Local Western Australian Artist - Pattie Mmilia Art

Hi, I’m Patti.

A Perth-based artist creating nature-inspired paintings designed to bring a little more colour, calm and escapism into everyday spaces.

I’m a self-taught artist, nature lover and the person behind Patti Emmilia Art.

For a long time, creativity was something that sat quietly in the background of my life. Like so many of us, life became busy — work, family, responsibilities and all the everyday things that seem to fill every spare moment.

Eventually I reached a point where I realised there might never be a “perfect” time to pursue something I really loved.

So I started painting.

What began as something just for me has slowly grown into a body of work inspired by the places and moments that make me stop, breathe and feel a little more grounded.

Why I Paint

For me, painting is a form of escape.

I’m naturally drawn to places that make the world feel a little quieter — the ocean, a garden full of colour, Australian bushland, tropical foliage and the hidden worlds beneath the water.

There’s something about nature that can completely change how we feel, even if only for a moment.

That’s what I try to capture in my paintings.

I’m not trying to perfectly recreate what I see. I’m more interested in recreating the feeling of being there — the calm of looking beneath the surface of the ocean, the joy of colour in a garden, or that feeling of finally taking a breath after a busy day.

If one of my paintings can give someone that same small moment of calm in their own home, then it has done what I hoped it would do.

What Inspires Me

My inspiration almost always begins with nature.

The colours and movement of the ocean.
Coral reefs that feel like secret gardens beneath the surface.
Australian native flowers and foliage.
Light moving through leaves.
Unexpected combinations of colour.
The imperfect shapes and textures you only find in the natural world.

I tend to take these elements and interpret them in my own way, using layers of acrylic, texture and expressive marks rather than trying to make everything perfectly realistic.

Each painting develops slowly, with colours, shapes and details added until the piece begins to have its own personality.

Patti acknowledges the Whadjuk people of the Boodja Nation who are the Traditional Custodians of this land on which I create my paintings on. I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia. I recognise their continuous relationship to the land and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.