A week in the life of Nirakar Chowdhury! by Anaika Ajay

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“A week in the Life of…” is an experimental segment we started on our Instagram page, that gives you a more intimate perspective of an artist’s works. A few behind the scenes moments, and a little bit of insight into the artist’s techniques.

Day 1- In honour of Springtime, we are bringing to you another artist that is known for his abstract depictions of nature. Nirakar’s love for nature and animals is very evident in all of his works, using them as the subject of most of his works, He gives his paintings his own twist, with an element of Cubism, that he attributes to his inspirations; Braque and Picasso.

Day 2- Even though he does not use a fixed colour palette for his works, he uses different brush strokes for different parts of his paintings. He creates smooth, vertical gradients in the geometric shapes, for the background, to help establish a base for the paintings. The backgrounds are usually pastel type shades and seldom interfere with the subjects, that are usually more vibrant in nature. Playing with light and dark shades of the colour, creating highlights and shadows, to depict the time of day, or setting in general. For his fauna (usually the subject of his paintings,) he opts for textured brush strokes to have them remain as the subtle focal points, mixing a few saturated colours, to create depth.

Day 3- He received a Bachelor In Fine Art from the Government College of Art and Crafts, Utkal University of Culture, Odisha, India in 2006Nirakar has participated in various group and solo shows over the years; including “Khushrang” a group show at All India Fine Art Society, New Delhi in 2017, the EDELWEISS PALETTE ’16 ART WALK, Mumbai in 2016, “Ways of Seeing” a group show at Harrison Center for the Arts, Indianapolis, USA in 2016, and a solo show of painting “MONEY,MONEY,MONEY” at Reflection Art gallery & studio, New Delhi.

Day 4- He mentions that it takes “approximately ten to fifteen days to complete one work.” He takes out the the acrylic paints he needs for each section and uses different brush thicknesses to achieve the various textures you can see in his paintings.

Day 5- While talking about his technique, he says, “before painting I always keep my compositions ready, after which I put colour shades- block by block, on the background. After completing the background I draw sharp lines and convert them into shapes and fill the colour.” He also adds that he uses tape to ensure that the lines remain sharp and precise.

Day 6- Growing up surrounded by a family of artists, Nirakar has always aspired to be an artist himself. “My art journey started from when I was just a child, at that time I focused on art rather than on my studies.” He goes on to say, his grandfather was his biggest inspiration.

“I feel alive when I paint, I have never thought of it as my job or duty.”A week in the life of Nirakar Chowdhury!

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