As a shy little girl growing up in India, creating art was my primary form of expression. This has turned into a life-long passion in creativity currently expressed in painting, making pottery and jewelry! I am a self-taught artist. My art is anchored in the folk art traditions of India and its rich history of textile design. I create stylized floral, animal and abstract designs using watercolor, oil pastel and pen. Bright, contrasting colors and abstract shapes jump out from my paintings to greet the world!
Painting is a form of deep meditation for me, it centers me and takes me away from the mundane. I aspire to create art that invokes peace and quiet, while still vibrant, colorful and moving! I am constantly inspired by my environment—a biologist by training and a gardener, plants and flowers have always been an immense influence. I see textures in the drying grasses as I hike in the fall. Patterns from an old brick wall creep into my paintings. And art happens! I get obsessed with certain themes, and can’t seem to stop working on them—elephants, anybody?!
My current exhibit at Oasis Café is called “Animals and Abstracts” and will run through the month of September. The current cover is of Meditation #4, one of a series of symmetrical designs inspired by Tibetan and Indian mandalas, which are used as a tool for meditation in Hindu and Buddhist traditions. This piece has been chosen to be in the Utah Arts Council's Educational Travelling Exhibit (Sept 07-08).
