India Art, Architecture and Design Biennale, 2023

Extremely honoured to be selected to participate in the first ever India Art, Architecture and Design Biennale organised by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. 150 artworks of 75 artists from across India were selected for the event inaugurated by the PM of India, Shri Narendra Modi. It was an absolute honor to have the Prime minister of India view my artworks!

Our show was wonderfully curated by Dr. Abira. In addition there were 7 themed exhibitions, each spanning 3 or more floors, panel discussions, workshops and more all within the iconic, 17th century Red Fort!! Just brilliant! Art for everyone indeed. And what a crowd response it was!

One of the most heartening aspects I found was how accessible it was to the public... those who may not ever make it to galleries anytime soon! I saw construction workers, people from interior parts of the country and lots and lots of children and school kids apart from the urban population who are exposed more to such events. Entry was free those 7 days and it opened it up to a lot of people. It was very interesting interacting with such a diverse group of people and seeing them respond to different aspects of art, architecture and design. Check out my Instagram for more pictures and videos of IAADB 23

Gratitude for the opportunity 🙏

"Coffee with A slice of life", Oil on Canvas

Sometimes simple, slice of life moments have beauty in them and more so one that I see around me in Bangalore cafes so often! :)
And while I usually paint from my own photo references, this one was inspired from a copyright free source. Modified it quite a bit to add my own elements to the narrative. It got my attention right away for, among other things, it showcased women going on with their daily life routines rather than idealized versions of them :)

"Coffee with A slice of life", Oil on Canvas , 12x12in.

Charcoal workshop at The Forum Art Gallery, Chennai

Explored the versatile medium of charcoal with 10 enthusiastic students! Ranging from ages 10 -70 years they showed that age indeed is not a barrier to learning something new! Most of them had never worked with charcoal before.

And what a wonderful gallery setting for this at The Forum Art Gallery, Chennai. Glad to have its founder Shalini Biswajit and coordinator Asha around to share a lot of interesting information abt the artworks there.

Teaching is a two way street and a teacher learns something in the process and gets inspired as well.. and it certainly was that for me!

All India Merit Grant Award 2022-23 for Emerging Artists of India.

Happy to receive the Prafulla Dahanukar Foundation's All India Merit Grant Award 2022-23 for Emerging Artists of India.
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Honored to have my charcoal drawing showcased at the Karl Khandalavala Gallery of the 100 year old Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vaastu Sangralaya, Mumbai, from April 2nd-7th, 2023
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My drawing "Infinite Horizon" is an expression of how a woman's potential is truly infinite and that she has to find and nurture that spark by looking both within and beyond, and persevere no matter what! Wanted to capture a certain contemplative and inward quality to the gaze even though she is looking into the horizon. With the looseness of the lines sought  to convey the essence of the free spirit that she truly is if she chooses to be so!
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The works of the other artists from all over India were amazing and it was truly inspiring to talk to many of them and find out the creative inspiration and process behind their artworks!
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If you are in Mumbai, please do visit the museum. It is amazing with such historic treasures and a must visit for anyone interested in art! :)

Naari KalaMahotsav at ChitraKala Parishath

Exhibited two of my charcoal portrait drawings at "Naari KalaMahotsav”, Akanksha's 10th Anniversary Mega Art Show showcasing artworks of 90 women artists at ChitraKala Parishath, from March 8th-12th. My painting Mesmer'eyes won 1st place in portraiture at the show.
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Inaugurated on International Women's day, March 8th by Ms. Nazneen Banu, Director of National Gallery of Modern Art Bengaluru & Mumbai and an esteemed panel of guests, it was wonderful day of art, bonding, camaraderie, listening to and exchanging stories and experiences. Indeed underscoring the value that sisterhood and friendship brings. As one of the guests said in their speeches "Alone we strive.. but together we thrive"!

Exhibition of my painting at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

Exhibited my oil painting at the prestigious Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, as part of the juried 105th Annual Exhibition of Art Society of India(set.1918), showcasing works of select artists from across India. Some pictures from the inauguration.

Kids Commission work - "Sibling Bonds"

In my collector's words: "Love is the most important ingredient in anything we do and it was so evident in your work. Cannot thank you enough . This is going to be one of my most precious possessions now, not only for me and my husband but for my kids as well in years to come"
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"Sibling bonds", Commissioned art, Oil on Linen, 32 inches

For this commission my client wanted a painting of her kids captured in a natural way in an ocean setting. We decided on this particular reference for the painting as we wanted to capture the stance of the little boy looking at the ocean in a mix of both awe and a little apprehension seeing the vastness before him...and his sister calmly being there for him to hold her hand.
It was good challenge since as per the client's request,  I used colours of the sea and sand very different from the original reference but using multiple ocean references from her own pictures.
Kept the waves minimal,  loose and impressionistic to keep the focus on the kids mainly.

It now adorns the wall of her daughter room :)

India Art Festival, Bangalore

India Art Festival’s first Bangalore edition was a celebration of art in all its variety. With a display of artworks of different styles, mediums and colours it provided a great platform for artists and collectors to meet and for artists to network as well. Here is a glimpse of my stall with select works

Had some media coverage for my artworks as well, both in print & as video interviews during the festival. One was 5 min video interview in Kannada for a regional TV show. Happy to have explanation about my artworks reach local audiences.
My Insta has short snippets from both interviews... one in Kanada & one in English where I talk about the inspiration behind some of my artworks! Had family, friends and well wishers visit my stall and the show. A few of my artworks found new homes as well. Overall it was a great experience.

Took part in an Art Exhibition for a cause this Saturday at the Total Environment Corporate Campus, Bangalore.
" Where This Flower Blooms", was an art and creative fundraiser event for 3 different charities. School building in rural areas, reaching out to the less privileged in interior India, Addressing climate change and Slow fashion were some of the causes.
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It was a fantasic day ..full of art, poetry, creativity, and heart organised by Artist Bharati Sagar and Architects and Founders of Total Environment Homes, Shibanee Sagar and Mr. Kamal Sagar.
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It was inspiring and eye opening to hear Artist S.G Vasudev talk about the inception of Cholamandalam Artist's Village in the Chennai of the60's, then Madras! How along with Mr. KCS Paniker and few more artists they started the college without government help / funding to keep the autonomy of the artists going.
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And later had the opportunity to discuss with him about the early Madras Art Movement days, artist JMS Mani, a close friend of his and a few more thoughts of his on some Indian and Italian artists.
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Artist Bharati Sagar spoke about her influences behind the beautiful soft and fluid pastel & mixed media figurative works depicting women and children.. and her works with natural materials.
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Mr Suresh Jayaram spoke about the very early history of Bangalore's Lalbagh, an ode to the iconic location, on which he has published a book on with many historic drawings & photographs.
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Artist Dimple had a wonderful performance piece on the precarious balace between Man and Nature.
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Met and made new art friends :)
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Meeting and listening to the stories, seeing works of so many artists, creatives and founders was a humbling learning experience altogether.

Chitrasante 2022

The offline ChitraSante 2022 provided a great opportunity to meet and interact with art enthusiasts, artists, art buyers, make new art friends and catch up with some old friends who visited!
Many of my artworks found new homes and it is always a great feeling to hear what made them connect with a particular work and made them buy it.

.. A husband gifting a travel themed drawing to his wife who loved to travel but was not finding the time post having a kid. He wanted it to inspire her to go on adventures again!

... A young tech employee who wanted to buy her first artwork and liked the bold and direct gaze of the woman in the drawing she bought.

... A family that bought many music themed drawings because their young daughter loved singing and their son liked to draw..

Made me realise that people and not art should be viewed as an investment. Meaning .. investment in time, energy and developing strong relationships! Art meanwhile should be bought from the heart!
Chitrasante indeed provide an opportunity for artlovers to connect directly with the artists and see their artworks.

Exploring an Ancient temple with Grandpa

Grandparents bring such a wealth of affection and wisdom to grandkids.

In this work I wanted to capture the juxtaposition of young and old, ancient and new. And also to capture a simple moment of human interaction, something that was a challenge, across the world, over the last two years!

I captured the reference picture on my children's first travel with grandparents post lockdown, a meeting after a gap of over a year! Among other places, happened to visit an ancient temple and saw grandpa & grandkid looking at this huge, old, beautiful bronze cast horse and discussing what it was. I knew then I wanted to paint the scene..so took some photographs & got to painting it after modifying & editing some details ( including editing out the masks!)

The beautiful horse which captured their attention was a challenge to paint... especially the patina ( green & brown oxidation due to age) and its reflective surface with tiny details. It took a lot of time and learning to apply paint rather than paint the details flat and taught me patience :)

Oil on canvas, 20x20in

Strada September Art Challenge.

Decided to take part in the Strada 30 Day Art Challenge to paint or draw ‘ From Life’ every day in September 2021. This challenge is held twice a year in January and September where nearly 1000 artists or more participate world wide in drawing & painting and posting them on social media for people to follow their progress. Through participating in this I wanted to challenge myself to set better routines in creating art through the pandemic since the days, evenings and nights seemed to be all rolled into one. Along with another dear art friend, planned ahead for approximate subjects to paint, materials required and how to go about it during 30 days.

And what a month of learning it turned out to be! Through morning online school schedule for the kids, through the daily cooking chores, through busy festival times of Ganesh Chaturthi and milestone birthday celebrations and family get togethers….paint and draw from life I did. Whether they be simple subjects like a small plum or capsicum to a few more detailed still life setups..or dashing to create & post in the last 30 min of an extremely busy day it felt great to be creating something every single day.

A Few Tips and Takeaways from the Challenge.

1. Know the reason why you are doing it. For me it was self improvement, to paint more often and get more brush miles. So I was clear, like many others on the challenge, that it was not to impress anyone or for the social media likes ( which is nice to have but not the main reason :). That takes a lot of the pressure away. For others it was to create small works to put up for sale. For still others it was a bit of both. It could be a totally different reason for you but do try be clear on why you are participating in the challenge.

2. Try to have at least one like minded art friend ,which ever part of the world they may be in, to participate with you in the challenge. You can bounce ideas off of each other, hold each other accountable on really tiring days and just have a good time discussing the joys of creating art :)

3. Plan ahead. Plan simple. Plan at least 10 days before the challenge. Have a rough idea about what you may want to paint. You can have one simple theme for the whole month ( eg. objects in the house, florals for 30 days, faces & features, plein-air on 30 days etc etc) or a few different themes. Or focus on specifics you want to get better at like values, colour ,edges etc. I painted a new theme every 4 days ( objects in the kitchen, kids play things, sport, portrait features, the view from my window etc etc) and towards the last week just painted whatever I felt like. That gave me the ability to experiment with different subject matters I had always wanted to but never got around too. But remember if has to be ‘From life’ only.

4. If this is your first time taking part in the challenge is easier to paint/draw small like 5x7in,6x8, 8x8 or 8x10 according to what your goal is. It is ok to paint the same subject over few days ( check out the Strada page for more info on this). For me it was easier to keep the subject matter super simple. A few veterans of the challenge tackled complex subjects with ease. Going through previous Strada challenge entries on social media can help give an idea.

5) Have the materials ready. But don’t go overboard with purchasing :). I wanted to use up many of the old canvases that I had rough work on so I repainted the works over them. Purchased a few paint colours I was running out of. Many veterans of the challenge cut / purchase the boards or paper well ahead and I would recommend that too.

6. Lastly… have fun! Enjoy the process! It is exhilarating some days to complete the work while tiring on some days where u just have to muster enough enthu to put down the last few brushstrokes…but all in all the end of the 30 days the growth that comes with the hard work is an amazing feeling! And you have some wonderful works to show for it.

Do check out my Instagram@aparajitagopal for detailed pictures and videos posted everyday during the month of September.

The year that went by.

2020 what a year is was! Writing this post in june of 2021! And still processing it. Suffice to say drawing, painting, seeing artworks posted by others in the art community were truly helpful getting through the year on a good note. I did notice, both in my own case and with some others.. and heard from quite a few artist friends, about how many creatives across the world noticed an increase in productivity surprisingly.. creating more works despite all the odds. Maybe it was an outlet for us to what was going around the world.

Here is a glimpse, a collage, of some of my works done last year. Each work had a reason for being done at that time but I remember thinking when I sat down to draw and paint, that I wanted to create things that were uplifting and enjoyable not just for me but also the viewer. Looking back, my instagram feed looks like a virtual diary with jottings about the situation along with the art created as the year evolved.

Charcoal Drawing workshop at Festember 2019.

What an absolutely fantastic and inspiring time teaching basics of charcoal drawing over two sessions at Festember, one of the largest annual cultural festivals in India, hosted by NIT Trichy.

Truly humbled and grateful for this opportunity to help young, enthusiastic minds interested in drawing along their art journey. A teacher also learns a lot in the process of teaching.. and yes I most certainly did!
Thanks to the Festember 2019 team for their hospitality & to Mayank Jha, Ganesh, Amirtha & Vijayendar for their help with the workshop.

Hope to be back next year :)

Memorable moments at Festember 2019.

Honored to have my charcoal drawing of a violinist presented by the director of NIT Trichy, Dr.Mini Shaji Thomas, to the fusion band Indosoul as a souvenir of Festember.

And an absolute honor to have been able to present to Mr. Nathan Schroeder the first signed giclee print of ‘Marigold Sunrise’, my oil painting of a south Indian flower seller as a remembrance of his first ever visit to India.
Mr. Nathan is the concept artist and illustrator behind many of the original scenes of ‘Hunger Games’, ‘Thor’, Star Trek, & The Marvel Universe. A chance meeting during dinner at Festember provided an opportunity to discuss & see one on one some of the behind the scenes works, illustrations & artwork that gave rise to the movie scenes!
Had a most fascinating & delightful talk with him about a shared admiration of the great Spanish artist Joaquin Sorolla,oil painting, the renaissance of realism, Tanjore Brahadeshwara temple’s fascinating architecture etc etc.

And a third drawing presented on behalf of Festember to Ms. Anu Hassan, actress & TV host who was a guest speaker at the event ( couldn’t get the photo :). My friends & I loved watching her TV serial & chat show during our college days.

🙏 Gratitude for these opportunities!

Back to Art!

Been a busy last year and a half. Mommyhood beckoned second time around..and what a joy to be able to devote the time to it, uninterrupted.

Now as the toddler squeaky shoes are out so are my art brushes finally, all dusted and cleaned. A little more time to spare..a few more dreams to dare (sounds corny I know :D)

I had not worked with oil paints for two years, through pregnancy and after childbirth just as a precautionary measure to avoid the turpentine fumes and cadmiums. Luckily charcoal came to the rescue and I was able to focus on my drawing ( More in my previous blog post).

So when the very talented artistic duo of Suchitra Bhosle and Pramod Kurlekar announced a 3 day art workshop in India I jumped at the chance to kickstart my oil painting again. After figuring out the logistics of travelling to an outstation workshop with a mischievous toddler in tow (thanks to my supportive family :), landed in Pune! Yay!

More about the workshop soon. Check back!

Throwback to past commission work

Worked on some custom charcoal portrait commissions in early-mid 2017 for a wonderful art collector. It required multiple visits to the client's house to discuss her requirements (Managing morning sickness with hour long commutes through Bangalore traffic was quite an experience altogether :P). Went through the client’s photo albums to narrow down the ones she wanted turned into drawings. A few that we chose were challenging as they required working from small 6x4in photo prints...but the client gave me complete freedom to experiment and work according to my art aesthetic. In the end the results were completely worth it! 

And a lovely feeling to have my charcoal drawings be part of the main family wall of a fifteen thousand square feet home filled with eclectic, interesting works of artists, new and established. But the moment I like best as always is that initial moment of genuine response when the client first looks at the completed artwork.

A big thank you to Chaitanya and Meera for this wonderful opportunity.

Posting select works below. All works are charcoal & pastel on paper.

Kalanand City Award

Received the Kalanand 2017 City Award with Fellowship for Bangalore city in the Drawing category. It was awarded by the Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation at Chowdiah Memorial Hall. With nearly 4000 contest entries in various art categories the Kalanand competition is one of the biggest national level art contests in India for emerging artists.

Had entered one of my favorite portraits that I've drawn - of my friend 'Megha', which won the award. In this portrait (shown in the background) I had wanted to capture her cheerful and optimistic nature and it came through quite well. A portrait is not just copying features but capturing the essence of the person at the moment that you want to convey. 

Recent Commission Work.

A surprise birthday gift to dad ..of daughter playing the violin. Mom and daughter approached me for this with a lot of enthu :).  Now hangs in Richmond, Virginia. It was a very peaceful drawing to work on. Best part was all their reactions when they saw it :).

Thanks to K & S for the fun opportunity and to Shuba for helping me take reference photos for this drawing.

Materials: Charcoal and pastel on Strathmore paper. Approx; 14x16 inches.

Check back in some days for process video & description.