With her windswept haircut and black-rimmed glasses, Pat Law is one of Singapore’s most recognised lesbian public figures. But of course, it’s not just her fashion sense that gets her noticed – it’s her spirit of entrepreneurship and her gleefully bad-ass style of writing.

She’s best known for her popular blog blankanvas, which has been online since 22 January 2007. It’s her vehicle for voicing thoughts on culture, design, fascinating personalities and her own daily life. She’s also been a regular contributor to magazines such as LOTL International, iSh and Singapore Architect, and she was one of the three women who founded the arts website Culturepush.

Her main job, however, is being the boss-lady of GOODSTUPH, a company she started in March last year. It’s a social influence studio, focused on generating marketing campaigns and online/word-of-mouth platforms for brands as diverse as Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, UOB and the National Art Gallery. She’s proud to he firm’s been running at a profit since its beginnings, enabling them to do a few FOC initiatives for karma.

Mind you, Pat’s no stranger to controversy. She’s known for her brutally frank manner, which has occasionally rubbed others in the lesbian community the wrong way. (She once revealed to me that she’s been thrown off Qrushr, the lesbian iPhone networking app, a number of times.) But this is the same no-holds-barred attitude that so many of her followers love. It’s as she describes herself in her bio: “Some people get ahead by kissing ass. She is glad she doesn’t like rimming.”

She’s such a celeb, she’s got a talent agent – she’s managed by Fly Entertainment, if you’re interested in booking her for an engagement. She was even nominated as one of Singapore Women’s Weekly’s Women of Our Time in 2010. 

Luckily for us, this diva always has time to share a few words with friends: 

æ: Age, sex, occupation, location?

Pat: Age: Hitting 30 and currently investing heaps into La Mer. Sex: Female who should be checked for balls. Occupation: Digital strategist and glorified stalker for brands. Also the one who pays the rent and expense claims. Location: Chinatown, Singapore, where my studio is. You can find me at Shots by the foot of Ann Siang Hill too.

æ: How long have you been blogging now? How did you get started?

Pat: I began blogging from about 15 years ago, before the word even existed. Before WordPress came along to simplify the process of content publishing, I was uploading each article via FTP, manually placing the date and comment function in Javascript. Oh gosh, I sound like a geek, don’t I? 

blankanvas came about when my ex-girlfriend of four years left me on weekend for a then-21-year-old. Like a typical true-blue emo lesbian, I started posting up drawings and paintings I’ve created during that period. On hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have.

æ: How has your blogging style changed over the years?

Pat: Contrary to belief, I’m quite the private person when it comes to people who matter to me. As my blog grew more popular over time, I grew more protective of my privacy. You’d always find a personal opinion from me on an ad campaign, a fat lesbian, and whatnot, but you’d never find me talking about my personal life, friends nor family. You might, however, see another Instagram picture of my chihuahua’s cock.

æ: You've worked on a lot of cool projects and initiatives. Could you talk about a few thy you're proudest of?

Pat: I have way too many to mention but amongst all, I like GOOD Stories – a creative platform we set up earlier this year to bring the best stories forward from anyone to everyone. The thought behind it is that as a blogger or writer, before you tell your story, you draw inspiration from the stories of others. The intent we have is to bring the best stories forward to the masses who otherwise may be too caught up with Glee. 

æ: Who are your favourite bloggers?

Pat: I’m in love with Alex Au’s brains. I can’t decide if I’d like to make love to them, or acquire them for my own. I fear for the latter – not everyone can handle intelligence of that level. I thank god for both mrbrown and Miyagi, for shaping the local blogosphere. I don’t know if they realise how instrumental they are to the country.

æ: What's your biggest wish for the Singapore queer community?

Pat: That everyone would be comfortable in their own skin. It’s extremely convenient to blame the society for the discomfort but I sometimes wonder if it is self-inflicted. Happiness is the best revenge you can to an enemy. Smile and be happy and stop wearing bermuda shorts to a club.

æ: Is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers?

Pat: Be a harsher critic to yourself than to anyone. 

Pat Law will be speaking on the ActuallyMAG SoCreative Talk on Mon, 24 October, 7-8:30pm at ION Sky. Entry is free but admission is limited. She’ll also be at the Singapore Writers Festival panel discussion “Is Facebook killing the Blog?” on Sun 30 October, 3:30-4:30pm, at the National Museum Salon. Entry is with the Singapore Writers Festival Pass, available for $15 from Sistic.You can find GOODSTUPH online at http://goodstuph.org. Pat’s blog, blankanvas, is at http://blankanvas.bypatlaw.com. She also tweets at @patlaw.