Dr Priti Swarup
“Art makes you breathe with a different kind of happiness.” The pandemic gave me an opportunity discover and rediscover hidden arenas within me. Picking up art, experimenting and playing with colors was one of them.
I started learning from popular YouTube videos and tried to delve into the details and techniques people were adopting in creating different art forms. I then started creating their lookalikes with a bit of experimentation here and there with certain elements, to give it a personal touch.
The Red-Blue Lake
My maiden art-work was the ‘Red-Blue Lake’ on 10X12 inches canvas board that first appeared technical & tough to me, but as the brushes dipped in reds, blues, whites and a bit of black, started gliding over the rough surface of the canvas, various shades of these hues started emerging in front of my eyes and I got immersed in that beautiful moment like never before.
I still remember, my 7-year-old accidentally touching the still wet surface, and the smudged spot resulting from his tiny finger, gave it an impression of gray-white moon in the sky over the lake, giving it that final look. Needless to say, it was a completely satisfying experience and I had then named it ‘Spot The Moon’.
Sketching
Soon I ran out of canvas boards that I had purchased online and not to forget the most used, titanium white acrylic bottle. Me, the beginner that I was, got apprehensive over this as the markets had not opened up, but the addiction had gotten the better of me. Anticipating the Covid situation, I was already carrying a few pencils and stationery for my son keeping in mind that his schooling activities may start anytime soon. I had only a few pencils and I soon started experimenting with the smaller ones (leaving the longer ones for the child) and A4 size sheets available at home that time. With a bit of online guidance, I could soon develop a few sketches and the biggest realization those days was that Black is also a color which can do wonders!
Love for abstracts
It was one fine evening that I explored the usage of ‘palette-painting-knives’ to develop something that was called ‘abstract art’ forms. I am still a total naïve when it comes to these concepts. Soon, I was able to develop a completely original abstract work of mine that I named “The Town of Lines and Shades’’, and afterwards every single piece I worked on, was given a name that came to my mind instantly and described that best.
How art helped me?
Art is the realization of oneself. Besides being an excellent stress buster, unleashing creativity, art also offered me escape from every-day grind. Blues, greens, pinks, all kinds of landscape paintings, trees, lakes, water-scenes, etc. are an all-time favorite of many of us who want to release that stress out of life, be it on canvas or simple sketch with pencil on paper. Art is also an excellent healer. The immersion provides the required distraction to give the mind and soul the time to heal.
Nowadays when I see artworks on the walls of friends’ or acquaintances’ homes, I get naturally intrigued to understand and learn more about that work to gain a better understanding of it as a whole. Any art is not just a colorful assembly hanging on the walls, it is beyond that. I wish to bring together amateur artists and beginners for a dream exhibition in the coming days and show to the world that art is not just an “introverts” thing, but extroverts equally. It is an acquired and learned skill. And don’t worry how you draw it, draw it the way you see it!
An Instagram page @ArtifyUrSoul displays all my artworks.I hope some of these resonate with you. Those who wish to be a part of this cause, may contact through the page.
The world always seems just brighter when you create something that wasn’t there before!
(The author is an HR expert and speaker. drpritiswarup@gmail.com)
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