A new life in watercolours

One startling aspect of the downturn in the world economy has been the pressing need for so many people to re-evaluate their lives in order to find alternative forms of fulfillment.

By John Rainsford

 

This is especially true of one young Indian woman, whose recent relocation to Ireland prompted a radical re-assessment of her own career path, leading to some innovative solutions.

Nayana Sandur was born and raised in India but came to live in the Mid-West in 2008. This was soon after marrying Krishnamurthy Jambur, whose job with computer giant Intel, had, ironically, just relocated to Shannon.

Indeed, Nayana, who holds an engineering degree in computer science and technology from Mumbai University, also worked as a software engineer in her native country, for two years, prior to her arrival here.

“I did not know anything about Ireland before I came here, apart from the fact, that it is an island beside the United Kingdom,” she explained.

“Being newlyweds it was exciting to learn more and more about the country once we arrived. It did not take me too much time to get to like the weather, however, as I had always loved ‘hill station weather’ when living in India. Ireland is also secure, friendly and beautiful.

“When I settled here I was instinctively attracted towards watercolours, which are exciting, dynamic and easy to use. It is a pleasure to work with them because of their translucent qualities, vibrancy and wide range of effects.

“My painting is not taken-up merely with depicting a physical object or subject but attempts to infuse a feeling or spirit into the work that will capture a viewer’s attention. I would like the viewer to connect with the painting by feeling the same way I felt for the subject, at that moment in time.”

From her early childhood days, Nayana always wanted to paint but never actually studied to be a professional artist while growing-up in India. Rather, she considered painting to be a hobby and being good academically she qualified as a software engineer instead.

However, her predicted ‘five-year plan’ went out the window when she moved to the Mid-West and started living in an apartment overlooking the picturesque River Shannon.

“It is not easy to leave a country that you have lived in all your life,” she says.

“I miss my family and my friends, of course, but manage to visit them every year and we are in touch regularly. However, I am more than compensated by the fact that every day now, I wake up to a beautiful panoramic view, with a cup of tea or coffee in my hand, experiencing a feeling of real joy deep inside. My painting is an expression of that joy. Indeed, the more I paint the more I am attracted to the idea of fostering this feeling through my art.

“However, it was only after months of painting and pondering, that I finally revealed to my husband my inner most desire to pursue art full-time (while still being confused and insecure about it).

“Although it has meant a completely fresh start for my career, his reaction and that of my own family in India, was very supportive and I felt very re-assured as a result.”

Nayana added, “Once that difficult decision was made, frankly, I did not know where to start, what medium to choose or what style to adopt. The Internet is one of the most useful resources an artist can use so I began to look for those paintings that most captured my imagination.

“I soon came across many artists who were self-taught and yet made amazing work. This proved to me that it was possible to create artistic works, the way that I wanted to, in-spite of my absence of any formal training.”

This tireless quest for realism has led her to develop a keen eye for detail and observation. Indeed, she spends countless hours studying the form, characteristics, color, tone and texture of her subjects then faithfully reproducing them in two dimensions on paper or canvas.

However, Nayana has also realised that art is not merely about depicting a physical object or subject accurately. It goes much further than that in trying to attract interest to its meaning. To reach this level of expertise, she has put in years of effort but is fully committed to continuing that difficult journey.

“I am unusual, in that, I am a self-taught artist, who has learned to paint full-time only over the past few years,” she said.

“I do not hold any formal qualifications in art and have had no exhibitions prior to the University of Limerick putting my work on show.  I am, however, very pleased with the nature of the feedback that I have received, thus far, and am very fortunate to be selling my work so well in the current economic climate.

“It is only a few short years since I first set about teaching myself the theories and techniques of art. Watercolours always fascinated me with their natural inclination towards realism. Self-learning was also very advantageous in all this, as it made me think, raise questions and seek answers, forcing me to analyse and re-analyse my efforts through trial and error.”

Usually, Nayana works from multiple photographs of her subjects, as these help her to capture vital details, like light and colour. She makes numerous thumbnail sketches of her multiple compositions and often supplements these with more detailed pencil sketches later. This approach has helped her to get familiar with all the relevant features and characteristics of her work such as value range, tone and colour.

Always a perfectionist, she insists on doing a colour test and analysis before starting to paint. Each layer of a watercolour affects the subsequent layers due to their translucent quality. This is quite challenging for her as the final look and feel is dependent, not only on the layer previously applied, but also on the order by which each one is successively added.

“My current exhibition, at UL, called Khushboo, is also my first art exhibition and covers 16 different botanical works. It is a solo exhibition and the theme is based entirely upon watercolour botanicals,” she said.

“It was Yvonne Davis and Patricia Moriarty, both from UL, who suggested that I focus on these as my subject matter. They also introduced me to the artworks of fellow botanical artists, Susan Sex and Siobhán Larkin, whom I really admire. When I first started practicing botanical art, I was drawn towards the delicate and yet resilient nature of plants and their features.

“In Hindi, Khushboo means fragrance, which suits the theme of my exhibition, with all its many flowers. Yvonne Davis and Patricia Moriarty both felt that it had a magically soft and light sound, so we unanimously agreed upon it, as a title.  Of course, I would like to try various other subjects in future.

“Every person has got some creative ability so I would definitely like to encourage others to be artists too or at least to be associated with some kind of art. This would enhance overall wellbeing and help the person to become more introspective.  Art also empowers people and increases their own sense of personal freedom,” she said.

Nayana Sandur’s exhibition continues at the Eden Foyer, in the Main Building, of the University of Limerick, until November 30.