Wednesday, January 6, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
29
Artist draws, builds intricate ship depictions
By Patrick Fancher
Corvallis Gazette-Times
CORVALLIS (AP) —
Patrick Hackleman’s free-
hand drawings of old war-
ships are so finely detailed
they could easily be mistaken
for blueprints.
The 34-year-old Corvallis
native, who was diagnosed as
in the spectrum of autism at a
young age, is receiving atten-
tion from galleries and art
enthusiasts all over the coun-
try for his models and draw-
ings, which are done to scale.
“I started getting into
them (ships) in the third
grade, when we were study-
ing the Titanic,” Hackleman
said.
I started getting into
them (ships) in the third
grade, when we were
studying the Titanic.
— Patrick Hackleman
As Hackleman talked, he
worked on a drawing of the
American Turtle (the first
submersible used in combat)
on his drafting-style table
with a pencil and three-sided
ruler. A model he built of the
U.S.S. Monitor, an ironclad
steam ship from the Civil
War, rested near the top of
his table.
Guided by photographs or
his own drawings, he makes
boat and warship models
from scratch using plastic,
wood and other materials.
When he was younger he
built the pirate ship from
the movie “The Goonies,”
which won a blue ribbon at
the Benton County Fair. He’s
made another one since that
he displays atop a bookshelf
near his work space.
Hackleman’s parents,
George and Kathy, said they
encouraged their son to make
his own models when he
was growing up, because he
would often spot inaccura-
cies in the design of store-
bought model kits of Civil
War, World War I and World
War II boats, warships and
aircraft carriers.
His dad says his son likes
to get things exactly right.
Sometimes, though, that isn’t
easy because accurate records
are not always available.
And, sometimes, sources
that might seem reliable are
mistaken: The two of them
once watched a show about
the history of Japanese
World War II battleships,
and Hackleman immediately
pointed out an error in a
stock photo displayed.
“He looked up and said,
‘That’s the Matsui, not the
Yamato,’” George said.
His parents also took him
on a tour to see the U.S.S.
Texas a few years ago, and
Kathy says he was able to
answer more questions about
the historic battleship than
the tour guide.
Hackleman, who has
lived in a group home since
he was 18, has produced so
many models and scrolls
of drawings over the years
that his parents were unsure
what he could do with all of
them.
Bruce Burris, who for
35 years has helped artists
launch their careers, came
into the picture to help. He
is the director of a program
and studio called ArtWorks,
which works in conjunc-
tion with Collaborative
Employment Innovations
(CEI) to help adults consid-
ered to be disabled with job
placement and provide them
a workstation for art projects.
Hackleman met Burris for
the first time at Cornerstone
Associates, where he’s
worked part-time in a wood
shop since the late 1990s.
On that day, Hackleman
was giving his friends gifts
he had made: Re-illustrated
and rewritten “Sonic the
Hedgehog” comics with
special cases containing a
CD-ROM and inserts. He
said he enjoyed watching
the TV show when he was
younger.
Burris was impressed with
the illustrations and learned
from his colleagues that
Hackleman did more. When
Burris saw Hackleman’s
detailed sketches of ironclad
warships from the Civil War,
he knew there could be a
market for the art.
“You can really see his
hand in them. He creates
them with this idea that they
can still be improved,” Burris
said.
In fact, Hackleman
believes that with certain
modifications, some of the
ships he so painstakingly re-
creates could have avoided
their historical fates.
For example, he wants to
draw up plans for his own
version of the Titanic.
“To him they (boats) are
very much living, breathing
creatures. He sees them in
many ways, perfectly, and as
more than what is there,” said
George Hackleman.
To get an assessment
of just how marketable
Hackleman’s models, com-
ics and warship illustrations
could be, Burris used his art
organization, Outpost1000,
to put together a pop-up
art exhibit at the ArtWorks
building last year. He was
blown away by the reception
the pieces received.
“What you’re seeing with
Patrick, is he uses the pro-
gram as a studio a few days
a week,” Burris said. “He’s
really doing his own thing,
and I’m encouraging him.”
Burris serves as coach for
the artist and tries to create
opportunities for the public
to see Hackleman’s models
and drawings. One gallery on
the East Coast, the Galerie
Christian Berst in New York
(also with a location in Paris)
is handling his warship mod-
els, and has commissioned
more. Hackleman has a the-
ory why.
“The East Coast prob-
ably has pretty big interest in
them, because that’s where
they were built and where
they fought,” he said.
The gallery featured some
of his artwork at its annual
exhibit at the National Art
Dealers Alliance art fair in
Miami earlier this month.
Burris says the models are
particularly popular with this
gallery, and Hackleman has
had to change his approach
of creating due to the high
demand.
“Now we’re working to
build up parts of his inven-
tory that had been sort of
dormant, while he was doing
things of more interest to
him,” Burris said.
This has involved
Hackleman working exclu-
sively on the models and
drawings for the Galerie
Christian Berst, until
December. He began over the
summer.
“Some days he’s grouchy
about the whole thing,”
Burris said.
Hackleman’s work will
be included in the Outsider
Art Fair in New York City in
January, and Burris says two
of his drawings were recently
purchased by a collector in
Washington, D.C.
Hackleman said he’s
very concerned about copy-
right laws, which is why he
gives his “Sonic” comics as
gifts. He has completed two
of five versions of his Sonic
stories (they total more than
1,000 pages), and says he is
planning to write a sequel
story to the animated series
“Bubble Gum Crisis.” He’ll
call the sequel “Bubble Gum
Overload.”
“I may not be expect-
ing profits from the comics,
but the ships are a different
story,” Hackleman says. “I
also like doing it (drawing)
for fun.”
A lot of the time he
communicates through
his drawings. More
recently, he’s done more
with understanding what
people see in his art.
— george Hackleman
His parents say they have
seen maturation in him,
because he’s doing some-
thing he enjoys and people
appreciate the art.
“A lot of the time he
communicates through his
drawings. More recently,
he’s done more with under-
standing what people see in
his art,” George Hackleman
said.
A Partnership
Beyond Your
Expectations
Stop by and visit with Tiana Van Landuyt & Shelley Marsh.
220 S. Pine St., Ste. 102 | 541-548-9180
For Sale By Owner
I/I P T
3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1,750 sq. ft. | Oversize 2-car garage
$349,500 | Call 541-668-5452
All showings by appointment only. Buyer must be qualifi ed or
pre-qualifi ed. For more photos go to Craigslistbend.com
We have
what you’re
looking for!
Jeff Jones
Principal Broker
541-480-7201
jeffjoneslcl@
gmail.com
Linda Brooksby
Broker
541-977-4488
lindabrooksbylcl@
gmail.com
Ross Kennedy
Broker, CDPE
541-408-1343
ross@
myrksolutions.com
Ellen Wood
Broker, GRI, ABR
541-588-0033
woode51@
msn.com
Doug Roberts
Principal Broker
GRI, CRB
541-280-6199
dougrobertsMPS@
gmail.com
Lana Labuda
Principal Broker,
GRI, SFR, SRES
541-408-4144
lana@sisters
properties.com
Kimberly
Gorayeb
Principal Broker
541-639-5551
kiminsisters@
gmail.com
Suzanne Carvlin
Broker, RSPS,
E-PRO, GRI, ABR
541-595-8707
Suzanne@
HomeInSisters.com
Scan to visit
our website
and view all of
our listings!
541-588-6614
290 E. Cascade Ave.
Mon-Fri, 9 am-5 pm
Sat 10 am-4 pm
metoliuspropertysales.com