The colours of black and white

Painting and sketching have been one of the most widely loved hobbies for so many of us. But at times it becomes a distant dream, as we have to concentrate on more ‘academic’ aspects of our education rather than a hobby. 

Picking art as a career choice if complimented with a regular full-time job is a wise thing to do be it in any day and age. Art is highly volatile and personal and its perception differs from every individual. Unlike popular cinema, which is meant for the masses, art is highly specific and may or may not appeal to a large number of people. Hence being smart with art as a career choice is a wise decision.

We chatted with 30-year-old Aninda Dey from Bangalore who is presently working for Genpact Analytics about his love for art and his passion for sketching.

How did it all begin?

From an early childhood, he loved drawing and he would always keep scribbling in his school notebooks. Even though he didn’t pursue any art certification but growing up he used to learn drawing in an art school.

“I have taken part in a lot of art competitions and have won several prizes too. For few years drawing remained a dormant hobby but back in college, I saw some portraits in an art exhibition that inspired

me to try artwork all over again. Though it was nothing compared to what the artists had drawn but it ignited a long-lasting passion for continuing improving my skills in sketching. Now I learn online about subject choice, shades, textures from fellow artists across the world,” smiles Aninda.

Investments made

Time is the biggest investment and learning to be patient follows close second for Aninda. Before starting with any sketch Aninda feels that he has to decide what he wants to portray, how would he like to play with shades which consumes a lot of time and that patience plays a vital role to let your creation take shape.

He further adds, “On the material side one starts with basic chart paper, pencils but with time you get to know of better types of papers, charcoals (Hard & Soft), various types of erasers, tools to shade better, tools to smoothen the texture, ways to preserve your work. I learnt about these from art stores around India, online shop portals, blogs by artists and my travels around Art stores in US, Europe and South Africa.”

Challenges faced

“Sketching is more of a hobby than work for me. For me, my biggest challenge is to be able to do justice to the sketch. I want to make my views understandable to the audience and be reachable to a maximum number of people, interested in the art form, get their views and comments. This gives me the motivation to work better and improve my technique and deliver,” explains Aninda.

Aninda does sell his work to folks who are interested in buying but he doesn’t yet have a portal for sale. The other biggest challenge he feels is reaching out to the right audience who are interested in his work and not just in the standpoint of art but willing to purchase the same.

He admits, “I am not sure which galleries would be keen on representing my work and in most cases have faced issues with finance to conduct my own exhibitions in well-known art galleries and auction houses.”

What makes his artwork so unique? 

For him the simplicity of sketching as a medium makes it unique. The very fact that one can achieve so much complexity just with pencil shades is what he feels stands out.

“My USP would be my ability to portray the human emotion through portraits. Usually, with sketching an artist can draw exact faces of friends and celebrities; call it my inability but I can’t sketch exact faces instead I concentrate on portraying emotions through facial expressions and body posture. That makes each piece unique to the subject at the same time general for anyone to associate with the feeling,” adds Aninda.

Sketching

He further explains, “The very reason I was attracted to sketching was the use of pencils and charcoal to create art work. I have stuck by it as I feel there’s a lot that one can do with sketching itself. Over a period of time, I have invested in various sketching tools to improvise my work and I feel that I still haven’t got bored of it that I have to try a different medium. What attracts me to sketching is the various moods that one can achieve, multiple textures and interplay of light that one can build using this simple medium.”

Themes

Aninda started by drawing female forms and it still remains one of his favourite subjects. His muse usually is known and unknown people around him or some pictures he has seen online.

“The theme could be something through which I can portray an emotion; I have had sketches of Buddha, Durga, Krishna, Ganesha purely in the context of portraying their spiritual power. I have had a portrayal of betrayal, love, lust, freedom through my work. I have also made sketches of a few dancers as well as I find the dance postures beautiful. Like everyone beauty attracts me but what I also aspire for is perfection and some friends tell me that the images I draw usually carry a sense of perfection and confidence in them,” smiles Aninda.

From start to finish

The average time he takes is close to a week provided he gets to devote an hour every day. The time varies depending upon the complexity of the art piece and his available time and mood.

“I typically don’t have any timeline but once I start, I am itching to finish it, but I have to patient as lack of it can lead to mistakes,” admits Aninda.

Feedback generally has been very positive both from his friends and family groups and outsiders whom Aninda has reached through referrals and social networking sites and multiple art forums.

He concludes, “They have critiqued me on my choice of subjects, themes, words I use to emote, shading techniques and general mood of the sketch and are the biggest driving force behind my want to improvise my work and provide different artworks to them.”

Get in touch: 

You can follow Aninda’s artwork and sketches here:

Blog: http://anindadey.blogspot.in/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aninda.theartist/

Email : aninda.b.dey@gmail.com

He would be happy to work on commissions and cater to personalised artwork from clients. Prices of his sketches can be provided on request that would include prints on Canvas and Shipping charges.

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