Unusual Encounter 2: The Tiger Drawing

Artist Bio Raksha is a fine artist based in Bengaluru. She graduated from Karnataka ChitraKala Parishat in 2019 with a degree in Visual Arts. Since then, she has been exploring her art practice through a multitude of concepts using the medium of traditional painting. In between being a full-time practicing artist, she has worked as an art instructor in an art studio and a school and also worked as a content writer for 1.5 years. Creating art has always been an escape from the constant existential crisis she experienced from a young age. The act of creating something not only distracted her from it but also helped her find answers to questions she could not articulate and ask. She had a strong desire for something unusual, fantastical, or fictional to exist so she would read books and create works of that genre. Her ideas were initially driven by curiosity into the subconscious realm of dreams. She would draw elements and scenarios from her dreams and personal experiences sometimes induced by emotional stress.Her works has slowly moved on from exploring dreams to reality, creating visual stories with the aim of providing a surreal escape for the viewers. Some of Raksha’s earlier influences include Salvador Dali, Tyeb Mehta, James Jean, Scott M Fisher, to name a few. When she discovered the works of Lucian Freud in the college library, it transformed her outlook on figurative paintings and the way she painted. Now her works are influenced by ancient Asian art, miniatures works from the middle east, and ancient Indian art. While mythology, astrology, local traditions. ancient cultures, and dreams are some of things she explores, she is also captivated by the people she sees everyday in public She had her debut solo show at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore in March 2022 and has participated in group shows in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi.