I was very excited for starting this section on my website. When I started designing my website, I decided to interview watercolor artists from around the world each month. Personally, I love to know about their art journey, what their art means to them and what inspires them.
Each watercolor artists' journey is unique and beautiful. So here is the first artist interview with the beautiful and very talented Sakshi Chaudhary from Delhi, India. I got to know about her from Instagram where I fell in love with the landscapes she has painted. I love the flower paintings she did and then I decided that she has to be on my website someday for the interview. Let's get to know her in her own words.
Tell us about yourself...
I am Sakshi Chaudhary, an artist, a watercolorist, a creative entrepreneur, an art educator, a DIY-er, mostly introvert, a crazy plant lady, and a big sucker for food and music. I have always been in love with my access to creativity. My journey as a professional artist began back in 2018. I decided to learn a new medium and began working on building a creative practice.
These days I choose what my mind and soul want to say and involve my surroundings to reflect in my work. I feel privileged to work with a wide range of mediums and surfaces in my academic years but watercolors were one that I didn't work with. Surprisingly, I have gradually moved towards watercolors cause I find a sense of belonging and serenity which was missing in my creative life.
What is your art background?
I was a creative kid who was allowed to draw illustrations in her literature notebook during school. Although there was a big halt during my senior school years. I was intrigued by cartoons on television. My thought process was there must be people who are making those characters.
After my school, I decided to go to an art school as my brother was talking about a degree in fine arts. I had a fair share of a dilemma about what to choose and what not to! I ended up with a bachelor's degree in fine arts painting and for my master's I opted for art education. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in college and had the opportunity to work with different mediums and different surfaces. So I was pretty much an art school kid.
When I started to operate my Instagram dedicated to my work, I had to redefine, relearn, and teach myself a medium that I wasn't familiar with at all. Today I am deeply in love with what I do and how I do it.
What inspires you as a watercolor artist?
The source of inspiration has changed with time. During my academics, the inspiration mostly came from some social issues. When I redefined myself, I found myself inspired by the nature surrounding me. My work is now a presentation of my own stories mixed with the surrounding I am in.
Who are your biggest influences?
I say I am my biggest influencer since I have very vivid goals. Apart from that, being an art history nerd, I found different artists and art movements influenced me with their ideology. Their mindset thought processes are depicted in their work and this was influential for me.
How have you developed your art career?
Being a painting student, I was open and trained in different mediums. I painted portraits and sold them but at the end of the day, it does not resonate with me. It wasn't me. I am not that person who creates hyper-realistic work, but what developed later was affection towards this flicky medium(watercolors) no one pushed me to try.
The teacher in my art school said pretty heartbreaking things to me. It was the worst one can hear. A couple of months later, that was my pivotal moment. I was ready to take the challenge. That is how I stumbled on watercolor and self-taught the medium that took months and I never looked back from that moment.
What was your biggest achievement?
The word achievement has a very different meaning for me. I think every day I am learning something new and gaining new experiences. So these experiences have become my achievements. The day I got my first order from a complete stranger was a huge day for me. Having the courage to invest in me was the biggest and bravest thing I did. It is an achievement for me. Having a community of people where I can be vulnerable is an achievement for me.
If this question is in terms of external rewards, it was a dream to be a part of the IWS(International Watercolor Society) exhibition for a year, and then getting finalized within a year was a big one. I won a Residency from IWS as well as three of my watercolor works got selected for the Kochi Biennale fest last year.
Which current art trend are you following?
I believe it is a bowl of salad on my end. I love oil painting, acrylic, abstracts, illustration, journalling, ceramics, clay jewelry. I enjoyed seeing what creatives are up to.
What does your artwork represent?
Today it represents me, the nostalgia I have, it speaks my story, speaks my emotions, my experiences, speaks how crazy I am to stay in a moment and gaze at something for days and how I observe and capture that with the element of nature.
What does your art mean to you as a watercolor artist?
Art is an ever-changing process for me. Some days I am deeply in love with, others I barely want to look at it. It is a meditative process but with being a creative entrepreneur other responsibilities kick in and you have to make peace with it. I learn to do that and I enjoy how it is life for me now.
Where can people find you on the internet?
You can follow me on my Instagram account - @colorflowsstudio
You can also subscribe to my newsletter for all the updates regarding the new collection, the website I am building, and to learn from me.
If you have enjoyed reading the journey of Sakshi, please check out her Instagram for beautiful artwork. If you are interested in learning about color swatches, please visit my previous blog. Thank you so much for stopping by.
Love,
heli
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