I’m excited today to share with you some information about retired Chancellor Ed Patten. I recently wrote this article for the Copiah Monitor . . .
Retired chancellor Ed Patten of Hazlehurst traded a robe for a paint brush a few years ago and has never looked back. Patten retired at the end of 2018 after 41 years of service in the court system, with the past 20 serving as chancellor of the 15th Chancery District, covering Copiah and Lincoln counties.
He was born in South Carolina and came to Mississippi with his family when his father, who was in the military, retired and settled in his hometown of Dexter in Walthall County. Patten attended Pearl River Community College and then obtained a degree in pharmacy from the University of Mississippi in 1975. After working as a pharmacist for a little while, he decided it was not what he wanted to do so he went to law school.
Upon graduating law school in 1977 and gaining admission to practice, he joined the firm of Armstrong and Hoffman when he and his wife, Jacqui, moved to Hazlehurst in 1978. He was elected to the 15th Chancery District in November 1998. He has not completely given up the legal profession, however. He still handles mediations and has senior status judging.
He has enjoyed being retired and is now able to devote more time to one of his newfound passions – painting. He credits two things for turning him to art. One, fellow artist and Chancellor John Grant in Rankin County who is a talented oil painter sparked his interest when he showed Patten some of his artwork. Patten wondered if maybe that was something he could do.
The other was when his sister asked him to take an adult enrichment class with her at Millsaps College. He took botanical drawing and then a watercolor class right before he had knee replacement surgery. He thought it might be something he could do while recovering. He admits he was starting at square one, having no idea what he was doing but he knew it was something he wanted to try. Luckily, he did get the knack of it and he has been painting ever since.
Patten loves escaping in his artwork, fully immersing himself in the planning, thinking, and painting. He prefers watercolors because of the way they flow and not having complete control of the outcome. He paints a variety of subjects including people, animals, and especially birds.
Art must run in the family. Patten’s daughter, Katherine P. Carpenter, is also a noted artist. She has degrees from Mississippi College and the University of Mississippi and teaches art classes in Ocean Springs. A few years ago he entered some of his paintings in a competition held by the Brookhaven Regional Arts Guild and won first and third places in watercolor. This was his first competition. He has painted hundreds of pieces, donating some to charity for auctions and countless commissioned pieces. He looks forward to continuing to enjoy retirement and painting and seeing what new pieces are in store.
