Patric Stillman in his element (Courtesy photo)
Art | Hillcrest
Patric Stillman Brings Creative Energy to Hillcrest at The Studio Door
By Frank Sabatini Jr.
What appears to be a spacious neighborhood art gallery turns out to be something much greater once you mosey further inside The Studio Door.
Spread throughout this 4,300-square-foot structure are the talented individuals who produce some of the artwork you see. You’ve essentially entered into their rented work studios (17 of them to be exact), which gives visitors the added bonus of seeing artists in creative motion.
Minnesota native Patric Stillman sunk his life savings into launching The Studio Door in 2014. An accomplished artist in his own right, he initially opened in North Park, where he resides, but later moved the business to Hillcrest for double the space.
As a board member of the Hillcrest Business Association, he was also instrumental in developing “Mural Alley” located behind The Studio Door, and helped establish a monthly art crawl in the neighborhood.
We recently caught up with Stillman shortly after he began sharing a retrospective look at his art through a series of Facebook postings titled, “Behind the Easel.” (Trust us, they’re a refreshing break from political rants and the daily doings of your friend’s pet turtle.)
Downtown Condo Guys:When did you move to San Diego? And how long did it take you to get involved in the local art scene?
Stillman: I’ve been in San Diego for a couple of decades and worked in social services during my first five years. I started out with participating in the launch of Townspeople, which was San Diego’s first independent living facility for people with HIV/AIDS. Then in my 40s, I decided to re-embrace my creativity, which I had put on hold for quite a long time. At that point, I started developing my own interest in art through photography and painting on canvases.
Downtown Condo Guys:In what mediums of art do you prefer to work?
Stillman: I like to play in different media—photography, painting, sculpture, and mixed media.
Downtown Condo Guys: How and when did you discover your creativity?
Stillman: I was encouraged at a very young age to embrace creativity by my mother. She was a homemaker who enjoyed home crafts and gardening. Throughout my school years, I excelled in all forms of creative endeavors—visual art, writing, and performance art. But as I entered the career world, I felt the need to be a businessman with a ‘real job.’ So I denied my creativity for many years by weaving my way through international business and social services.
Downtown Condo Guys: What are some pride-and-joy artworks you’ve created as an adult?
Stillman: I had an untitled photograph exhibited at The Louvre in Paris for a juried show. It was a shot I took on a wet day at the top of Pike’s Peak. The rain had just stopped and everything was kind of moody and glistening.
I painted a life-size sculpted cow (acrylic on acrylic) named Milkshake for the Got Milk campaign for Ronald McDonald’s camp for kids with cancer.
And locally, I did a three-piece canvas mural titled ‘Pride and Protest’ that is exhibiting at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park. It’s 15 feet wide, 10 feet tall, and part of the San Diego LGBTQ+ exhibition, which started in 2018.
Downtown Condo Guys: What prompted you to start The Studio Door?
Stillman: It satisfies my need to serve the community. Part of the goal is to support the community by utilizing my business skills and creative talents.
Downtown Condo Guys: Do the 17 work spaces inside The Studio Door vary in size? And what type of rental agreements do you offer?
Stillman: They range from 100 to 200 square feet. The artists rent from month to month. They have 24-hour access to the studio, and they’re allowed to sell directly. I’m a strong believer in creative commerce—the selling of art. So I mentor artists on the business side of the marketplace. I curate the main gallery, but the studio artists are encouraged to have receptions for their patrons and friends.
Downtown Condo Guys: So the business doubles as a public art gallery?
Stillman: Yes. There are rotating exhibits that change out on a monthly basis, and I have national shows, which allow local artists to exhibit alongside their contemporaries. It helps raise awareness of San Diego’s art community. We’re open to visitors from noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, or by appointment.
Downtown Condo Guys: How does the San Diego art scene differ from those in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York?
Stillman: Public awareness of San Diego’s talent is somewhat unrecognized, which makes it challenging for our artists to move beyond local. The commonality is that we’re all chasing the tastes of our patrons and trying to match our voices to their personal collections.
Downtown Condo Guys: Where do you see San Diego’s art scene headed in a post-Covid world?
Stillman: What we’ve learned from Covid is that as artists, we don’t have the luxury of stopping. We have to market ourselves, innovate, and collaborate. The future is in those three things.
