Patrick Pierson

Patrick Pierson: A DECADE OF DREAMS, NO LIMITS

It's been ten rambunctious years since I began the Mariner Series - ten years filled with incredibly good fortune, most of which never happened: In fact, I may be one of the most alternately privileged and humble, notorious and unacknowledged, admired and berated artists you've ever met.

Still, the Mariner Series has come a long way since I made those quirky little mermalien sketches, the sole purpose of which was to lift an emerging artist out of his down-and-out funk long enough to maybe put some food on the table for a change. To my never-ending shock and wonderment, the Mariner Series has become one of the most widely collected, longest lasting and successful bodies of artwork in history*. Now, with the recent unveiling of PLANET ZOOTOPIA, I've come to realize just how horrific a study in the virtues of chasing a dream can be...

Just ten short years ago I was nothing if not ever-expectant regarding success, much like that doggedly determined dodo in The Dreamsmyth. I could see myself rubbing my mental hands together in anticipation of finally realizing the life I had imagined, firmly believing I had a thin thread of hope to cling to as I set sail in my little drea...