Surfing Sanghamitra’s paintings is a deep pleasure. It is an experience to remember. The life oozing out of the blends of the colour in her paintings speaks to you. The subtle tones and shades of watercolours that she plays with makes it hard to accept that she is a self-taught artist, pursuing her career in the same field!
Sanghamitra belongs to West Bengal, but currently lives in Kolkata. She pursued masters in social sciences with a bio science background. While Sanghamitra has interests in travelling, music, cooking and thriller novels, she has a special and a passionate spot for painting and art. Her achievements are enough to speak about her talent. She has won several awards, both nationally and internationally. Her paintings have also been in group exhibitions across Europe, China, Dubai and India. She has achieved all of this with her zeal and dedication.
Her Journey!
Like every toddler who picks up a crayon and ruins the clean walls with their artistic endeavours, in the similar way, Sanghamitra’s art journey also started. Art stayed a constant for her. She studied, but she also painted, which eventually got inseparable from her soul. Art is a meditative process for Sanghamitra. It has made her realise how passionate she is for paints and brushes, for this medium of creative language.
Like every mentor in our life, Sanghamitra’s guiding force till this day is her childhood teacher, Late Sri Sailen Ghosh. It was he who laid the foundation of art in her life and discovered the talent in Sanghamitra.
Sanghamitra has tried her hands at almost every painting medium: charcoal, acrylic, pencil shades, but the spontaneity and transparency of watercolours positively challenged and surprised Sanghamitra the most. She connects to it and loves to manipulate the tones. Watercolour is indeed a medium to be controlled, and for Sanghamitra, it was a challenge she loved to accept. Consequently, she is now a professional watercolour artist.
Motivations and Inspirations!
At the age of 15, Sanghamitra wanted to continue Art academically. However, her parents wanted her to pick science stream, get into the service sector and earn a livelihood, the norms the society expects us to follow. After completing her master’s degree, Sanghamitra was in a State Government Job, however, art and painting didn’t leave her thoughts. The dissatisfaction was present. She switched her job and joined the NGO sector. The persistent dissatisfaction motivated Sanghamitra to go for what she really wanted. In 2017, she gave up her job, and against all odds, decided to give Art the serious dedication she had always wanted to. The beginning was confusing and difficult, but Sanghamitra stands today with many rewards to her name. Trials, practices and passion surely never fail us!
For Sanghamitra, Art is a vehicle for meditation and self connection. The white paper/canvas is an open ground to dump one’s feelings with the flow of the colours. Art has continued to deepen Sanghamitra’s insights on life, her inner orientations, and speaks to her spiritually. Painting has become a creative mode of analysing one’s feelings and emotions.
Sanghamitra opens the distinction between a painting and a camera. When asked about the hidden pieces behind her paintings, her response was that paintings are non-verbal mode of communication. She is a landscape artist, and painters have a keen eye to see beyond what the camera captures in the lens. There is always more to the green trees and the floating clouds. The choice of colours and contrasts, all of this is an attempt by the painter to converse with the viewer and with oneself as well.
What sets Sanghamitra’s paintings apart from others is the duality of concepts she represents. She loves contrasting and colliding opposite matters with each other. For instance, warm tones with cool tones, man-made resources against natural resources, bright light contrasting with dark shades. Sanghamitra believes that such a scenario helps the viewers to visualise its richness of life and allows them to build their own stories.
Her Message for all the Aspiring Artists
Sanghamitra says that talent is both inborn and acquired. However, one still needs to sharpen one’s skills and techniques to harness that quality. Hard work and practice increases our execution of the skill and ability to understand.
For all the young dreamers, Sanghamitra’s message is to keep patience throughout this long journey of Art. Art cannot be mastered in one day. Desire for personal freedom, financial independence, socialisation and artistic lifestyle are the four keys to motivation. Being consistent and confident will surely help you all to pursue your dreams.
