Cutting Chai Painting

BIRTH PLACE & INFLUENCE I was born in Chennai which was then called Madras and brought up in Bombay, now Mumbai. All the diverse cultures in India come together in Mumbai and I grew up in that mixed culture absorbing the essence of ‘Indian-ness’, whether it is in the clothes I wear or the language I speak or the designs I create. I call it the fusion culture and it is reflected in my art. In Mumbai, the over-crowded city, I could see how different cultures co-existed and complimented each other. In my art too styles co-exist. Though there will always be an underlying similarity in my art, I leave that part to the discerning eye of art lovers to explore and discover. STATEMENT My works are about my experiences in life and my interpretation of it, be it a dream, a thought or even words and phrases. I can resort to experiments too to satisfy my curious mind. Some of my subjects are elements of nature, the sea, relationships like parent and child, self-portrait, interpretations of my dreams, dance forms, stones, war, emotions etc. My subjects border on the philosophical and at times touch the spiritual. I vary my style to suit the topic. If need be, I switch to abstract too as I love the intrigue that abstracts afford. I do not use any visual references for my concept based art. It comes from deep within or from my own doodles. For Landscapes, I either sketch on the spot or make use of my own photographs of the place. When I paint, I am deeply lost, engrossed, in thought and one with the subject. I paint alone in the peace and silence of my home cum studio. I like my audiences to interpret my art in their own way and tell me what they see and feel in it. I love it if the viewer is drawn deep into the work and sees something more each time. My favourite historical artists are Vincent Van Gogh and Salvador Dali. I have been asked by some if I draw my Inspiration from Chagall and there are those who think there is an influence of Wassily Kandinsky. But I personally have no take on that. I leave it to my audiences to decide. As for myself, once I have the subject in mind, my hands automatically move in tune with the thought and that’s all that matters to me. POETRY Sometimes, inspired by the paintings, I write poetry too, often as explanations to the artwork. MEDIUM & MATERIALS Experimenting with medium and materials is always exciting for me and so is the mixing of two mediums in one canvas.