Patrick W. Welch (1 July 1965 – 16 October 2008) was an English painter, illustrator, cartoonist, and art professor who lived in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
In 1993 Welch gained cult status for "The Hippogryph Files," a series of graphic short stories that appeared in The Baffler, Pulse!, and numerous comics anthologies, as well as being printed as postcards.
He is perhaps best known for his "Miniature Hate Paintings," which evoke a strange combination of childhood nightmare and adult neurosis, drawing on references from contemporary fine art, comic books, and science fiction.
Commenting in Chicago's Newcity critic Michael Workman writes: "Welch has been on a ride into the infinite regress of his distaste for human existence for years now, and it's a testament to his obduration that he's managed to keep lively each self-reference as the fecal discharge of famous mainstream artists.
Every time I encounter these paintings, it's never the frothy sense of loathing that wins me over, but the undeniable, laugh-out-loud funny humor of them all, an aspect of the work that no doubt has the capacity to elevate them even further into that stratosphere of the imaginary world beyond."
Though not a naturally gifted sportsman, Patrick determined in the 1990s to not only learn the game of soccer but become, for a short time, one of its most feared and respected exponents on the London amateur scene.
From 1991 to 1995, initially shod with Wellington boots, but progressing to professional-level footwear, he was a battling midfielder noted for aggression rather than celerity, appearing for the Sao Paolo XI at Hurlingham Park.