When my mentor told me to lean into the things that light me up… the subtle intuitive hits that lead me to joyous experiences, I translated that into a short phrase that I try to live my life by daily: Follow the flutters. One day, those flutters lead me to meet Artist, Entrepreneur & Fashion Designer – Pam Singh.
It was another Saturday of dragging my kids around town to run errands with me. It was a beautiful, seasonably warm day in March in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although I had told the kids that the last stop would be the last stop, I couldn’t help but notice the festival we were passing by and had an immediate urge to stop and check it out! After some groans from the kids, we ventured down the side street and browsed the tables of several small business vendors. That’s where I first met Pam and her artwork.
“Stunning!” Was all I could say about the pieces she had on display at her table. Delicate feminine figures and spectacular creatures, rich in bright colors adorned her canvases. Various mediums layered almost every piece – from gold foil, to seashells…it was a sensory pleasure to take it all in!
Pam introduced herself as the Artist. I could tell that her artwork was a healthy extension of her Voice, despite her petite stature. She was kind and gentle; her artwork, bold and brilliant. She invited me to an art exhibition the following month and we became friends.
It is an honor to introduce my Friend – Pam Singh, and share her and her medicine for
13Moons Magazine – The Sexy Issue!
Pam Singh is a self-taught, mixed media Indian-American Artist and Muralist based in Charlotte, NC. Through her artwork, she explores themes of freedom, self-fulfillment, and authenticity. Her goal is to convey the vivacity within us all and to bring color, light, warmth and liveliness to the world, and inspire others to celebrate themselves!
“I aim to empower and offer a vision for you to see yourself in the subjects I paint.”
[ From her bio, Pam Singh Studio]
13Moons: We are so excited to share your incredible artwork and personal medicine with our community! Can you tell us a bit about how you got started as an artist and how your journey has evolved over time?
Pam: Sure! Thank you for this opportunity to talk about my work, me, and celebrating my life, basically! Because art is something that is very personal to me and has enriched me in many ways. So I have always painted as a child. There really hasn’t been a single day where I haven’t created something or wanted to create something because I find creativity in everything. When I look at people, they inspire me. When I look at nature, that inspires me. When I look at animals, they inspire me and that inspiration leads to creating things.
I started at the very early age of 5. My mom says it’s probably even earlier than that! I have been into art, dancing, music, and crafting – you name it, but art was the biggest thing for me. My inspiration behind my love of art is my uncle who is a commercial artist. He started as a fine artist then slowly grew to become a commercial artist. His house, even to this day, is just like a museum. You walk into his house and there are thousands of paintings around – his own, and the ones he’s collected. He’s also into pottery – big time – and it was fun to be there and around those things. I was always in awe of everything, especially his own artwork and would try to copy what he was doing. That was fun for me! I found myself in that. That’s how I got started.
Years later, somehow I became more interested in apparel and I chose to become a Fashion Designer because at that time being an artist was not looked at as a well-to-do profession. Designing was something new, more credible, and I still wanted to be in the creative field, so I chose to do that instead. I’m still working with it, but after a gap of 12 years I rediscovered my passion for art.
This might sound funny but it’s true – I was cleaning our garage one day and I found a box of paints that I had bought from Hobby Lobby when I first moved to the US. (I was new to the US – and didn’t know that Hobby Lobby had a sale like every other week)! Even though I hadn’t painted in 12 or 13 years, I stopped everything that I was doing and I just painted! It was kind of a sign, like – hey, you need to do this right now! So I did.
Later, I casually posted it on my Facebook page and so many people commented. My neighbor became really interested and although I tried to just give it to her, she insisted and paid me $100. Then it hit me – maybe this could be a side hustle and I could make some extra money doing art and painting. I didn’t have any style or anything like that at the time. I just kind of went with the flow. I painted everything and anything!
During the next year of experimenting, I rediscovered my passion for painting, created new stuff and that’s when I found my art style. With that being said, I have worked with my art style for about 3 years now and it’s been a journey! I’ve learned a lot – I’m still learning and don’t say I’m a pro at it because I’m not educated in the field of Arts. I have a Masters Degree in Fashion Design but Art is different from Design. I’ve had that inclination towards creativity, which led me to self-learn. I have empowered myself to be an Artist. I am a very creative person and I have a lot more to bring out from within me. And people around me, who love art, have taken an interest in my work. That has encouraged me to be in this community. I’m happy with what I’m doing!
13Moons: You embodied being an Artist. I love that! I had the privilege of attending an art exhibition of your newest collection: Open Your Eyes. What message did you intend to translate through this collection?
Pam: Open Your Eyes was an exhibition that came out of the blue! After having been a featured Artist at the Towne Hall of Matthews, the McDowell Art Center asked me if I could host my own show! So that’s when I started building the collection. Open Your Eyes was a call for people to actually see the beauty all around them and how the beauty of our surroundings can be translated into art.
13Moons: When I shared that the upcoming theme for 13Moons Magazine was “The Sexy Issue,” what drew you to your piece Desire as the perfect cover art for it?
Pam: I think when I painted the piece Desire, it started with my own sexuality and how every woman within herself has the feeling of being beautiful and sexy, but may not be able to portray it as freely as she should. That was a desire that I had within me because I am not the kind of person who would be able to express her sexuality so freely… so it just came out through my art! I think it was a part of me that got onto the canvas.
13Moons: Mmmm, I love that! Some of your artwork features a feminine subject paired with a specific secondary subject such as an animal, flower, or insect. What inspires your decision to pair each subject to her element and how does it translate into the title of the piece?
Pam: That’s a really interesting question because there is a process behind it! So like I said earlier, I’m inspired by the people I meet. Most of my subjects are women and animals. When I meet women, there has always been some kind of energy that has attracted me – it’s probably their vibe, our communication, their feelings and how they come out to me. And as I get to know them better, there’s always a part of them that they kind of leave with me. That excites and inspires me to paint them! That feeling that I have for them – that vibe that I feel for them! As for the animal or nature subject that goes along with it… it’s basically how I saw or how I understood them. Like whether they’re fierce or smart or absolutely loving!
My Reflection of Love piece is inspired by this very special woman that I had met, now a friend of mine – and she is full of love! Always knows how to give and bring out the best in people. She just has a lot of love to give. I associated the way I see love with a flower, and that flower is a rose. I took that feeling that I have for her and how I saw her and painted her with the roses.
Another painting of mine called Inner Realms, is a woman with a leopard in the painting and it’s one of my favorite pieces. That painting was inspired by somebody who has gone through a lot in life but has learned how to grow and actually has become smarter and faster with everything that she has done. So knowing her story and knowing that woman as a friend, as a person – I tried to do that with the leopard because that is how she comes out to me.
13Moons: I know you’ve already touched on this a bit but I’ve noticed that many multimedia artist who work in layers upon layers tend to be very spiritually invested in the actual process of their art making. Do you feel your process lends itself to a specific purpose outside of the visual beauty and end product of your work?
Pam: Basically, my work is surrounded by feminine subjects. As women, we pretty much do everything for our family – as daughters, sisters, friends… as lovers, wives, partners – and still are considered second-class citizens of the world. We are the Women who give birth. We give life! We keep things together and still are considered “not as worthy” or “not that important.”
A little off topic but –
Female artists only make up 27% of artists. Female artists’ work sells for less than male’s artwork by 33% and gets put into auctions or sold at discounted prices more than the artwork of male artists. It’s not just part of the art world but it’s everywhere! Even when it comes to entrepreneurship, and jobs. “Oh, she’s just a woman.” I want to change that. I want to bring more empowerment and more strength to this mentality and ask “why?” What wrong have we done to deserve that?
I want to bring that femininity out of us and show it to the world! Let them see how beautiful we are and what we can do! People know it, but they are blind to it. I feel like art somewhere touches every soul in a different way and that’s how I hope to reach them.
13Moons: So powerful! Such needed work! As an Indian-American Artist, how does your artwork reflect your cultural background?
Pam: Art has reflected my cultural background in the colors that I choose. Having lived in India for about 20 years, the people there and the colors are very vibrant and colorful – it’s been embedded in me! It reflects in everything – my lifestyle, the way my house is set up, my clothes, the way I paint! I’m basically a person who loves color and that’s from my cultural influence.
13Moons: You’ve been able to turn your passions into a full-time career that sustains yourself and your family, which is the dream of many Creatives. What advice would you give those looking to do the same?
Pam: The advice would be really simple: Work on your dream, work on your passion but just dreams and passions aren’t enough! It needs to be supported with hard work. If you want to bring in money, it’s important that you get out there and show your art! Don’t shy out from being seen. Don’t shy away from showing it off to people! You will definitely get some people like – nah, that’s not good, but then there will be people who will support you!
From my experience, I’ve been very grateful and lucky to have found supportive people around me who love my art; who see the vision of my passion and have always encouraged me and pushed me to do better. It started with my mom, but then I have grown so much in the community I live in and I have found so much support from there.
It starts with you. There’s a whole community out there that you will find that will support you.
*This interview was held in person, transcribed, and edited for flow by Toni Moné.
Follow Toni on IG: @tonishamone
To learn more about Pam Singh and her artwork:
Visit & Shop: www.pamsinghstudio.com
Follow on IG: www.instagram.com/pamsinghstudio
Follow on FB: www.facebook.com/pamsinghstudio
