Story: Skoff

Two years ago pieces of art began popping up, on the streets of Chicago. At first people looked and kept walking. Eventually, someone would pick up the artwork-and that was always the intention of Patrick Skoff, the artist who leaves free artwork for people to find.

“I like giving away my art for free because it should be accessible to everyone…I’ve never tried to get my work into a gallery and I don’t want to, because people shouldn’t have to feel that they need to ‘get it’…it’s about having and enjoying it.” This unpretentious type of mentality fits with Skoff’s personality. He paints while top 40 station, 103.5 Kiss FM blares in the background and even lets me choose the color palette for a piece that was commissioned by a Southside café. A year ago he began working with Sam Brown, 20, who acts as co-artist and partner; “she keeps me relevant” he says. He does not fit into the stereotypical mold of ‘artist,’ and that is mirrored by the way he which he distributes it.

With the rise of social media, Skoff is now able to more effectively communicate his idea of providing everyone with free art by conducting hunts in where people search for his paintings based on pictures sent from his Twitter account; his Facebook account is used to provide a diary account of what he is working on and past accomplishments. Both have served to not only create publicity for him but to also connect him with people willing to pay for his work.

Nowadays, Skoff is able to support himself solely through painting. A year ago he was able to quit his landscaping day-job to focus solely on painting. That does not mean that he is able to paint all day long, carefree. In order to make ends meets Skoff rents out his house while he lives in the garage. He does however realize how ‘fortunate [he] is to have done things [his] way and have things work out.’ Because of that, he intends to take his idea of providing free art for all-far beyond Chicago.

Skoff explains that he wants to begin a cross country trip in where he leaves his artwork all over the US. “I have people as far as New Hampshire asking me when I’m going to do one of my Twitter hunts out there…I want to take the van and drive all across the US providing people with free art.”

His work and concept is gaining momentum. The last two months he has seen his work appear in Shedd Aquarium’s Art Sharks, the Chicago Tribune and earlier in the week he filmed a segment for WTTW. And whereas before his artwork use to sit waiting for someone to come, now people come sprinting up and arguments have occurred over who gets to take the art home.

Now that his hunts in Chicago are getting so big, he cannot even drive his own car because people follow him. Perhaps he should take that as an indication that it is time to take the hunts nationwide. Skoff seems confident that this too will work out. He reasons that “people aren’t buying what I’m selling-they’re buying what I’m doing.”