‘I put down my ideas on canvas’
Conversations — By Vandana Prasad on July 7, 2008 at 2:25 PMFor Smita Kalokhe, painting was more than a calling. Right from her childhood, she had an inclination towards the arts and as a series of events that further affirmed her belief transpired, she took to painting as more than a hobby or a profession; it became her life.
Smita’s work was recently on display at the J Studio Art Gallery. Originally from Nagar District, her paintings based on the theme “Sisters” were on show. With Acrylic colours as her chosen medium, Smita attempts to bring out her emotions and feelings through her paintings. The exhibition will be held from 25th June to 08th July 2008. The gallery is open from 11 am to 7 pm.
The Punekar caught up with Smita on the sidelines of her exhibition for an interview. Excerpts:
How and why did you decide to be a painter?
There was a strong intuition in me right from my childhood days that I would become a painter when I grow up. Though my mother and father encouraged me to take up some professional courses like medicine or engineering, painting was something which always fascinated me.
When did you decide that painting was what you wanted to do professionally and what was your first work?
Starting painting professionally was something which happened by chance. I used to paint as a hobby. But one day it so happened that a close family friend of mine asked me to make a painting for their newly built house. They provided me with all the required material for the painting. It was a painting on Ajanta and my work was highly appreciated. Thereafter, I made a lot of paintings on Ajanta and to my surprise, all of them got sold. This was how I started painting professionally.
What inspired you to paint?
Painting was something which always attracted me. I somehow came to know that there are a lot of institutes in Pune which offer professional courses in painting, be it bachelor degree or diploma courses. At the beginning I was a bit confused that whether I should get myself enrolled in any of these courses or not. Since painting is something which is considered to be a very challenging career. But then I made up my mind that painting is the only thing which I wanted to do and I want to give the people something out of it. There is no one as such who inspired me to paint. Painting is something which is in my blood.
“Three sisters”- the current theme of your paintings. How that idea did came up?
The theme “Three sisters” is something which is connected to me personally. We are actually three sisters in our family. My paintings are based on our life. It shows how we are connected to each other emotionally or mentally. I have tried to showcase our life through my paintings.
What keeps you motivated to do different kinds of work?
My sisters are a big treasure for me. We actually keep motivating each other to do something good and achieve success in life. We lost our father 12 years back. Since then we have been trying hard to make a name for ourselves.
Tell us something about your paintings?
Well all my paintings convey different meanings. If we look at the current theme of our painting of Three Sisters then this depicts that we three sisters are looking out for happiness to come in our life for which we have been longing for quite a long time. This happiness will give us the power to do something good and will drive away all the obstacles out of our life.
Any latest series of your paintings coming up and what you want to achieve with them?
Well, yes I am currently working on a theme which I don’t want to reveal it now.
What kinds of mental processes are involved before producing any good piece of work?
I do a lot of thinking before doing any work, and then I put down my ideas on the Canvas through my brush.
