How did you come to work with natural pigments?

I first got interested in pigments about 4 years ago. I’ve been vaguely familiar with them for a long time since all the Indian traditional arts used natural pigments, but I hadn’t really used them in my own art practice.

I started my using paint brands that had higher pigment concentration, because I was looking for a purity in colour. I soon realized that if I made my own paint I could control the ingredients and the pigment quality. The luminosity and jewel tones that you see in miniature painting is something I always admired.

I soon found that I enjoy the process of making paint. It’s like cooking, which I happen to love. The alchemy of it is exciting, every pigment behaves differently and there are no fixed recipe.

How has your upbringing influenced your artwork?

 I grew up in a house surrounded by art. My mum is a traditional painter and a very skilled embroiderer/ fiber artist. We used to have jars of gum arabic in the refrigerator and our dining table was always covered in stray gold flecks. She taught me to knit, crochet and embroider from a very young age. I always had a deep passion for painting… when I was young my parents would bribe me with paint by number kits.

We have art work at home that was done my Grandmother and her Mother. My Aunt is a talented batik artist and exhibited some work in Germany when I was 5 years old. It was my first gallery visit.These women created art for their own homes and thought of it as a hobby. They belonged to an age that looked at their skills as “woman’s work”.  

I think my eye was trained at a young age by these women’s artistry and I developed an aesthetic sense that is both traditional South Asian but also European.

Since my family moved around so much, I found that I preferred my own company and dealt with the anxiety of change by drawing. It was a safe space for a very shy child.

What has changed for you in the last year?

 The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound influence on how I think about and make my work.  The imposed slowness and stillness of quarantine which at first felt stifling and oppressive gave way to an acute focus on process and attention to the most basic foundations of my painting practice.  I reverted to centuries old painting techniques of grinding pigments with gum arabic and honey to make paint, burnishing paper and hand milling gold leaf.

Process and technique became almost ritualistic for me, similarly to how a Tea Making ceremony is not just about the tea. This current body of work requires attention and time, and the slowing down of art making has helped me distill my relationship with it.I’ve also had the opportunity to study more and get some instruction from teachers across the globe thanks to zoom.

What is a favorite artwork you have hanging in your home (not one of yours)?

I have a Thangka Painting (Traditional Buddhist Painting) called “The Circle of Life” that I absolutely love. But it’s really hard to pick one painting, I’m an avid art collector and I really love and treasure every single piece. I don’t actually have a lot of my own work hanging in my house, I prefer to look and get inspired by other artists. I tend to collect a lot of figurative work and photography.

What are you reading/listening to right now?

I’m always reading at least 2 or 3 books. Right now, it a book called “My Name Is Red” by Orhan Pamuk, it’s a beautiful visual story about the goings on of an Atelier of Persian Miniature Painters.

I like to listen to Audio Books when I paint so on my Audible app right now, I have “Ninth Street woman” by Mary Gabriel.