5 Quarantine Artists that are making the most of this Lockdown
5 Quarantine Artists That You Need To Check Out Today
“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls”
– Pablo Picasso
Tanya Dhar – The Art Caravan
The Art Caravan, the brainchild of our first Quarantine Artist – Tanya, was born during the lockdown, although the idea was always lingering around. Apart from traveling, something that was always inbuilt in Tanya – the mind and hands behind the art page, was to paint. Self-taught and ever learning is what she recalls about her connection with the world of colours and canvases.
To her art is not just an art piece it’s a feeling. As you can relate through her content on the page what art means to her – therapy.
Creating something from scratch has always been her escape when the brain was about to explode with the daily chaos of life. She believes that it has always been a box of colours that swayed her mind away from juggling between professional and personal crisis.
How did lockdown kickstart the new journey?
A 50 days stint away from the city, in the lap of the Himalayas, brought her to her ultimate calling – The Art Caravan. After some planning and mindfulness, the page was created to express the feelings associated with little things in life to customized art. Travel and manifestation inspire her art style, from turning pictures to watercolour polaroids, to making a watercolour version of three cats for her first client, it’s all of you that she describes her art as.
Tanya also shares just like earlier, that art has again become her last resort to handle loneliness stuck in a two-room cozy flat alone during these difficult times. She dedicates her art and strength to each and everyone who is dealing with this alone. Sometimes, the situation may drive you crazy – fight it by finding your true calling it can be anything.
Madhura Hanchate – Art Irene
Meet Madhura Hanchate, our second Quarantine artist. She is an architecture student, who grew up in a small town, looking at buildings and being fascinated about them. She has been painting, since she was two years old. In her own words, “When I paint, I don’t care what people will think about it, I only paint for myself.”
According to her, ‘Art is her soul’, and while she always wanted to be an artist, she is keeping her passion for art alive, while studying architecture, as she feels that architecture is more than mere art for her. It’s an amalgamation of Art and Science.
She is an artist who designs buildings, which is also a kind of art. Recognizing people’s needs and designing according to them, making them feel the flow of a space, making them experience the concrete the way you want them to; is an art. To master in this art is as difficult as any other.
Madhura loves visiting different buildings and sketching them. Sitting at a great spot and sketching whatever she sees is very conventional and exciting but for her It’s not necessary, as she is able to bring that very atmosphere in her room by simply painting.
She has been making the most of this Quarantine Life by turning beautiful buildings that she has visited in the past, into sketches, that you guys can see on her Instagram Page – _irene__art_
Travel has been an integral part of her art, as according to her, “Travelling gives me the energy to create something new.” Being an architectural freak, that she is, she craves travelling to new places and monuments, to sketch it out. She is inspired by Gaudi’s work, and wishes to travel to Spain, once the world heals from the wrath of coronavirus for good.
Architecture and travelling are the things that keep her going on. Even sitting under one roof she is able to travel to wherever she wants and bring the world closer to her. One of her main motivations for travelling, is to pursue her passion of urban sketching.
Dr. Hiranmayee Bagwe – Bagaway
Our next Quarantine Artist, that needs a mention is Dr. Hiranmayee Bagwe, who is a Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapist, and works both, as a full time assistant professor, as well as a doctor tending to patients in the ICUs, which gives her little time at hand to pursue what her heart wants.
Art for her is more than a mere passion, it feeds her soul. In her words, “Even on a worst day just a pen and paper might be enough to kill it.”
She is making the most out of this lockdown, by taking time to pause, rewind, rethink and analyse what the future holds for him. She feels that all the time she is getting these days is making her reconnect with her strengths of painting landscapes and in a way bringing cherished memories from past travel, to life.
Aayushi Maheshwari – The Little Toothbrush
Meet Aayushi, who is the co-founder of a heritage social enterprise named Khayaal, and also our next Quarantine Artist. Born and brought up in the old-gullies of dilli-6 and currently residing in Ahmedabad, the Marwari in her, gains prominence over the millennial Delhiite. With a background in urban planning and heritage management and interest in exploring the unexplored, she tries to incorporate her design skills together with her ethnographic and management education to bring about a change in the identification of our roots, its documentation, and its unbiased presentation in the public domain.
For her, art is a form of expression, which can be articulated in varied forms, depending upon diverse moods and setting. A shayar makes use of words, an actor enacts those lines, a photographer captures them in a frame and a painter sketches the stage. For her, it is a medium through which she personally try to communicate her emotions; happy, not-so-happy, moderate-happy or unhappy, at times, through words, the next moment behind her 4*6 inch black screen either framing a scene or decorating her insta story or now and then sitting in a corner with my paint brush, a blue 36 shades watercolor palette and lots of blank drawing sheets.
It’s been more than a month now, that the lockdown has been imposed across the country and all of us feel stuck, a few in their respective homes, few in their working cities, many on the roads, while the remaining in the middle of nowhere, like Aayushi. Sitting 1423km (approx) far from her home, in a small village in Himachal Pradesh since the last two months but look at the irony, she can’t travel outside the state; she can’t travel within the state. However, this lockdown never took away her spirit.
Since she couldn’t travel out or within, she started travelling back – a memory trip. With no new destinations in her planner, she started sketching out the memories and places of destinations which had visited in the past and hold a special memory in her heart. Just like that crystal blue beach in Pondicherry, or the hot and warm lal chai in Darjeeling, that beautiful wooden cottage in Chamba or that serene and soothing night under the full moon in white desert in Kutch.
While travelling to Himachal this time she was lucky enough to have carried her new friend, the blue (a 36 shade water-colour pallete) without realizing that this blue palette will become her best travel companion in these lockdown days.
She also feels that art acts like a thread to connect sapiens and bring them together. And that is exactly what she has been experiencing while living in this village for so long. In a few days time, the blue not only did refresh and rejuvenate her travel memories but also brought her new little friends, Sameer, Rakhi, Bhuvaneshwari, Poornima, Aastha, Kanishka.
So now all 7 of them paint together, sometimes their school and house, sometimes their aspirations like ‘Sameer’s car or Rakhi’s home, sometimes on paper, sometimes on walls, sometimes on the wooden fence, or sometimes on leaves.
And that’s the beauty of art. – It doesn’t limit you to a canvas of a particular size.
Aayushi, says, “I observe all the big and minute details around me, be it the way leaves dance, the manner in which clouds shift their shape, the pattern of my breakfast plate, the shape of a fallen pine, the edgy wooden verandah, the curves in the branch of a tree or the geometric/floral pattern on the floor.”
All these things become her everyday inspiration to create what she creates. They become her muse. Hence, if you look at it that way, the sky is truly the limit these days.
Aayushi, shares Walt Disney’s one specific quote here, which always resonates with her in her mind and soul, “First, think. Second, dream. Third, believe. And finally, dare”.
Also, due credits to Aayushi, for the cover picture. I simply love it ☺️
Pragya – Girl With Paintbrush
Our next Quarantine Artist that needs a mention is Pragya, the talent behind Girl With Paintbrush. She is a part time artist, currently studying VFX and Animation.
For Pragya, her artistic journey started from college, and has been an art aficionado, ever since. And while she never went to any art school per say, she has learnt most of her trade, from watching tutorials on the internet, including the ones by Bob Ross, who according to her, can make anyone fall in love with the art of painting.
Youtube is where it all started, back in 2018, following which, she started her own instagram page – Girl With Paintbrush, and since then has never looked back. Everyday practice helped her a lot to grow and eventually find her own style.
In her words, “I believe art is an escape to a peaceful world, where you are the creator!”
Experimenting with art, has given her plenty of new perspectives. She has worked with different mediums graphite, charcoals, watercolour and acrylics etc but her love for watercolours is immense. Shades of sunset, aquatic hues of the ocean life, forest greens, auroras and night skies full of stars, are her go to pallets.
Pragya has been making the most of this lockdown period, by starting her own Youtube channel, which also goes by the name of Girl With Paintbrush, with the sole intent of helping others, fall in love with the art of painting.
She has found travelling to be the best way to unlock different perspectives of viewing what surrounds us in this World. The beauty of Nature is what cheers her up, and has always provided her with motivation, when she feels low on ideas. According to her, the best part of being surrounded by mountains, oceans, or the forests, is the magic they do, which instantly cheers up the soul.
However, she feels that, while everyone is staying at home, and doing their best to break the chain, by maintaining social distancing, one of the best ways to relive those cherished travel memories, is by recreating them, into beautiful pieces of art, and keeping them alive and close to the heart.
If you are looking for more inspiration about some creative things to do at home during this lockdown period – Check out these
30+ Awesome Creative Things You Can Do from the comforts of your Home.
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Lovely paintings.