Pat is a graduate of the American Academy of Art and began his professional career as a graphic artist, moving from his first job as an illustrator for the Yellow Pages to joining various advertising agencies and eventually opening his own business, Collins Advertising Arts. Upon retirement from his business, he returned to his first love, painting, and gravitated towards watercolors, which he enjoyed as a young artist. He finds working in that medium fresh, spontaneous and lively.

Since renewing his painting, Pat has participated in many shows, including several shows at the College of Lake County Robert T. Wright Community Gallery of Art in Grayslake. He was also featured in a couple of one-man shows at the Warren Newport Library in Gurnee, and included in exhibits at the Scholl Gallery located at the Chicago Medical School in North Chicago and the Norris Gallery's "Watercolor '06", "Watercolor '07" and "Watercolor '08" in St. Charles, IL. He has also taken part in numerous exhibits sponsored by the Lakes Region Watercolor Guild (LRWG), of which he is a member.