An Artist Who Broke the Rules

Tree of Life #3 by Patricia Oji

The Big Art World  often feels contradictory and impenetrable, hierarchical and chaotic. Galleries pressure you to be making “a coherent body of work,” and then won’t even look at your submissions. You struggle to learn how to be visible on Instagram, and then they change the algorithm so hashtags don’t matter anymore. 

What are you supposed to do? It’s hard to get it right, because the old rules don’t make sense anymore. I believe the way to navigate these contradictions is to concentrate on making the best work you can, every day, and stay true to your own vision and values. Sometimes this means breaking the rules.

We recently lost a beloved Bay Area artist who did just that. Patricia Oji created many different bodies of work: urbanscapes of San Francisco, imaginary bugs with Latin names, a series of “lovable canines” revealing the character and personality of shelter dogs waiting to be adopted.  By exploring different subjects she got better and better as an artist.  

Her new series, “Trees of Life,” was a response to “uncertain and stressful times.” This work fully  expressed her values. Trees of life, honored in many cultures, symbolize the interconnectedness  of all living things, the diversity of species, strength and hope for the future of our planet. While she was a talented oil painter, this new work was made of simple materials: graphite, colored pencil, and ink on paper.

The lesson here is that sometimes you have to break the rules in order to grow. You experiment, you develop your skills, you explore different ideas. If, at the same time, you are able to stay true to your values, your work will become simpler and stronger.

Patti was recently killed in a traffic accident. We will miss her.​