Pat Service was born and raised on the west coast of Canada. After early years in the Alberni valley on Vancouver Island, the family moved to Victoria where Service completed her elementary and secondary schooling. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia before travelling and living in Scotland, Venezuela and Ottawa. Upon return to Vancouver she began to paint full-time.In Scotland Service studied with Scottish artist William Crosbie, who taught her to ‘learn by doing’. Developing the habit of regular hours in the studio, she also spent time looking at local artists, old masters, and international names, all of this having a painterly effect on her work. Later, through encounters in northern Saskatchewan at the Emma Lake Workshop for Professional Artists, she met many dedicated landscape and abstract painters who have had a supportive and lasting influence on her art practice. Imaginative portraits and still life paintings have always been a part of her practice, however Service is best known for her interpretive landscapes. These can range from views of specific sites to generalized locations, on a large scale or in smaller personalized moments. About fifteen years ago she began to simplify the references to nature in these paintings. By eliminating detail she was able to be more inventive with colour, at the same time retaining the importance of the quality of the brushstrokes and the tension of the surfaces.Service has exhibited across Canada since the early 1980’s, in particular in Toronto, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. Represented exclusively by Oeno Gallery in Prince Edward County since 2021, she previously exhibited for many years with the Wade Gallery in Los Angeles. Through numerous solo and group exhibitions over the past 38 years, Service’ paintings have been placed in collections in Canada, Britain, The United States, and Asia.