Patricia Dattoma
As a lifelong New Yorker, I am surrounded by all types of sensory stimulation. I have come to realize through my creative practice that my environment informs my work, both consciously and subconsciously. Using acrylic paint, inks, and occasionally mixed media, I explore a sense of place and feeling through color, shape, and texture. My inspiration comes from my life in NYC, where the seemingly chaotic sights and sounds produce a rhythm and harmony that emerge abstractly onto my canvas. When I need a break from city life, I also draw inspiration from the beaches of the West Coast and the desert landscape of the American Southwest.
Through my work, which is primarily influenced by NYC, I try to find the beauty in the chaos. I use color to convey the feeling of excitement that the city has to offer. My process can be intuitive, while sometimes revealing representational glimpses of buildings, water towers, or desert formations, depending on my location. I have a great love for NYC, am continually inspired by it, and always find something new here to inform my work.
Contact
www.subscribepage.io/PatriciaD
Patriciadattoma@patriciadattoma.art
@patricia_dattoma.art
Interview
What inspires your art practice and keeps you motivated?
As a lifelong New Yorker, I am surrounded by all types of sensory stimulation. It is this sensory stimulation that informs my work. I keep my phone handy, ready to snap a photo of something that catches my eye. That could be anything from the colors of the billboards and lights in Times Square, a doorway with peeling paint, a stoop in need of repair, to the many water towers I see outside my studio window. The feelings that these things evoke for me play out abstractly onto my canvas. My mission as an artist is to find the beauty in things that are often neglected or overlooked. I have a great love for NYC. I am continually inspired by it and always find something new to inform my work.
Can you share a key part of your creative process that helps you stay focused?
Staying focused can be a challenge at times, but I have found that dedicating a specific, non-negotiable timeframe each day to my creative practice works for me. I turn off all distractions and make sure to have some type of goal for the day. This goal could be a hard and fast goal, such as developing a specific color palette for a new body of work, or a looser goal, such as simply continuing to work on a painting.
What mindset tip do you rely on to overcome challenges in your art career?
I have learned that mindset is a very important part of being an artist. I try my best to focus on my work and my core values—believing that only I can create the work that I create. There is no point in comparing myself to anyone else, as everyone has their own unique lived experiences, creative process, artist mission, and path. Besides my painting practice, I find that journaling, meditation, and my gym routine really help me stay in alignment.
How do you hope your art impacts the world or your community?
My art practice has helped me stay in the present moment by seeing what is around me and expressing the beauty in what I see via my abstract paintings. I hope my art helps people slow down and notice the beauty in the everyday, the beauty in the neglected or overlooked. My hope is that my art evokes feelings of surprise, curiosity, excitement, and appreciation. There is so much power in art, not only for the artist, but for the viewer as well.
