Patrick O’Brien was a draftsman in a naval architecture firm and earned a degree in biology from the University of Virginia before attending art school. For almost twenty years he was a freelance illustrator, specializing in historic and prehistoric subjects. He has worked with such clients as National Geographic, Newsweek magazine, The Discovery Channel, The Smithsonian, The American Museum of Natural History, and the U.S. Naval Institute. His artwork has appeared in magazines and newspapers, on posters and greeting cards, and even on billboards.

Mr. O’Brien has written and illustrated nine non-fiction books for children. These include The Great Ships, Duel of the Ironclads, and The Mutiny on the Bounty. You can see more about these books on the children's books pages of this website.

In 2003 he entered the marine art field. His first entry to the annual Mystic International Marine Art Exhibition won an Award of Excellence, and in 2007 his work was used as the cover image for the catalog of the show. His marine paintings have appeared in The Artist's Magazine and on the cover of Naval History magazine, and he was the subject of a four page cover article in Sea History magazine. In 2008, a production team making a documentary for The History Channel filmed O'Brien working in his studio.

In the fall of 2007, O'Brien had a one-man show of Civil War paintings at a gallery in Virginia. Three weeks after the show closed, the gallery was destroyed following a devastating fire. Some of O’Brien’s paintings were lost or damaged.

O'Brien had two solo exhibitions of his paintings in 2008, at the Union League Club in New York City, and at the Annapolis Marine Art Gallery.

O'Brien has delivered a lecture entitled Recreating the Age of Fighting Sail at the opening of the Modern Marine Masters show at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, and at The Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore.

Mr. O’Brien is available for commission. He has created many commissioned paintings for private individuals as well as for such clients as:

- National Geographic Television
- Navy Federal Credit Union
- the U.S. Coast Guard
- ExxonMobile

His marine art is also available for sale in the art galleries shown on the galleries page.