I, Patrick Roberts, am a 67 year old artist who is currently visually impaired. 

I was born and raised up The Hill in Laventille, Port of Spain Trinidad, the birthplace of the Trinidad Carnival. Consequently, my first immersion into art was with the mas of the legendary Desperadoes Steelband cum Orchestra.  My home was approximately 400 meters from the Desperadoes panyard, and from as early as four years old, I often went to their panyard at Carnival time to marvel at the wonders of the mas in illustration that came to life in costume.

After passing the Common Entrance Examination, I entered Queens Royal College (QRC) in 1969. Three years later, I fell deeper in love with Art, mainly because of the tuition of ‘Jackie’ Hinkson, and later Keith Swanston. I decided then in 1972 that I wanted to be an artist. 

After Ordering Level success, I became the first in-house QRC student to do and graduate with a pass in Art at the Advanced Level. 

I went on to have certification in Graphic Design from The Johnson S Donaldson Technical Institute, now The Creativity Campus of the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), and much much later from The University of the West Indies, with a major in Carnival Studies and a minor in Visual Art. 
 
I designed my first Trinidad Carnival band in 1979, and held my first Art Exhibition in 1981. That exhibition was held at the QRC Hall. Mas and Art became inseparable for me.  

Through Art and Mas, I have been able to show my work locally, regionally and internationally, in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. 
 
Through those two artistic loves of mine, I have been able to teach and lecture at the secondary and tertiary levels at home in Trinidad, as well as overseas in the USA and Western and Southern Africa.  
 
For over two decades, I was torn between the visual arts of painting and drawing, as against Trinidad Carnival costume design and production. However, from 2001, that divorce was healed and now my mas heavily influences amy painting and vice versa. The marriage is exceedingly strong. 

Further, I wrote the curriculum blueprint that has become the UTT Masters in Carnival Studies, pioneered The Mas Academy, was one of the four founders of the current body responsible for Mas in Trinidad, and served as its fourth President.  
 
I have also published two books so far. The first is entitled ‘Iron Love – A Story of the Desperadoes Steel Orchestra’. It is a triangular love story between Laventille, Desperadoes and I.
 
The second book treats with glaucoma and I. It is named ‘The Windows-A Conversation with Glaucoma’. Both books have reproductions of my paintings. There are other manuscripts on the drawing board. 
 
Now that I have lost all of the sight in my right eye and some in the left through glaucoma, advocacy for eye care has become the latest offspring.  Advocacy, that I now call ‘Advocasee’, is the baby that like new born infants, currently demands my artistic attention in mas and painting. 
 
The ‘Windows’ book uses windows from ‘Up The Hill’, to tell the story of glaucoma living with me. The next publication in that rich vein is ‘Odyssee -Another Conversation with Glaucoma’. It uses Homer’s Odyssey as a metaphor for the 50 abstract acrylic paintings of 2025, to continue telling the story of me and my glaucoma. 

Advocasee has shown me a whole different world. Love is really blind.