RIP Patrick Sanders: creative collaborator and illustrator for the Monster Music Improv

It is with great sadness that we learned about the death of Patrick Sanders, an illustrator and performer based in Belfast who IMC had worked with on many occasions in recent years..

Patrick's skills and talents as a graphic illustrator meant he was the perfect choice for our Monster Music Improv show for young audiences, which we developed in partnership with The Ark over the past two years. That project culminated in the recent nationwide Monster Music Improv tour where Patrick, along with vocalist Lauren Kinsella and guitarist Shane Latimer, delighted young audiences across Ireland with their unique blend of improvised music and live visuals in a vibrant showcase of their collective talents.

In many ways it was due to Patricks unique skillset as an illustrator as well as his extensive experience working with young audiences, that provided the impetus and basis for Monster Music itself.

A true gentleman and warm, wonderful person, Patrick was a pleasure to know and work with at every stage of this much-loved project.

Outside the multitude of his performance based work, Patrick was also a gifted cartoonist-in-residence at meetings, workshops and focus groups. His knack for graphically outlining the core elements of ongoing dialogue, condensing a whirlwind of thoughts and ideas into simple images, rapidly defusing debates or highlighting sentiment by his often humorous depictions, demonstrated his considerable skills of understanding, interpretation and empathy. Patrick could succinctly extract and rapidly translate hours of discussion into the universal language of imagery, which he did wonderfully at our first Jazz Futures conference at 12 Points in 2013, resulting in a charming comic book which delighted bith musicians and delegates and many of our colleagues throughout Europe. Patrick was the embodiment of the fact that a picture can speak a thousand words, and he will be greatly missed by all who knew him. The team at IMC send their utmost condolances to Patrick's family and friends.