Personalities 50 P o r t l a n d monthly magazine diane hudson G lance around Portland and you’ll spot Patrick Cor- rigan’s enigmatic creations hiding in plain sight. His handiwork dances along the bar in Local 188 and across the stage at Mayo Street Arts. It’s hard to miss his studio on 107 Hanover Street. Dubbed “Fort Awe- some” when he first rented it in 2004, the exterior wall sports a proliferation of pop- pies. Today, it doubles as the Apohadion Theater, a music and entertainment venue. Born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Cor- rigan knew early on he wanted to be an art- ist. “I was very close to my grandfather. He helped raise me. He was a golden-age comic book artist in the 1930s and 40s. When I was about seven, I found these amazing comics of The Flame and V-Man in the attic. He told me he drew them. At that moment, I set my sights on art.” Corrigan earned a BFA in illustration at Massachusetts College of Art in 1993. He moved to Portland a year later. At the time, he made a living creating commercial il- lustrations for the likes of The New York Times, Detroit Free Press, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Magazine, Boston Magazine, and Amazon. He also picked up corporate commissions in Maine with Bass Shoes, LL Bean, Portland Public Market, and Fun- town Splashtown. Illustration was Corrigan’s metier until 1998, when he teamed up with Jay and Alli- son Villani to launch Local 188 at 685 Con- gress. Corrigan created the whimsical figures and details that adorn the bar and walls. He also curated a gallery of artwork to hang in the restaurant. Rubbing shoulders with a host of fine artists, Corrigan’s mind was made up: “No more illustration.” He remembers resist- ing calls from publications at the time. “I to- tally drowned that in the tub. I wanted more freedom. The deadline situation with illus- trations is ridiculous–sometimes I wouldn’t sleep for two days.” Besides occasional illustration work, like a recent album cover for The Fogcut- ters, painting has taken center stage. Cor- rigan is currently represented by Great Big Artwork Gallery. In the wild, his work can be spotted at “Local 188, LFK, Salvage BBQ, Sonny’s, 33 Elmwood, The Children’s Museum of Maine, Blyth & Burrows, Mayo Street Arts, Speedwell Gallery, and in The Bollard.” In addition to painting, he became in- volved in music and performance art. “Crank Sturgeon, a performance artist I went to school with in Boston, moved to Maine. We collaborated for ten years on various performance projects. We’ve done the ‘The Sacred and Profane’ avant-garde art festival on Peaks Island for several years together. Our collaboration dove- tailed into some of my painting work. 10 Off the Wall Patrick Corrigan doesn’t just think outside the box. He thinks without the box. By diane Hudson Corrigan’s mind was made up: “No more illustration. I totally drowned that in the tub.”