Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Patricia Sonnino. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Patricia , thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I knew I wanted to be an artist from a very early age, from the time I made my first painting with finger paints. Of course, I had no idea what that meant but my love for creating has not left me from that moment. Growing up we were surrounded by books, paintings, and music. Some of my parents’ closest friends were painters and our neighbor was a sculptor who threw his unwanted works into the alley behind our house. It was a treasure trove. My brothers and I were pirates appropriating and repurposing these exotic items for our garden.

After high school, I went to a liberal arts college to study art and architecture. I became an architect but continued studying art and making my own work. Many of my friends stopped making paintings or drawings after they began working professionally and have since expressed regret. Architecture and design was a creative path with exciting challenges but staying engaged with my own work was nourishing and most important to me. That ongoing engagement is why I’m an artist today.

Patricia , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

When I began working freelance as an architect, I had the flexibility that allowed an increased focus on painting and developing as an artist. I continued to study and spent more time in my studio. I began building a body of work, entering juried shows and applying for artist residencies. I attended artists’ residencies where space and time away from home heightened the pace of studio work. These challenged me and put me to in close contact and conversation with other artists. This kind of community is most important to an artist both as an antidote to solitary studio work and as the occasion for creative exchange.

I live in a city with a large, active art community, where courses and workshops in a wide range of art disciplines are available. I used vacations from my architectural job to attend workshops, for example, on a ranch in Utah run by university professors and once in Stinson Beach California. Libraries and bookstores were also storehouses of information and inspiration. Once, in collaboration with a friend, I organized a painting workshop in Rome where we could also spend time with a great teacher. I was looking for new tools and materials and new ways of looking and thinking about art.

My paintings are abstract and rooted in color. I am currently exploring natural environments, looking for hidden structural threads in submerged grids of oyster farms or labyrinthian shapes of branching trees. I am mapping estuaries and woods looking for underlying patterns in the flicker of constant movement and change. I am seeking to mark moments to capture a feeling of enchantment.

I am proud of all my accomplishments but one that was important came out of a friendship I developed at the Willapa Bay AIR. From that contact came my first invitation for a solo exhibit and this was a watershed moment for me. Seeing my paintings in a large gallery space and engaging with gallery visitors was both enjoyable and sparked new ideas.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of creation for me are the moments when my mind and hand are in perfect balance. In those moments the work flows and time seems to stop. These moments feel like magic but the work leading up to them though, is not straight forward. Sometimes it involves research, where I am looking for a glimmer of inspiration. Or sometimes it involves making a lot of sketches and collages to find a place to start. Sometimes sweeping the floor, cleaning my desk, mixing new colors, or going for a walk can open up new directions. The important things are showing up, suspending judgement, leaving myself open for possibilities, and remembering to play.

Exhibiting my work is both exciting and enjoyable. An exhibition marks the culmination and effort of several years. Seeing my paintings hanging formally in a gallery space offers some distance from it and helps me see it more objectively. This enables me to move my work forward with more insight.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

We can directly support artists by becoming collectors, by going to exhibits, telling others about the artists we admire and sharing on social media. These are all easy, rewarding ways to contribute to a creative ecosystem and help it thrive.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.patriciasonnino.com
• Instagram: @seenbypat
• Facebook: @psonnino
• Linkedin: @psonnino

Image Credits

Photos of artwork by John Janca

Studio photo by Ellen Burgin