Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 355 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.

Nature, tradition and abstract forms are the themes of three art exhibitions held this month in Bengaluru. Hosted at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, they are titled Effloresence, RG, and Kimaya. The first two feature the works of Sunita Vasanth, Ganesh Badiger and Ravi Raj, with a wide range of abstract landscapes and florals.

“I was in market research for almost 20 years, then quit to become a full-time artist, partly for family reasons. I decided to take up drawing as I was watching my kids learn to draw,” says Sunita Vasanth, in a chat with YourStory. “I took to brush and paint like a fish to water,” she recalls; she also took some courses and workshops in art along the way.

“Art gives the freedom to transcend the realm of reality and draw from the depths of imagination. Art completes me,” Sunita explains. She also teaches art through a programme called ‘Doodle and Dabble.’

Her works have been featured in 25 group exhibitions in India and overseas, and sold in countries ranging from Nepal and the Czech Republic to UAE and the US. Later this year, she is participating in the Olympiad show of the International Watercolours Society. Her artworks are priced in the range Rs 3,000 to Rs 30,000.

“There is no end to learning,” Sunita advises aspiring artists. “Following your passion with dedication will take you to success. Enjoy the process, and the results will come if you ensure high quality. Success is a continuum, and each year can take you to greater heights,” she adds.

Sunita’s current exhibition focusses on the men and women who make garlands that adorn our homes and ceremonies, right from birth to death. “They string together not just flowers but moods and stories. The flowers are using during merrymaking and mourning, for any moment that is to be cherished and remembered,” she explains.

Ganesh Badiger and Ravi Raj are two friends whose camaraderie carries over into joint art exhibitions as well. Ganesh is a designer and Ravi an engineer, but both are accomplished hobby Artists with abstract landscapes as themes of choice. Their artworks are priced from Rs 10,000 to Rs 35,000.

The Kalathan Art Foundation (KAF) presented the exhibition titled Kimaya, meaning the art of transmuting metals into gold. The exhibited forms included charcoal sketches, colourful Mysore art, and intricately-carved ‘thooli’ art, depicting scenes from rural life to mythology.  

Curated by Niraja Jagannath, the artist lineup included Chitra N, Mahendra D, Shahed Pasha Husain, Meera Kumar, Jayant Hubli, Shaji Subramannian, and GSB Agnihotri. The artworks are priced from Rs 7,000 to Rs 75,000.

Curators play an important role in the art world since not all artists excel in speaking and marketing, explains Niraja Jagannath. She urges audiences to observe more intently and appreciate the creativity of artists. Abstract art may seem easy, but it appears and evolves much later in an artist’s journey, she explains.

Niraja has been in the art field for over 13 years, and launched KAF two years ago. The foundation helps bring artworks to galleries, connects artists to teachers, and provides funding for children’s education.

She advises aspiring artists to sharpen their habits of observation, association and practice. “Art exhibitions give you more insights and experiences than surfing through art sites on the Internet,” Niraja signs off.

Now, what have you done today to pause in your busy schedule, appreciate the real beauty of the world around you, and nurture your creative soul?

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