Who Is PATRICIA O’BRIEN?

Patricia O’Brien originally from London and am now based mainly in Malta and sometimes in Italy with quite a few countries in between.
You can read her biography here but you’ll get to know some more through the questions & answers below.

1. When did you discover your creative self?
   I don’t remember a time I wasn’t involved in art. My first creation was a painting  I did with soft cheese on my newly papered bedroom  wall at 4 years of age. Needless to say  my parents did not appreciate my artistic skills .
   

  2.  Who is your biggest inspiration generally? 

My biggest inspiration  was my mother who was always  a maker . Her hands were always busy creating wonderful clothes, knitting or other colourful crafts. The  process of  objects being created using your hands and simple materials has always been absolutely mesmerizing for me.

3. Who is your biggest artistic inspiration (musical/ visual/ theatrical)? 

As a teenager I loved the library and discovered the works of  Van Gogh, Monet, Klimt, Matisse, Picasso, Kandinsky and others. I literally fell in love with all the glorious paintings that were full of colour and movement and the way they interpreted  their world and to me seemed to paint with such freedom.

       4. Which artwork would you wish to have on your walls/ in your house and why? 

It would be just too difficult to choose just 1 painting to have on my walls as there would be a place on my walls for any painting by  Joan Mitchell,  Robert Rauschenberg,  Cecile Brown, Cy Twombly or Anselm Kiefer to name just a few. These artists all have a unique and exciting way of expressing their vision of their  inner and outer world.

5. Your favourite medium, favourite theme in your own work?  Why is this? 

I love intense colour and texture and while I usually work with acrylic or oil and cold wax. I love to create texture using various materials so work in many layers putting on and taking them off and scratching through the surface so each art work is complex and has its own history.

6. What is one thing noone knows about you and you can share with us?

At 15 and living in New Zealand I was so desperate to see the works of the great artists with my own eyes I worked part time until at 18 I had saved enough money for a ticket to get to Europe. I visited New York, London Paris Amsterdam Rome and Florence and lived so frugally eating sometimes only  a candy bar a day . I spent hours in museums soaking up the beauty of the great masters of art. It was a defining experience that changed my life.

       7.  Do you play music whilst you paint? What is it? 

Usually I listen to music when I paint and it is usually jazz and other times I love silence and listening to my own thoughts.

     8.  Favourite country you have visited/ lived at? And why?

I adore travelling and my favourite country would have to be India particularly in Rajasthan as there is a riot of gorgeous bright colours and textures everywhere. Uzbekistan would be a close second with its wonderful saturated colours in the architecture and decorations.