Congratulations to artist Sripriya Mozumdar for placing as a finalist in the 5th Edition!

*Sripriya Mozumdar has also won the Monthly Art Award August 2024 Edition!

Who are you?

I am Sripriya Mozumdar, an ex-marketing professional turned self-taught artist, based in Mumbai, India. While I have always been drawn to art since childhood; my academic and professional backgrounds led me to marketing communications and to a busy corporate life. Becoming a mother forced a sabbatical and gave me the opportunity to chase my true calling and my work today as a full-time artist.

I have a great love for history, mythology, literature, retro Hindi music and all things classical. I can speak four languages and am an ardent Jane Austen and Harry Potter fan. I am hyper-sensitive to detail and organization and I think all of these influence the kind of artist I am.

What inspired you to begin utilizing oil paint as a medium?

As a youngster, I had received only basic training in sketching and charcoal. I was always fascinated by the rich look and feel in traditional oil paintings that I saw in museums everywhere. To me, oil painting seemed like the pinnacle of artistic achievement – as the chosen medium of The Great Masters. Hence, when I took up art again as an adult, I chose to teach myself oil painting from the abundance of resources available online. Everything from the lingering smell of oil paints and mediums, to the feel of the paint on the brush, the tricky chemistry of paint bonding and glazing, and even the agonizing wait for the paint to dry – are all part of the mystery and ethos of oil painting; and I love each aspect of it.

Can you discuss the inspiration and thought process behind your winning work "Saawan - Indian Monsoon"?

My current work is a contemporary fusion of the artistic traditions of the Flemish Masters with the cultural traditions of my country India. This series of still life paintings in oil titled ‘Pitara – my Indian treasure trove’ presents different aspects of my Indian heritage through the lens of Flemish still life – a Western idiom vastly different from the traditional art forms of India.

‘Saawan - Indian Monsoon’ is the third painting in this series and represents how the petrichor from the Indian Monsoon is welcomed with the crunch of deep-fried ‘pakoras’ (vegetable fritters) and the wafting warming fragrance of masala chai (spiced tea) flavoured with ginger and cardamom. Masala chai and pakoras define India, just as the Monsoons define the Indian subcontinent – impacting our lives, livelihood, culture and food habits deeply. They represent the eternal bond between season, food and culture. In India, it’s also about how you eat, not just what you eat. Eating in dried-leaf bowls, terracotta kulhads (earthen cups) and glass tumblers is a centuries-old tradition that is common even today – evidence of sustainability in tradition becoming a contemporary culture. The entire setting that I have captured in this painting is a true evocation of food, cultural and even nostalgic memory, for every Indian.

What drew you to explore still life as a subject matter?

I think my approach to painting through the lens of realism and more so, photorealism; is in many ways responsible for guiding me closer to still life. Still life started off as a natural subject matter – by sheer virtue of being readily available. As I became increasingly drawn towards photorealism in my artistic journey, I also became aware of the role of still life in representing the ‘life’ behind that still scene.

As a photorealist, I see myself as a chronicler of our lives and times. And the objects we live with are great chroniclers of our lives. In the true sense of archeology, Still life, I believe, speaks the hidden language of human artefacts. Each object in a still life painting represents the human world behind that object – from the hand that made it, to the one that owned it, to the cultural associations, personal memories and emotions attached to its use. Through my choice of objects and settings, my still life paintings stage that alternate reality – a silent representative of culture, people and symbology. I am thus a painter of life, although still.

Can you talk about the importance of your own culture in your art?

“Being Indian is not blood, as much as it is culture” so said, Tony Hillerman.

Myth, legend, tradition and beliefs influence the Indian way of life constantly – lending this modern country a deep rooting in its ancient culture. In India, culture and tradition do not reside only in the past. They are an active, evolving daily reality of India’s diverse societies and communities. Our way of life, our songs and films, our rituals and beliefs – are all derived from the ancient land that this country is. It is almost as if, multiple timelines are lived and experienced simultaneously in this country.

As an Indian, my storytelling is thus deeply influenced by the traditions, beliefs and tales that I grew up with. My culture defines who I am, and provides the starting point for my creative language.

An abiding inspiration in my art is the great Indian maestro ‘Raja Ravi Varma’. Regarded today as the ‘father of modern Indian art’, Ravi Varma’s oeuvre united the European realistic style of painting with Indian sensibility and iconography. Even today, the most prevalent visualizations of Gods, Goddesses and mythological characters in India are those that Ravi Varma’s art gave us. I flatter myself that I continue the tradition set by this great master when I today tell my Indian story in the Western idiom of Flemish still life.

What do you hope to communicate with your work?

In my journey to today, I have found myself wanting to communicate various things at different times, often dependent on the challenges facing me at those times. The common viewer of my art often connects instinctively with my art – for it needs no explanation beyond itself. Yet, the art fraternity has tried to probe for the deeper meanings within my art.

The world we live in places a premium on ‘instant, digital and virtual’. It is a world of fleeting imagery, quick and disposable. In my artistic practice, by choosing to immerse myself in the world of the Old Masters, I have instead chosen to be a ‘slow, hand-made, purist’. Mine is a world of slow art – an opportunity to appreciate the divine and seek meaning in the commonplace.

Today, my art speaks of my heritage. Tomorrow, I might also express my opinions on contemporary issues. Yet, ultimately, my work just says: “Art for art’s sake” – for the pure joy of being, for the need to pause and to reflect, and to undertake an inward journey into the infinitesimal.

Do you have a particular piece that you view as your most accomplished? Why?  Can you talk about your biggest learning experience during the process of creating your works?

My biggest accomplishment is my journey to being the artist I am today – especially because my entire journey has been self-taught. I was a 31-year old mother who had just given up a lucrative corporate career in marketing communications when I decided to take a sabbatical and teach myself oil painting. Hence, my failures have been my biggest teachers. Every time I have junked a canvas after working on it, I have learnt what I should not have done. Thus every single painting, every mastery of a technique has felt like a huge accomplishment. And I have learnt to rely on my instincts, to pat myself on my back, and stick with my convictions – because I am my own mentor and champion. Often that is why; my most recent work is my most accomplished.

Yet, my journey has taught me three big lessons:

• Turn up to work every day – Following a schedule and being organized is as important as following your heart. For someone who had moved out of corporate life, the freedom to own my day was tempting. It often led me to daydreaming, dawdling and ultimately lesser work. One of the biggest lessons I had to learn was to paint daily, paint purposefully, and without excuses – to be accountable to oneself.

• Don’t be afraid to restart – It doesn’t matter what stage you are at when you discover a painting isn’t working. It is never too late to go back to the drawing board, never too much time spent on perfecting a composition, never too late to find the right reference material. The final painting will be worth all that re-working. 

• Keep it simple – a simple composition is a better story. After having photographed extensively to prepare all the photo references for my current painting series and even finishing the first two paintings, I finally hit upon tighter compositional stories. Hence, I re-did the entire shoot and the paintings – and I feel that is a lesson I shall carry for life. 

Can you discuss why you chose painting as a medium for your work and voice as opposed to others? Have you experimented with other mediums? If so, which ones and how?

My mother says I used to draw perfect tiny circles touching each other throughout the floor when I was a toddler. So probably, despite my love for literature and turning a phrase, I was always a painter at heart. The fact that I did not have a formal art education is also a reason for me not having worked with sculpture or pottery – both of which I admire greatly. Yet, as a photorealist, today I am required to employ my skills in photography, in digital editing and in storytelling; for me to be an artist.

My work on a painting begins months before I pick up my brush. The photography to create the reference for painting is a complete process by itself – from sourcing, set-up, lighting to then editing. In this particular series, the process of searching for antique objects in traditional materials (like the brass kettle and the peacock container) was an interesting and time-consuming exercise by itself.

In addition to oil painting, I love working with charcoal and graphite and creating hyper-realistic drawings and especially portraits. The stark beauty of black and white and the unforgiving nature of charcoal as a medium excite me greatly.

Can you discuss your biggest success since starting your artistic journey?

Throughout my journey, but especially towards the start; I have had many projects and painting theme ideas. Yet, I discovered that without the requisite skill in execution, even the best of ideas fell short. I needed to devote the amount of time and effort that I have over the years to perfect my technique, in order to have sufficient confidence in beginning a new project. Today, I find that I can focus on ideas without worrying about execution – and that in itself, is valuable success for a self-taught artist.

Becoming a juried member of the International Guild of Realism made me part of a valued circle of great artists and it is an association I cherish. I have also recently begun a relationship with an established art gallery in India, and that is surely a big step ahead in my journey.  

What projects are you working on currently? Can you discuss them?

I am continuing work on my current photorealistic still life series ‘Pitara’ – with many more aspects of Indian culture to extol. A few of my upcoming subjects are – Indian spices, prayer, music and festivals. I am also working on a separate series where I use photorealistic still life to express my opinion on contemporary issues.

Lastly, I like to ask everyone what advice they would give to their fellow artists/photographers, what is your advice?

As I look back at my path so far, I am always reminded of Robert Frost’s “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.”

That would be my only advice for every fellow artist – follow your heart.

To view more of Sripriya Mozumdar’s work

Website

Instagram

Facebook