Archana Nakhua
Bhanushali

The showcase

When I was a kid my mother used to draw during the lazy afternoons, and afterwards she would stand the drawings on our old-school TV showcase. The family would see them the moment they walked in after a tiring day at work, and they would all love what she drew, and say so — and be curious about what would appear on the showcase the next day.

As a child I watched that routine: a beautiful, passionate human doing what she loved and getting the love back as appreciation. I knew I liked that feeling. That is probably when the tiny seven-year-old me decided to be an artist. And when I drew a cartoon off my brother's T-shirt onto a random page, the family more or less got the point, and have supported me ever since.

Applied arts, and away from it

What followed was very little knowledge of how to be an artist and a great deal of passion for being one. Someone suggested formal education in Applied Arts, which I completed my diploma in. Advertising excited me — but creating and expressing without boundaries, and without client follow-ups, made me want to paint more and more.

Skin, 2010

While painting I started exploring different mediums, and in 2010 I stumbled upon human skin and expression through tattooing. I was blessed with extraordinary attention and success there, largely because I could customise — in an industry that was mostly tattooing out of a hundred-and-one tattoo idea books.

Back to canvas, 2020

Then 2020 gave me a break from touching human skin, as it did the whole world, and I finally found my way back to the canvas. How would my oxygen count come back to normal without creating? That is when I restarted the Paintingwali journey.

Ever since, I have been blessed with a decent balance between my tattooing and my painting. I use my tattoo studio as the place to display all my artwork, and I am manifesting an exhibition some day soon — but until then the collection is for your eyes and your walls, so that you have a painting that resonates and gives you the vibe you deserve.

Inspiration

Nature has constantly inspired me — being in nature, travelling, exploring a place and its culture with the people who live there. It has always helped me grow, and it shows up in the work.

In the first part of my career I travelled abroad, only to realise that India is still my favourite place to explore and to grow in, spiritually as much as artistically. It is a beautiful harmonic chaos here, and I love reflecting that in my paintings.

It is a beautiful harmonic chaos here.

Commission a Painting

Being educated in Applied Arts helped me understand a client's vision; implementing it on canvas was self-taught over the years. I welcome commissions in various sizes, in oil or acrylic on canvas.

Giving an artist a decent amount of time to flow on the canvas is what gets you the worth of your spend.