you can go back in and rework things.”

While her dedication to real estate clients comes first, she does enjoy when she can fall into her art, “Once I get into a painting I can get lost for four or five hours,” she says adding, “If you saw my phone, it’s not covered with oil paint fingerprints. I turn it off.” Garrity feels that her artist’s eye and creativity have actually augmented her real estate business, “Having a sense of vision helps clients to see what might be possible instead of what is.”

It is easy to see the appeal of owning one of Garrity’s landscape paintings. “You appreciate what is around you,” she says, “Painting is a skill and experience but it’s also looking and seeing what is in front of you and taking the moment of gratitude to appreciate it.”