Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Patrick (3Patch) Oliver . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Patrick (3Patch) thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

If I could go back and tell myself ANYTHING about my art, painting, and business it’d be to start developing a way to make money off your passion so you can become self sustaining, thus giving you more time to do what you love – creating art. All without sacrificing the work as a whole of course. But, if I had started making art prints and clothing of my work 6 years ago when I was 18… I’d be in a way more comfortable position now and probably another tax bracket. But, that’s okay, I’m still happy with where my business is at currently and all I can do is move forward.

I began painting when I was 18 after finding myself lost and in a very dark place. I had just been through some extreme emotional and spiritual turmoil and was questioning reality, my purpose, and what it was that I believed about life. There was so much going on internally, but I didn’t know how to bring it to the surface. One day I randomly asked my mom (a retired elementary school art teacher) for some painting supplies and after a few painting sessions, I fell in love. Being able to bring those trapped thoughts into manifestation with a paint brush began to help me understand what was going on in my head (especially looking back years later). It was as if a weight was beginning to be lifted off my heart. In those early moments with painting, I knew this would be something I’d do the rest of my life.
I continued to paint for a couple years then began taking art and painting classes. My first notable art class was a watercolor I class at Collin County Community College taught by a Ukrainian watercolorist. After my time at Collin, I transfered to UNT where I pursued a degree in Entrepreneurship and a minor in Painting & Drawing. I learned a lot of techniques from my Painting & Drawing minor which helped me become a better well rounded artist. I graduated with a BBA in Entrepreneurship and a minor in Panting & Drawing last December 2021.

For painting in my mind, one of the most essential skills is to create from your heart no matter what’s going on in there

I wish I would’ve realized there are ways to make money with art sooner, but everything comes in its own time.

Patrick (3Patch), 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?

My style with painting seems to continue to rotate and portray ideas of spirituality, my religion (Christianity), and questions I have in life. Like, how do I play into God’s plan? Why have I experienced ultra vivid dreams where I’ve been in heaven or thought that God reached down, spoke to me, and touched my heart? Why are mushrooms so revealing of the human psyche and allow you to understand things about yourself you hadn’t realized prior? How can I paint something so cool to make the badass chick in my art class fall in love with me? That last one was a joke but you get the point.
Or my paintings will portray experiences I’ve had in the past like: studying abroad in Costa Rica, climbing a mountain in Colorado with my best friends since elementary school, and portraying a dream I had where tornadoes were surrounding me and I felt as if I was going to be consumed into spinning anxiety.
My paintings typically reveal the things in life that are close to my heart.

I started selling my art prints and clothing at events last August. Selling my prints and clothing have been a huge hit for my business and have put me in a position to be successful and currently self-employed at 24. I still remember one of my first “serious” successful vending events: Punks & Painters at Killer’s Taco’s in Denton, TX, October 2021. I made $700 in about 6 hours selling clothing and prints of my paintings. I was astonished. I was finishing up my last semester college during that period of time and was also serving at a burger restaurant. But in that moment….when I made that much money in one night…. I knew I could make this shit work. So I kept on finding more and more events and communities to become apart of and vend at. This kept my business and profits steadily climbing. I wouldn’t be where I’m at today without those communities and people I met while vending. Most notably the communities of: Punks & Painters, Every Witch Way, SpeakEasy, Rubber Gloves, and the Denton Maker’s Fest at Armadillo Ale Works. For people and other artisans: Skelton Key Crafts, Pinned Ptera, Angelic Vortex, Woolen Witch Crafts, Denton Community Market, and more. Like I said, I wouldn’t be self employed and where I’m at without the support of others and the Denton community. You can find me vending at the Denton Community Market every Saturday from 9AM-1PM selling my prints, painting, and Flow Era clothing.

I started making clothing for my brand Flow Era during August 2020. Flow Era is a concept clothing brand that seeks to inspire a balance in life, similar to Taoist beliefs. You cannot have good without bad; bad without good. Life without death. Joy without pain. Beliefs that are implemented into Flow Era’s style. The hope of the brand is to promote a flow of life rather than rushing from life into death. I had a business partner back then named Joshua Tsang, we were roommates and both attended UNT. We were also both artists. Josh, a more digital artist and graphic designer and me, the painter. He was the first one to introduce tie dying to me, which became a staple for Flow Era. We had goals to drop new clothing and designs every two weeks, which I confidentially say were able to do whilst attending college as well. Josh ended up moving back to Austin while I stayed in Denton but still helps with designs sometimes. I’ve kept the brand growing and moving forward since we parted ways back in August 2021.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I feel a lot of times people struggle to understand WHY I’d want to be an artist and have a creative company. The questions I’d ask them is: Do you want your own company? Wouldn’t you rather work for yourself than take orders from someone else? What would life look like if you were your own boss and doing EXACTLY what YOU wanted to be doing? Imagine if all the decisions you made for your career went to benefit YOU and not someone else sitting at the top who you’ll probably never meet in your life. Imagine if you made the next Tesla, Louis Vuitton, or Apple. It may sound crazy but it can be done and I believe there’s at least a million dollars in everyone, people are just afraid to take those risks and jump. That’s the big thing that everyone is afraid of, jumping. But if you don’t jump, you’ll never know if you can fly. Life is too short not to take risks. Go against the grain. The worst thing that could happen is you fail and die, but hey, at least you died trying. Sometimes all you have to do is try and you’ll make it. One try and step at a time.
All in all, why work for someone else when you can work for yourself and do exactly what you want. It’s incredible how freeing it is to know that every decision I make for my business goes to benefit me and my profits. Every step I’m taking will grow my business and move it forward. It’s freeing, but also scary. What if i mess up? I know if I don’t work or mess up then I may not make enough for the month to feed back into my company. But that’s why I’m grinding everyday to grow and make my craft and business better and better. And if I mess up, it only makes me wiser and stronger.

Don’t be afraid to take that risk. What if it’s the best decision you ever make in your life?

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

This is a question that I ask myself a lot that I don’t know if I have an answer to but am going to try to attempt to answer ths under these circumstances.

There’s something deep in my heart that’s pushing me forward. It’s something that’s hard to explain. I want to be seen, heard, and loved by the world. I want the glory but not for fame and money. I want to let these kids know that it’s going to be alright and they can do anything they want if they put their mind to it. There are so many people out there pulling kids down telling them: “get and keep a job even if you don’t like what you’re doing”, “go to college even if you hate your degree”, “do this”, “don’t do that”, “sell your soul to this company and live your life comfortable,” fuck that. Think for yourself. Don’t let someone else dictate how you should feel. If you feel angry, feel that shit. If you feel like you want to join the circus because you’ve loved the circus your whole live, do that shit. If you want to be an artist and leave your mark on the world, leave you fucking mark on the world. But do it out of love, not pride. That’s what drives me. The 12 year old version of me who was afraid of going to school because he didn’t want to get made fun of for the clothes he wore and things he liked to do. He drives me. And he says never stop til’ the whole world sees your light.

The mission is always and will forever be love.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.flowera.art/
• Instagram: @3patchcreates & @flow_era_ (https://www.instagram.com/3patchcreates/)
• Facebook: @3patchcreates
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickloliver/
• Twitter: @3patchcreates (https://twitter.com/3patchcreates)
• Other: Tik Tok: @3patchcreates (https://www.tiktok.com/@3patchcreates) I’m really trying to grow my Tik Tok plz follow me :-)