A Day in a Life of an Artist – My Creative Day with Runa Biswas

How do I sum up a day that allows me to create art? Difficult I must say, as the ‘day’ is a sum total of thousands of days, of an unending journey of self-discovery.

My day starts with art in every form conceivable, like planning and preparing tiffin for my daughter at 5.30 AM. Tiffin and art? Then breakfast for my family and art? But, that’s how it is. I believe art is everywhere and one gets to absorb from any art form. Food is definitely one with its processes, textures and taste. It has to be healthy, tasty, interesting and inviting, all at the same time. That’s art too. Cooking is like meditation for me. It soothes me, helps me find a semblance of sanity out of chaos and madness. It’s like a jugalbandi (a duet of two solo musicians) between food and my chaotic artistic mind.

“…the ‘day’ is a sum total of thousands of days, of an unending journey of self-discovery.”

Aranyani (Forest Goddess)

Next comes exploring my home with its lovely terrace garden, that surprises me with mother nature’s art – the flowers and foliage in all their form, colour, glory and fragrance. Every day is a surprise, every day holds something new. I observe them and take inspiration for my day ahead. Do the shadow play of the leaves under the rising morning sun tries to give me a cue to composition? I think about such things as the day unfolds, and imbibe them. Perhaps, with the hope that they will sneak into my paintings. But oh wait, are the works that my brushes work fervently meant to paint or to create art? So I rummage my memories, travel back to childhood and discover my next inspiration, my next human story that I must bring forth on my canvas. And more importantly bring them to life, which touches souls and moves people.

I put on the music, my old radio or the music system. It depends, on what I am going to create that day. From Tagore songs to Bob Dylan, I shuffle through and then listen to them with my heart. Sometimes, I pause them to listen to a Bulbul just outside my window and join it humming my favourite songs.

”Do the shadow play of the leaves under the rising morning sun tries to give me a cue to composition?”

The morning newspapers confront me with reality, and also human stories of triumph and tribulations. A hot cup of Darjeeling tea balances my senses, soothes my nerves and strengthens my resolve to do my bit. As I sip the second flush muscatel, it takes me back to the sylvan hills and the mysterious customs of the Buddhist monks, of the simple life of the pahari (people inhabiting the Himalayan regions of Nepal and northern India) people. I shuffle my music list and listen to ‘Pahari’ by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Shiv Kumar Sharma and suddenly the hills invade my home. I am not a very religious person, but I do pray mostly to thank and rarely to ask.

Moving to the next, at around 9.30 AM, after all my family members have been taken care of, is when a mother, wife and daughter-in-law is ready for the artist. My studio beckons, the paints gear up, the brushes quiver and my canvases on easels become restless to meet me.

“My studio beckons, the paints gear up, the brushes quiver and my canvases on easels become restless to meet me.”

At 10 AM sharp I am at my studio. It begins with mundane things like checking messages and mails and responding to them. But, at times, exciting official work like responding to a studio or an enquiry. I also scan through a few art websites to get the day’s news.

The next half an hour I dedicate myself to read. Over the last couple of years, I have tried to build a small library of sorts. From theatre to tribal art to textiles, and of course study material on masters – both past and present, and both international and national. Ganesh Pyne is one of my favourites and so is Jogen Choudhury for his bold lines. I also like to read about Chittoprasad for his fieriness, as also Bhaijju Shyam for his dare to dream attitude. Hockney, Sabavala, Nolde, Manida…all of them suddenly fill my studio and sweep away the quietude. Each one inspires me, tells me to pick up the brush and lets go off the apprehensions about acceptance/rejection that clouds my thinking.

I then take a deep breath and look at my canvases, brushes and paints - My time to talk to them and listen to them. Have I failed them? Poured enough love for them? After all, they are all my children. At times they do tell me a lot of things, their worries or even sentiments. But in the end, our conversations end on one note – pick up the brushes and tell your untold story, paint for the greater glory of life.

“Each one inspires me, tells me to pick up the brush and let go off the apprehensions about acceptance/rejection that clouds my thinking.”

And so, I pick up a conte or a charcoal block to draw the first lines. Slowly the rhythm picks up and the line between reality and imagination starts getting blurred. The brushes follow, then the scalpel or maybe the syringes and tubes of color. In between, sandpapers come and go and so are the colour pencils and ink. It’s the most satisfying period, as I lose count of time and what is happening around; detached with the world yet attached to my own that I have created. After a spell, I step back and then I am my biggest critic. It depends at what stage the painting is, and whether it satisfies me as it evolves. The next is to go back to it with double the effort, maybe start fresh or course-correct if the painting needs so.

Till I am reminded by a gentle buzz on my phone that it’s Lunchtime, and that 3 hours have just flown. I come back to receive my daughter from school and listen to her day’s story until I serve lunch to my family. The afternoon is spent reading a book, maybe a fast-paced thriller on India’s archaeological findings or behind the scene anecdotes of Sherlock Holmes or even short stories by Tagore. At times I find similarities with the struggles and frustrations of the Master Painters, and at times the laidback afternoon brightens up on finding similarities of triumph and hope with that of my own journey. This is my recharge time for the evening shift.

“It’s the most satisfying period, as I lose count of time and what is happening around; detached with the world yet attached to my own that I have created.”

Evenings are spent helping my daughter with her studies, solving Maths, explaining physics and giving her tasks while I head for my studio again. Enroute I pick up groceries and vegetables. And then, I am back at my studio for the next 2 hours, picking up from where I left in the morning session. I draw the curtains and look at the city’s night skyline, the reflection of dancing lights on the lake and soak in the breeze. I head back home again for one of the most interesting parts of the day – my chit chat session with my husband, friend, guide and philosopher. Till dinner time, when the whole family comes together over the table. This is the time our discussions veer from unusual to the most mundane of topics from films to music to cybernetics to biotechnology to philosophy to cuisine, except politics that is.

At 10.30 PM it’s time to listen to the Night Jar and the whispering trees, and then the dreams take over; preparing me for another day, for an unending journey to find myself, my true calling.

About the Artist: Born in 1975 Runa Biswas comes from the old side of Kolkata, India and lived in a house that was 100 years old, surrounded by a history of 300 years. There was art everywhere, surrounding her with its many hues, patterns, colours and smell. From a very early age, she was drawn to art; painting whatever evoked a sense of happiness and freedom. After procuring a Diploma in Fine Arts from Rabindra Bharati University and an MSc in Economics from Calcutta University, she dived straight into the world of colours, mainly watercolours, then on to more experimental forays with ink.

Currently, Runa Biswas is based out of Bangalore. Over 15 years or so she had been able to develop a highly unique artistic language, experimenting with various mediums, textures, tools, and concepts. She uses a mix of wash technique, layer on layer glazing, pouring, batik and brushwork. This allows her to combine the rigidity of bold lines with the fluidity of watercolor. Her subjects are mostly figurative, inspired by dreams, folklore, mythology, and personal moments that were etched in her memory. Her tools are as varied as her subjects - brushes, pens, palette knives, droppers, twigs, combs, and even her nails. With speed and timing being key, she has trained herself to be ambidextrous, using both her hands at the same time to implement different applications.

This is the final episode of the mini-series "My Creative Day" this Season. You can check out the FIRST, SECOND and the THIRD one by clicking on the links.

The World Stirs My Imagination - My Creative Day with Katarina Rasic

I don’t have a routine or a studio, therefore explaining my creative day is a difficult task,  expressing what inspires me is what I will aim for. The street is my studio. Scavenging for long-forgotten treasures in the busy markets stir my imagination; letting the cold water of the ocean touch my feet while I compare the sound of snow with the sound of sand under my feet.  Saying goodbye with my art to one home, so another could welcome me.

When I decided to change my life and leave my permanent home, which was the moment when everyday devoured me; MONOTONY ruptures life, I decided to resist it and started the journey of a lifetime.

“MONOTONY ruptures life...”

Still from the performance The Inside Story (Processes. Emotions. Food), Encounters, ArtO2, Mumbai, India, November 2017

Interestingly, my journey began in India, Bangalore to be more precise. I felt great creative energy and decided that I want to move. The movement will be my permanency and my driving force in creative expression.

In extension to my creative practice and as my everyday creative process is teaching, from the start, I felt it as an extension of one another. The teaching imposes questions that I often take into my art practice, it pushes me to experiment in my own work and creativity of the kids always brings new ideas into the process. My days are different from one to another and each place brings a new excitement of the discovery.

“The movement will be my permanency and my driving force in creative expression.”

Mumbai took my heart the first time I landed in the city. I knew I never wanted to leave. Do we call it home though we weren’t born there? Every time I travelled out I was eager to come back, I missed the stuffy smell of the streets. Humid touch on my skin, noise and business, Mumbai was like a living creature with a heart pumping fast, never stopping, never getting tired. I never saw a city like that, energetic, always on the go, sweaty and busy, loud and grumpy, shiny and excited in the nights and lazy and quiet in the mornings. I always found endless inspiration on the streets of Mumbai. I collected water from the potholes of the city to create art, bathed in the sea to make a conversation with the city and collected the memories of the people living there, but it was time to leave.

“I knew I never wanted to leave. Do we call it home though we weren’t born there?”

I landed on the opposite side of the world in Rio de Janeiro, around a year ago from now. Rio shook the ground under my feet, uprooted me, and then stole my heart. It was a place that deeply changed me, I would say my entire art practice too. It made me question my work and look into my creative expression. I always say the point when creativity starts is when we are out of our comfort zone but are we ever really move out of it? How do you go out of the comfort zone, when you are the one deciding on the move? Well, I learned how in Rio. I learned how to dance on the waves of the ocean. inquired into my art, and started breaking it to build new ideas.

Moving from city to city brings a new set of questions, interests and gives us new pieces of the puzzle. Now when I am in Bangkok, again there is no routine, each day floats to another, some are there to inquire and discuss, others to create and reflect. Exploring and learning about new places and cultures impact my work greatly.

“Moving from city to city brings a new set of questions, interests and gives us new pieces of the puzzle.”

Last but not the least, I like to have a good set of markers and sketchbook with me at all times, this is very important when traveling around. But to a great extent, my work is impacted by the experiences and objects I find on the streets, which I use in performances or as a driving force to come up with ideas for my work, slowly going from more physical creation of the work to the exploration of the concepts and ideas to be transformed into performances.

 “The only constant is change.” said Heraclitus, which is a creative process in itself, I say.

About the Artist: Katarina Rasic is a Serbian artist living and working in Bangkok. She spent 5 years in India and a year in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Rasic’s performances and paintings stem from her personal experiences and actions. Her performances draw us into the repetitive ritual-like practice, where her body becomes an introspective tool to unearth notions of home, belonging and identity deeply rooted in our collective memories.

This is the third episode of the mini-series "My Creative Day". You can check out the FIRST and SECOND one by clicking on the link.

Inspiration Strikes The Posterwala! - "My Creative Day" with Jayaram Ramachandran

"Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will." -George Bernard Shaw

These are some of the words I live by. To me, posters are not just colours on a piece of paper or photographs of people with no meaning at all. To me, a good poster is like an invention that has meaning, emotion and essence of the subject, using just the right hues and designs. As someone very rightly said, "A picture says a thousand words."

Very often people ask me where I get my ideas from and to be honest, I have no idea when an idea will strike and in what way, shape or form. The other day I was trying to think of a design for a book on Mr. Abdul Kalam for Bloomsbury and I just couldn't get anything. Then something came up and I had to get out of the house. I was in my car, on the road and in front of me was an auto on which there was a picture of Mr. Kalam and beside the picture, it was written, "You have to dream before your dreams can come true." That triggered a million other thoughts and I got my answer. That's the weirdest thing about being creative, you never know when inspiration is going to strike you! Sometimes you think you have an idea about what you're going to do but you just need that link that can get you a clear picture, and in my case, the auto was the link I needed to de-clutter my thoughts and a get a clear picture. This reminds me of a Steve Jobs’ quote that goes, "Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things." The truth in his words is scary. But that's one of the things that gives birth to one of the most important aspects of design, curiosity.

“That's the weirdest thing about being creative, you never know when inspiration is going to strike you!”

I've been bringing my designs to life for about 18 years but one thing I've learned is that there's always something out there, something new, something bigger, something better. And that's something one shouldn't be furious about, it's something one should be curious about. Newer the material, the more relatable it is, and the stronger the connection. But even with all the material, sometimes I lack inspiration and that's when I turn to music. Music is something that helps me get into the story and gives me the feel of it. And for me, music has been a very important part of my life from the beginning, being the son of renowned Carnatic musician Palai C. K. Ramachandran. But when it comes to my art, I turn to Mr. A. R. Rahman because I believe that no one can make you feel emotions through a song like him. My fondness for him started decades ago. As a young man, most of my friends dreamed to become successful doctors, engineers and businessmen but I made it my life's purpose to go to Chennai and just get a glance of Rahman sir. When in Chennai, I used to peek into his house from outside the gate to see him even if it was only for a second and I always had this photograph of him so that I could get an autograph if possible. I tried getting into concerts as well and I tried many other ways to just get a glimpse of this man's face. Decades went by and it had been a few years since I made my mark in the industry. One day my friend from the industry called and said that we needed to meet someone but he wouldn't tell me who. We went in his car and when we were halfway there, I knew where we were going. I was on my way to fulfilling young Jayaram's dream, only this time, I didn't need to peek. Turns out "my inspiration" wanted inspiration to design the logo for his KM College of Music! I finally met my idol, took pictures as proof that I met him, not to show anybody else, but to prove to myself that all that wasn't just a dream. At our next meeting, I took the same photo I used to take to his house when I was a young man peeping from the gate and got his autograph on it. The old, faded, fragile photo, all of a sudden became all the more valuable to me. Dreams take time to come true but in the end, they do come true after all, and that's what is important. 

“Dreams take time to come true but in the end, they do come true after all, and that's what is important.”

As an artist, I'm hungry for inspiration, and inspiration exists from the smallest to the biggest of things. You'll never know when nature will inspire you. You'll never know when your friends and family or even a stranger for that matter, will inspire you. You'll never know when you will inspire yourself. If this inspiration adds to your originality, then you are unstoppable. Creativity neither has a beginning nor an end. My journey as an artist is a journey without a destination and of the thousands of images in mind, till now, this journey, with its twists and turns, has made the most unforgettable design in my mind. To more inspiration, to more surprises and to more autos giving me great ideas!

“If this inspiration adds to your originality, then you are unstoppable.”

Here's a video of  "Aliveni Enthu Cheyvu" a Mahesh Raghvan musical featuring Meera Sreenarayanan and Sreeram Ramachandran

Directed by Jayaram Ramachandran

Written by Jayaram Ramachandran and Sreeram Ramachandran

Jayaram Ramachandran who has a passion for colours saw himself getting into fine arts as a student and later into graphic designs. Movies always beckoned him and that led him to Ace Cinematographer-Director, Santosh Sivan. He never considered posters as a mere advertising tool but for him, it is a platform through which, he is able to express the movie maker’s thoughts and fantasies about their piece of art. He started his poster designing career with a few Hindi films and multilingual art films. It is through the Malayalam movie Pazhassiraja in the year 2009 that he gained immense recognition. He runs his Design shop Posterwala Design Company in Chennai and assists Mr. Santosh Sivan in various projects.

This is the second episode of the mini-series "My Creative Day". You can check out the FIRST POST by clicking the link.

Curiosity Drives Me - My Creative Day with Lauren Rudolph

Just a little introduction to my new mini-series where some special guests would talk about their creative experiences sharing what sums up their typical creative day. I have always found it interesting to know how each creative whether it's a fine artist, writer, singer, dancer or anyone remotely involved in any form of art spends their typical creative day. If you are one such person, then you would definitely love this mini-series. 

Without much ado, let me handover it to my first guest of honour - Lauren Rudolph.

Love and Light

Deepa

. 

Curiosity Drives Me

Last week I was on vacation in Ireland with my family and I have to say it’s a stunning country. While standing at the edge of the sea as the waves crashed and the huge clouds rolled by I thought, I created this moment.  By bringing myself there and creating the conditions to make that happen and making the choices I made, I created that moment. Every day is a creation and every moment.  I had that feeling that the canvas we paint on exists beyond just one space and that the life of an artist is all about creating the life. That being said, I do have my ways of allowing for creative days and this is where they begin…

“Every day is a creation and every moment.”

The alarm chimes and it is 5:30 am. I am a morning person and I have always loved the quiet space it allows me. I have two young children so getting up before they do, feels essential to me.  I start my morning with a mediation, which is typically around 15 minutes long. I find this a wonderful way to enter the day. I am no meditation expert, but it somehow grounds me and brings me a feeling of connection and peace.  My mediation is followed by a morning ritual of picking a card at random from an oracle deck and opening a page at random from a book I love called, “Spiritual RX” by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat. Rituals speak to me and connecting to the unseen all around us is to me a creative act as well.  I exercise three mornings a week and I have to say that for the first time in my life, I truly enjoy it. I feel strong and to me, it is a way to create a body that I feel settled in. I think in the past there was a belief that I held that I can’t be an artist fully and be fully a physical person at the same time. I let that belief go and I know that has to do with allowing myself to expand in ways and not limiting myself. After getting my children ready for school and dropping them off, it is time to create art.

“Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying”

There is another book I love called “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. This is an incredible book that is very easy to read and it is all about overcoming resistance. He says, “ The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying”. I often don’t feel like sitting down to create honestly, especially when I’m starting something new or finishing something. I have to make the mental commitment and then just sit there and do the work having the faith that whatever is going to emerge is going to emerge. It’s like diving into the deep end of the pool off the high diving board for me. Once I take the leap and get going I feel energized and completely plugged in. My medium of choice at the moment is oil paint. I love it!! I love its possibilities and feel that each and every time I sit down to paint, I’m learning something new. Curiosity drives me. I was never a good student in school, but now every moment is a chance to learn. That is what inspires me the most.

“Curiosity drives me. I was never a good student in school, but now every moment is a chance to learn.”

While creating I love the companionship of some sort of audio. Last year I think I listened to 20 books on Audible (which I highly recommend). Mostly the books I listened to were spiritual in nature mainly connected to Buddhism and self-help/growth. I love that topic and always have. If I get tired of books I listen to podcasts usually based around the same topics. I love podcasts too! One day I may love to have my own. Lately, I have been listening to my favorite radio station that I stream from Martha’s Vineyard, Ma called MVY Radio. It’s listener-sponsored and the music so deeply inspires me! 

I am a portrait artist and my ideas often come from journaling and connecting inward. My desire is to tell stories that reflect my life experience and the stories of people who inspire me. I love to create collages choosing images at random and putting them together to create images that evolve from my intuition. As I grow as an artist I’d love to play with this further and create paintings that are full of depth, life and storytelling.  During the average day, I try to get 5 hours of painting in. If I am not painting during the week I am teaching which is my other love. I find connection through teaching and am very inspired by my students.

As the day winds down and my children come home from school I am then in the role of mother. Balancing these two lives is a creative act as well. There is a fluidity to this sort of existence and some days the two roles spill into each other like today. As I write this, my children are home in the other room and I am in this one. It’s not always ideal and boundaries have to be set but we try to work on mutual respect and the importance of space. As I said earlier, all of these things go into creating life. A creative life is multifaceted and ever-changing and I love it.

“Balancing these two lives is a creative act as well.”

Transcendence - Lauren Rudolph

About the Artist: Lauren Rudolph was born in New Jersey and currently lives in Nyack, NY where she works as a portrait artist and instructor. From a very early age, Lauren was drawn to portraiture. She has always had a fascination with the face and the essence of what it means to be human. Lauren began her college education at the School of Visual Arts in NYC and received her BA in art from the University at Albany.

Early in her creative life, pastels were her medium of choice, but she was deeply inspired by paint which she has explored through both acrylics and oils. She feels that there is a life and an energy in painting that is full of depth and that there is so much to uncover. At 42 years of age, she feels that she is now truly the student she desires to be, always open to learning, growing and allowing the artistic process to lead the way.