Creativity, Spontaneity and Shift in Identity: An Interview with Patendoyart
- Faramade Olaitan
- May 14
- 4 min read
Patendoyart: "I think the fact that even one single person has told me that they're inspired by the work I create is enough to keep me creating."
Patendoyart is Nigerian abstract motif artist and designer based in London. The painter's paten motif which she started drawing in 2022 appears across a wide variety of mediums from canvas to clothing. “Paten is one of my nicknames, it's a nice coincidence that paten sound a bit like pattern.”
She says though she does not have an education in art she has “always been a little creative. I played around with art to relieve stress in university. I would paint landscapes, nothing too complex.
“I picked it back up while I was working a PR job. I had some friends convince me that it's something people would buy, enjoy and people would use.”
The artist says she was first attracted to abstract because, “when I had not painted for a while and started again, I felt that I hadn't attempted abstract, and because there's no wrong way to do it, I was drawn to it.
“And so, my first paten appeared. It almost became a bit of an addiction. I just kept reproducing the similar motif until I figured out exactly how I wanted it to be and how I wanted to reproduce it.” she says.
The artist says she leaves her work open to the interpretation of the viewer, “I like to hear whatever interpretation they have of the artwork. For most people I speak to, they vibe with the fluidity and the dynamism. It's always so interesting to get new perspectives, because with abstract work, I believe there's no right answer per se.
“I can paint an eye and it's an eye, and everybody will see that, but with something like paten it's whatever your heart leads you to think it is. I really love to hear different interpretations of my work and what people feel and think about when they see it.”
She adds that, “To me, paten is about the dynamism of life and how we're constantly changing between different phases of our lives and meeting new people and experiencing new places.”
The designer says what inspires her to create is her community, “The Patenverse. I think I've currently built something that's bigger than me. Even when I may not want to create, or feel inspired, I realize that it's beyond me now. I don't have a choice, I have to create.
“I think the fact that even one single person has told me that they're inspired by the work I create is enough to keep me creating.”
Patendoyart says her greatest triumph artistically was, "definitely my first exhibition, I pulled it together and planned it. It just kind of came to be and I sold out.
“It was a real moment where I felt ‘okay, there's no way I can deny being an artist anymore. I have had an exhibition, and I have sold all my paintings. My artwork is going to be hanging in people's homes now.’
“I felt a real shift in my identity, because suddenly friends or whoever I would meet would be asking me about my artwork.”
The transition from working on canvas to different mediums, “was very natural for me, because I'm someone who will hyper fixate on something for a while and then get bored of it. Luckily for me I had the desire to put paten on everything and see how it looked.
“It has allowed me to extend the time before boredom of each medium. Because there's so many ways to express the motif, I haven't come across that wall yet, where I don't want to do this anymore.”
Speaking about her process she says “I like to do whatever it is myself first before mass production, so with ceramics, with tufting, with even the Adire fabric, I will learn how to make the paten myself on that medium. For the most part, it's born out of spontaneity.”
She adds that in recent years however, “it's based on commission.”
The artist says when it comes to productivity large burst of creativity, “but once I'm done, I have to just calm down and not do anything.
“What I thought was creative block, a lot of the time, was burnout. I can't just ignore it I have to acknowledge it.
“I'm learning to plan my year around this pattern and not beat myself up. A lot of the time it's your nervous system just telling you need to rest.
“If you don't, whatever else you're going to create is not going to be at the best of your capability.”
On her career shift the designer says, “I went and found a very cheap studio somewhere in West London, so all my art things were in the same place, but then I realized I was wasting that rent money, because I was not going after work, I was exhausted. Once December 2022 came around, I wanted to quit.
“Once I did, I had no choice, I had to make something of myself and hope that all the pieces lined up.”
Paten's advice for anyone in a similar situation is to “weigh your options. I'm not going to deny the incredible support I have from my parents and my friends.
“The fact that I had people take me seriously and engage with me that first time around and buy artwork from somebody who they had no idea whether would be doing art the next week, it was a huge confidence booster.”
“And then my parents, just want to see their children do great. They're very happy and willing to support and give advice and give financial backing within reason. Knowing I had that net beneath me, means I was able to go all in from the start.”
She says “we may not all be artists, but I think we're all creatives, our souls really love to create. So even if you don't have any plans to make a career out of your creativity, I'd say explore it on the side. It's a great release from life's ups and downs, and I don't think there's a wrong way to create.”
Patendoyart says she plans to have a pop up in London from June 13th -14th as well as a new collection to be exhibited between September to October of this year.
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