Meet Amirah Patel | Concept Artist & Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amirah Patel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amirah, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I had never considered myself to be a proper artist. For the majority of my life, the only thing I knew how to do was study. My entire family is in the medical field somehow or another, and I thought I would follow the same path as them. Growing up surrounded by books, I don’t think I understood just how influential art is in our lives. The architecture that surrounds us, the furniture in our house, the type of stones used on the pavement; every little thing around us involved meticulous planning. Even simple-looking “doodles” are the result of all the shape-design studies and colour theory learned throughout the artist’s life, and I think that people who could create art in any form is really incredible. As a sheltered kid who didn’t know how to do anything but study, I too wanted to create a world that people would want to go to.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art tends to have a lot of weird “people”. I get really excited about them since I like to name each one of my creatures/ characters, and usually come up with their entire backstory in my head. While creature/ character design is my specialty, I think I still like painting the most after all. I’m not very good at communicating with words, so I try and find a way to convery my thoughts through the designs of my characters and environments. It’s not easy to find the balance of what I like to draw and what I’d need to draw for work, as the things I tend to draw are a bit too niche for the projects being worked on in studios. However, adaptability is just another skill an artist needs to have, and you can still make it fun regardless!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I tend to move around a lot, so I’d have to answer this question a bit vaguely! To show them the best time, it would have to depend of the kinds of things they like to do. I’d do more research on doing activities we can both enjoy, though generally I would like to bring them to get yummy food, and possibly go to cute cafes to draw. Hot pot/ KBBQ is a must! As for activities, currently being in Portland, I really enjoy hiking and bouldering. We’d probably head to Multnomah Falls, and go to the Portland Japanese Garden because it’s just so beautiful! If the weather is right then strawberry-picking adventures would definitely be worth spending time for, otherwise a trip to Powell’s City of Books would be just as fun 🙂

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My parents and close friends who have always shown their support for me, despite my many doubts! It’s because of how amazing my parents are, that I was even able to study and move to America in the first place. I am very grateful to them, and my dear brother who never showed me any discontent with my decision to pursue art. I don’t have a lot of confidence in myself, but the support of the people around me helps me move forward and try new things 🙂

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