Background
After his mother died when he was seven years old Patrick spent most of his time in boarding schools in Red Lake and Pipestone, Minnesota.
After his mother died when he was seven years old Patrick spent most of his time in boarding schools in Red Lake and Pipestone, Minnesota.
Born to Solomon and Elizabeth Blake DesJarlait, Patrick DesJarlait was the fourth of seven children. As a child Patrick spent a lot of his time wandering through the woods alone or with friends. The experiences that he had in the forests around his home often became the subject matter of his drawings that he had done as a child.
Red Lake High School is where he first developed an interest in an art career, with the encouragement from his English teacher, Mission Ross.
After completing his high school education, he went on to study art at Arizona State College in Phoenix. A year later, during World World War II, DesJarlait entered government service, where he was sent to teach an art workshop at a nearby Japanese Relocation Camp.
"In the observation what was happening to the Japanese people in America which reminded him what had happened to his own people. Months later Patrick joined the United States Navy, which sent him to San Diego, California. there working with artist from Walt Disney Studios he worked animated and produced films for the Navy." After World World War II ended, Patrick returned home to Red Lake where he focused more on his artwork.
A short time later, the DesJarlait family moved to the Twin Cities.
Patrick found employment as a commercial artist. "Because of his experience of working with films he was chosen to make an animated television commercial for Hamm"s Brewery. Soon, the comical and gentle Hamm"s Beer bear, he created became a familiar part in the lives of television audiences of the 1950"." "By creating the Hamm"s bear commercial artist this opened him up to do more commercial art where he created the Land O" Lakes butter maiden.".
He is a member of the Red Lake Ojibwa.