Owen “Pencilneck” Garratt is an artist and musician born in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Background
Owen Garratt was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, the only child of Gary and Susan Garratt. Gary and Susan divorced in 1971 and Owen lived with his mother until her death in a plane crash in January, 1982. He then moved to Wawota, Saskatchewan to live with his father, who farmed and worked on oil rigs.
His father’s involvement in the oil drilling industry established the ties that would lead to Owen being persuaded to draw oilfield-related pictures later in his career.
Education
Owen attended high school in Wawota until his graduation in 1986.
Career
Owen Garratt began drumming at high-school in Wawota. At 15 he began a two week European tour with a combined United States. – Canadian concert band, and at age 18 was awarded a scholarship to attend a music camp in Evje, Norway. After attending college he went on to play with various bands throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Although Garratt is now a full time artist, he still devotes some of his time to playing music
He has recently been involved in co-writing and recording the music for a reality television show, centred on his own life. Garratt is also the Drum Sergeant for the Spruce Grove Fire-fighter’s Pipe and Drum Band.
Due to partial color-blindness, Garratt creates black and white drawings using graphite, chalk and charcoal. His subjects are largely taken from North American culture – featuring the oil and gas industries, agricultural scenes, and wild life.
Garratt believes that “The world wants its artists to climb above the tree-line, slay the dragon, and come back to tell the tale.”.