Life & Work with Brandon Padayao

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Padayao.

Hi Brandon, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hi and thank you for the chance to talk!

Originally, I was born in Utah but moved to Prince George’s County, Maryland around 2003. I attended high school and community college around the DC beltway before moving to the Baltimore beltway and attending trade school. Now, I’m living in Hampden and work on the east side of Baltimore.

At the same time, I moved to Maryland, I picked up a skateboard. But before moving here, I spent one year on my grandparent’s farm in the middle of nowhere Kansas for a year in a small rural town (my 5th-grade teacher was my cousin).

So you can imagine my culture shock when I moved to Greenbelt and was thrust into an environment unlike any I had ever seen. Over the course of several years and much of your typical teenage debauchery, family problems, heartbreak, getting arrested, and then graduation, two things were constant; skateboarding and art. Three if you count the So Simpsons.

Eventually, I would go on to become a welder after school didn’t work out the way I had planned (the school had terminated my major). In 2015 I moved to Baltimore, and have been working on the east side border lining Dundalk since 2017.

Currently, I TIG weld aluminum and have been making art from skateboards, pyrography, metal art, and wood. I’ve been fortunate enough to have some sponsorships in skateboarding by brands like Speedlab Wheels and the Charm City Skatepark, as well as partake and contribute in skateboarding events within the city like the opening and demo of the Rashfield Skatepark.

I’m thankful for the chance to be a part of this city since I’ve fallen in love with it. It’s often hard to describe to my family which all live out west why I choose to stay. I don’t know hon, I just like it.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It most definitely has not been a smooth road. It’s just tough growing up. You don’t realize how important role models are or how valuable guidance can be. Personally, it feels like everything I’ve done I have been stumbling in the dark; school, career, love. So pick your people wisely.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The artwork that I do crosses a few different mediums. Generally, I use an old skateboard or part of a board as a component of the piece. In the past, I made dream catchers out of skateboard decks. I would cut a huge hole in a board weave in the mesh pattern and add beads to ward off your bad dreams.

The Embark Skateshop in Frederick was even kind enough to host my first art show in 2019. As a welder, I’ve also done some metal art. A sign that reads ‘BALTIMORE’ can be seen at the Charm City Skatepark inside the skate shop that I built-in 2020. Around this time is also when I began to make bonsai trees using wire and twisting. The bases would range from a circle cut from a deck to a wheel to a skateboard truck, then add a colored LED light to the branches.

And in both 2018 and 2019, I made signs for the Downerfest to celebrate the 40th & 41st anniversary of the Lansdowne skatepark. As a friend to the Baltimore County Skateboard Council I MC’d both events and humbly embarrassed myself with no shame or regrets. Currently, I’ve been doing pyrography onto the decks with different plants and/or flowers.

Horticulture and plants have always been an interest to me but I suck at keeping plants alive so I brought them to life in my art… so to speak. The boards are often cut to contour the shape of the image while leaving the shape of the board at the bottom. And then finally an LED strip of lights is added to the back for setting the mood. Party time.

What does success mean to you?
Success has many layers, but for me the first one is satisfied. The satisfaction of finishing something, regardless of how long it took or how hard it was. From that can follow the gratification of the work. With those two checked off, the last step is to give it to the world and see how they reciprocate. But either way, 2/3 isn’t bad.

Pricing:

• Keychains/ knives (decorative) $5-20
• Bonsai tree – $60
• Misc pyrography $20<
• Dream catcher boards ~$60-300
• Pyrography board ~$60-300

Contact Info:

• Email: blpadayao@gmail.com
• Instagram: @brand0_arts or @brand0_command0

Image Credits
Brian Canavan