bio: written with hand on quill and tongue in cheek.

c.w.pates was raised on a tiny island called walney in n.w. england. in his first year at art school he was told that if he persisted studying fine art he would die painfully of consumption in a badly lit attic.  as a consequence he  graduated from birmingham art college in england with an honours degree in graphics and cinematography.

to pay for his life of gesso and paint, he secured employment in new york city at a music tabloid, a german photo periodical, the N.Y.T., and lastly at the most famous magazine in the world.
during his twelve years at LIFE he honed his teaching skills as an associate of journalism at columbia university in manhattan, where he taught post-graduate students the skills required to produce a magazine in their home countries.

to escape the internet induced decline of photojournalism, he relocated to los angeles to set up a graphics consultancy business called set square studios. while there the space and light lead him to a painting series he calls grids and atmospheres, which were successfully exhibited in lyon france.

the journey from england to nyc and los angeles boomeranged  back to manhattan, and franconia n.h., where as the v.p. of creative for garnet hill, he turned a small home catalog into a fashion and shelter eyeball pleaser. in so doing he was instrumental in more than doubling the size of the company and expanded the disciplines he learned in photojournalism and applying them to directing and photographing a bevy of talent on locations worldwide.

as of this scribbling he has reduced his moving about, and spends his time making photographs, recording his radio show - worldwide wireless, and getting acrylic paint on his clothes.
his latest series of canvases is called textures, and is based on the view from his studio window.

music site available at
soundcloud.com/patestapes
email at
patestapes@gmail.com