Popularly recognized as the Founder/Creative Director of Quirk Box, Jayesh Sachdev is a National Award-winning artist. His work has been showcased around the world – galleries from New York to Singapore. In fact, he holds the national record for painting India’s largest concept artwork. Truly, an artist by nature, Jayesh has dedicated more than 15 years in his pursuit of art.

Quirk Box birthed out of the idea of democratizing art. Now an independent art-based design studio, Quirk Box offers well-crafted solutions for the design needs of their clients. This includes branding, graphics, fashion and much more! In fact, Jayesh’s fashion brand Quirk Box has been awarded the prestigious Vogue India Fashion Runner-up Fund and Grazia India Young Fashion Award.

A Little More On Jayesh Sachdev

Punekar by birth, Jayesh Sachdev has a Degree in Visual Communication at Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore. Admittedly, he reveals that quitting his advertising job in Singapore was probably the most courageous thing he’s done. Not only was the pay good, but he also left it all to pursue professional art in India.

Jayesh Sachdev reveals that his journey hasn’t been easy by any means. It has been filled with a fair share of struggles, failures and learnings. The process is constant. Perseverance is key, he says. And art, in many ways is therapeutic to him. Yet his belief in his work, with the immense support of his wife, Priyanka Sachdev – Chief Illustrator at Quirk Box – has helped him reach where he is today.

As a final message to young dreams like him, he reminds us that the journey is long, hard and slow. It is important to acknowledge that everything comes with its fair challenges; giving up ought not to be an option.

With more than 100k following and a feed full of colours, @artsysushiroll on Instagram a.k.a Naysha Satyarthi is a young creator based in Mumbai. Like any teenager, she is figuring out the path of her career as she goes, and from the looks of her talents, definitely doing well at it. Naysha, whose introduction to painting colours happened as a two-year-old, has now a well-established social media presence as an artist. She attributes the support of her parents and her own leap of faith in choosing art-over-conventions as the grounds of her growth. 

In an exchange with The Talented Indian, she shares the story of how her art account came into being. She traces it back to attending an art course in 2019, where after seeing everyone there with an online presence to share their art, she too decided to give it a try. She saw it as a fun place to store her creations and keep a track of them. But soon it grew a massive following, requiring her to keep up with regular postings and audience interactions. In coming to terms with the usual downside of social media hate, she said, “It was a struggle and took some time to get used to it but now I have learnt how to focus on what is best for me and my happiness is my number one priority.” 

Speaking of her art and the process of creation, she realistically reveals that painting has a balanced purpose for her. It is relaxing and quite a spiritual process for her. But sometimes she makes art simply because she has to. Putting in perspective the annoyance of a creative block, she says “beating myself about finding motivation only makes it worse” and prefers to take some time off to refresh before getting back to it.

She finds the work of Claude Monet inspirational in making her want to experiment with the colour combinations of her paintings. An artist in the making, she is still figuring certain aspects of her work. But she is certain of what she wants her art to serve her audience. “I want my art to make people feel like they want to be a part of it.”, she says. And trust us, the colours of her landscapes are alluring enough to make you want to picture yourself in them. 

As an artist, she has a nuanced understanding of hard work. She sees interest as natural, while talent is that interest polished by efforts. Her own journey of establishing herself as an artist this young at age has been an outcome of efforts and the courage of doing the unconventional. In order to focus on her art, she decided to take a year off of school, a decision that she herself was initially skeptical of but eventually took that leap of faith for the better.

In a society obsessed with academics, she tells us, people did find her choice unusual. But she got through it with her parents backing her throughout. This is why she understands the hurdles that society’s rules pose in the pursuit of passion. She advises anyone who is struggling, to never give up what they love doing. “Keep taking a little time out to continue doing it, don’t lose the habit”, she says.

Naysha, however, is just another teenager, who loves binging TV shows and hanging out with her friends. But her call to step outside the box to give herself the room to explore her passion offers a sweet inspiration.

Check out her amazing art @artsysushiroll and shower her with some love!

Do you remember your pencil gliding through the smooth pages of your notebook and almost taking a life of its own? It felt amazing, didn’t it? Adding annotations to your notes in the form of vague doodles is perhaps the most satisfying thing to do-especially if you just can’t be bothered to pay attention in class. This is one of the most beautiful things about art-you just gotta do it. Just let the happiness flow. And it is in this spirit that we bring to you – Bhavya Doshi the founder of The Doodle Desk

If you open the Instagram page of The Doodle Desk – you’ll be doused in an instant dose of serotonin, take our word for it. With simple and sweet illustrations, drawn very much from real life, it is a portfolio of courage and creativity. So like all stories, let’s go to the beginning.

The Early Years

Bhavya Doshi was born and brought up in Kolkata to a family of doctors. The conventional expectation was always there in the background but alas, nothing could stop little miss Doshi to follow her heart. Every summer break she would anxiously wait to colour all the Jumbo colouring books (did a wave of nostalgia just hit you?). Parallelly her desire to become a
businesswoman also soared-which she accomplished by obtaining a Bachelors in Business Administration followed by an MBA centred on Marketing. She worked in the corporate world for about 5 years following which she took a break.

Struggles

While working in the corporate realm for five years Doshi realised that her creative flame was diminishing. Soon enough she took the bold step of leaving her job to spend more time with her family before getting married. But unfortunately during this time, she lost her father. And after she married, her mother passed away too within a span of a year. On top of
all that grief- she had just moved to the capital as well. It’s hard to imagine what it must’ve been like. Newly married, jobless, grieving and settling in a completely new city.

But every cloud as they say- has a silver lining. Bhavya says, “It took me a lot of courage, self-loving, and hard work, to build myself a new career from scratch, and that’s when I realized I need to do something for people, I need to spread bravery, joy, happiness through my work because I never wish anyone to go through what I went through.”

Style

Bhavya knew that she didn’t have an educational background in art so she sought it out herself. Initially, she created handmade doodles which evolved into punny doodles and has now settled on digital doodles. She used up her savings to purchase the right software and equipment for her vision and worked towards making The Doodle Desk into a cohesive business model. Best of both worlds indeed!

Now with over 200k+ followers on Instagram and many laurels, Bhavya has tasted a fair bit of success. The World Marketing Congress and CMO Asia award honoured her as the most influential content marketing professional. She is also someone who enjoys collecting crystals, watching Korean Dramas and listening to music. Her joy is truly infectious! Her
story is a beacon to all of us who want to relentlessly pursue our hobbies-just do it! No matter what it is, there is enough place in the world for everyone.

And finally her message to all:

Doodle art has always been a form of artistic creation that carries, with it, the idea of being quirky. In all its forms, it fuses the need for an artistic piece to carry weight with the levity of an exaggerated or highly stylized personal mark. In doing so, it allows for a range of subjects to be depicted, unburdening and completely embracing itself in its inanity. These five artists, then, bring you their wonderful illustrative work, with pieces that blend nostalgia with a little bit of surrealism.

Kirtika Arora, going by the moniker of ‘thedoodlewriter’, shades her creative pieces with a deliberate tinge of reality that is, then, melded seamlessly with bright colour palettes. It is artwork that wouldn’t go amiss as background covers for Lo-fi tracks. Characterized by solid backgrounds, Arora’s illustrations border on being aesthetically minimal, while conveying a sense of profound serenity. You see the slight influences of popular imagery and motifs and, yet, it has been put forth in a manner that speaks deeply of her own personal style.

RidziDoodzi, through her artwork, harkens back to the era of the cartoonish advertisements, most popular with the favourite brands of our childhood. Basing her art on everyday life, she merges her ideas with a simplistic style that evokes a sense of nostalgia. A closer glance at her artistic pieces and you see hints of a monochromatic colour palette. And while that may not be true for all her creative pieces, it is definitely evident in her most prominent work. They may be cartoonish, but behind them, lies a world of our fondest memories.

Doodlevali’s creative pieces are centered around being wholly positive, a reminder, perhaps, in the midst of a busy day, to keep yourself happy. There is, in her artwork, a recurring motif of animals. And, while that may not seem like it’s saying much, it actually calls you back to the idea of being a little more in touch with what’s around you. Laden with muted backgrounds, her work has a way of centering itself on the primary subject and the message it carries. It is art that reaches the, perhaps deeply buried, part of you that wants to sit and watch the sun rise.

Anushree approaches her artistic pieces with a cheeriness for the seemingly ordinary bits of life. With an aesthetic style that is based around being a little unruly, her art flows from a place of natural creativity. You sense a certain bit of emotion in her creative pieces, balanced by a natural colour palette. It is artwork that is meant to be taken as it is and, yet, you can’t help but feel a definite sense of her own personal identity behind it. After all, she does go by the moniker of ‘PocketfullofHappiness’.

Thatdoodlemiss, as her social media handle goes, punctuates her artwork with a bit of surrealism. It is not blatantly obvious, however, one closer at her artistic pieces and you see the manner in which she uses colour to not only lend texture but also a sense of identity to her pieces. Whether it is a bright palette of yellow or a dimly lit shade of midnight blue, there is, in all her illustrative pieces, an idea of a world that is similar to our own and, yet, markedly different. It is simple art, yes. However, in its simplicity, it paints you a world where a bit of magic might just be possible. 

Progressing meticulously in the direction of her dreams, Vaishnavi Giri confidently approaches the start of each day. She looks ahead and reckons the promise of a kind and compassionate world. An inventive illustrator, an up-and-coming entrepreneur, and a young mom to two adorable kids, she plays a myriad of roles every day. Perhaps a more befitting description for her is the lady of multi-tasking. Substantively, she efficiently leads her brand: Wildpaper; composes illustrations; and enjoys baking cookies with her kids, who sniff their way into the kitchen.

Early Life!

Her creative inclination began at a very young age. As a six-year-old girl, she loved drawing anything and everything that her tiny fingers could trace and outline. As a young kid, she fell in love with the illustrations composed by Jack Kirby for Marvel comic books series. Of late, she confesses that Oliver Jeffers is her favourite illustrator. She appreciates the meaningful message that he rolls out for the world.

A thoroughbred Chennaite, she has lived her childhood embracing her native culture. She immensely loved her homeland. On that account, she decided to return to India after completing her higher studies in the UK. She recalls that it was tempting to stay abroad. Yet, her heart recognized that her life would hardly be as colourful as back at home. She had to return.

Her Nomadic Life

Upon returning from the UK, she immediately decided to work with a small production house as an intern. And here she met a couple of art directors. In retrospect, she finds it hard to believe how she told her dad that she wants to work in the Tamil Film industry. Her stint as an assistant art director took her to different locations. Her nomadic life (as she amusingly re-christens her bygone days) continued for the next three and a half years. 

Breakthrough Moment Of Her Life

Her nomadic life coincided with the breakthrough moment of her growth. She vividly recalls her experience as a 22-year-old young assistant in a unit of 300 seasoned crew members who inadvertently reminded her of naivety and inexperience. In the same breath, she recollects the words of the art director, “Ignore the fact that you are a girl. Your gender never matters. Your years of experience never matter. If you are afraid: take a step back to figure out what is holding you back. Never let anyone else tell you what to do.” That day onward, she has willingly taken up the ownership of every job she had to accomplish.

A Short Detour To a Rooted Life 

To take a break from journeying, she swished her way into a start-up ecosystem that offered her the delight of learning new skills and experimenting with innovative ideas. Here, she familiarised herself with product architecture, UI, UX and much more.

Her Eureka Moment !

The brand – Wildpaper produces early childhood learning tools for young kids. Strangely, the enterprise kick-started as a home project which translated to a business model. One fine day, as she was sitting near her two-year-old son at home, she experienced her Eureka moment. And that day, she had been busily making arrangements for the delivery of 133 couriers. No longer, the home-based project was limited to a fun-filled activity that she enjoyed as a light-hearted pastime.

Her initial support system was the close circle of family and friends. They have been the motivating factor as their constant encouragement pushed her to advance self-assuredly in the direction of her dreams.

Creating Lively Illustrations

Her illustrations appear in various forms. And the majority of the figurations foreground the theme of the natural world. She accredits visual art as a medium that offers freedom of expression. Sitting at her desk, she spends long hours actively figuring out the layouts. She remarks, “The fine-tuning and reiterating composition is as much an introspective process as it is a path that leads to healing of the soul.”

Not all days are measurably productive. On some days, the ideas are out of sorts, and the illustrations do not just seem right. Such days turn out to be heart-wrenching as it requires restarting the work with a fresh perspective.

The Way Ahead !

As a business owner, she envisions that more passionate entrepreneurs will create alternative learning tools for young learners. Ardently she hopes that Wildpaper becomes a brand that people associate with nature-centric products. She is keen on building a team that collaborates with more artists, researchers and authors.

It takes an entrepreneur like Vaishnavi Giri to remind us of the finer details of our life that we often trample upon as we get caught up in the never-ending race. She prompts us to be kind to ourselves and empathise with others.   

Her 5-point mantra for success!