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

Hi Patrick, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
The creation of BioCreative Arts was the product of my childhood love for drawing and my educational experiences. I would say that the start of my journey began in elementary school science class where we were learning about the different systems of the human body and were tasked with creating a human shaped packet with a drawing for each system on the different pages. At that moment, I found my passion for drawing and my favorite subject. As I grew older, I always had the impression that there was no future in being an artist or making a career as a creative; therefore, I focused more on studying the sciences as I had developed a want to enter the health care industry. Throughout my higher education, I still created art but only as a study tool, to help me visualize difficult scientific concepts as I am a visual learner, or as a stress reliever. Midway through my undergraduate degree, people had taken notice of my work and told me that I should do something with it, and that they would pay for services to create works for them. This was the beginning of my artist career. Both of my science and art passions grew independently until I found a way to combine the two into what BioCreative Arts is today. I wanted to create art for others like myself who appreciates the beauty that is anatomy and physiology, along with the wonders of the science behind it.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Owning a small business is not and has not been an easy journey. For some, it starts as a side hustle done in the late of night secondary to a full-time job. This was exactly my case and, although my business has grown quite a bit, I am currently still in that state, not only because being a business owner has its challenges, but also because I plan to be both an artist and an exceptional registered nurse. During this time, I am balancing BioCreative Arts, an accelerated bachelor of nursing program at UTHealth, and working as a keynote designer and image processor at KenHub. I take on all of these endeavors because to me, it is all connected. BioCreative Arts wouldn’t exist without my passion for anatomy and physiology and the healthcare industry because it is the foundation and inspiration behind my work. My goal is to create art that displays the beauty of the science behind the human body as well as provide a little education along the way.

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.
If I had a best friend visiting the city of Houston for a week long trip, I wouldn’t know where to start. There are plenty of adventures we would go on which would including visiting museums, watching movies, and eating food. I would highly recommend visiting the Houston museum of natural science or the Menil Collection for those who have an appreciation of the fine arts. Regarding movies, my friends and I are cinema fans so I would recommend watching a movie at Star Cinema Grill in City Place Plaza, which also has a fantastic place to walk. This theater has comfortable reclining chairs and a service to bring delicious food and drinks to the seat. Lastly, speaking of food, Houston has many great food places so this would really be up to the mood that we are feeling at the moment. If I had to pick a top three, I would recommend eating at The Blue Fish, for my Japanese food lovers, Glorias, for those wanting to venture into tasting a Salvadorian-Mexican cuisine along with a night of dancing, and Roostar for anyone that loves Vietnamese Banh Mi.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are plenty of people who deserve credit and recognition for getting me to where I am and where my business is today. I would like to start by mentioning my parents, Amiel and Gloria, and my sister, Alex, for supporting my endeavors and also providing me with resources and opportunities that have helped me. My best friend, Ian, is also another major influence in the growth of my art and illustration career as he has provided great mentorship and encouragement in both my life and business venture as well counseling for the business side of my art career, a terrifying area for an artist. A few other people I would like to give a shoutout for would be those who gave me a chance to take on my biggest art and illustration projects: Lisa Lomeli, the author for “Positively Uptimistic” and “Have You Tried Love?”, Gigi Siton, DPT, the author for the book trilogy “Your Body is a Self-healing Machine,” and Kelsey Casto, the founder of BabyBrew Activities. Thank you for letting me create for you all. Also, I can’t mention Kelsey without mentioning her sister, Kendall, a fellow kinesiologist who commissioned my first artwork under BioCreative Arts. Saving the best for last, I want to thank my beautiful girlfriend, Elizabeth, for her endless love, support, and encouragement in everything and anything that I do.

Website: https://biocreativearts.com/

Instagram: @biocreative_arts

Facebook: @BioCreativeArts

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa6EdHSI5jT0TMkA_ZAxj4g

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