Mysore :
It is wonderful to possess artistic skills within oneself. But it is all the more wonderful when one gets a chance to turn inventive with a creative sibling alongside. The sisters we are going to introduce to you today are such. From learning to creating and promoting paintings of many varieties that they create, Shubha Alva and Sonia Adappa have done them all together and for almost over a decade now.
Shubha and Sonia are siblings in city for whom art means their world. And so much so that they are trained in and create not just one but many different forms of paintings with ease. Attending classes and art workshops organised by adept artists at various places in Mysore is how they have trained themselves but the instinct actually comes from the family itself where they saw their own mother being a talented artist, say the duo, adding: “Our mother Vimala Rai is an artist too. She used to do oil paintings which was always interesting to watch and seemed inspiring as well. That is where our artistic instincts probably first developed.”
While Shubha is trained in creating the Mysore, Tanjore, Warli, Madubani,Gajifa and Kinhala art forms, Sonia is mostly into painting Madubani and Tanjore arts. “I learnt the Mysore painting by the renowned artist late Ramanarasaiah,”explains Shubha, “after which I attended classed on Ganjifa conducted by his daughter Chandrika followed by classes from well-known artist Ganjifa Raghupati Bhat. He conducted a training programme exclusively for women under a project called Yashaswini where I picked up on my skills of Ganjifa really well and began practicing it. Further, I attended several training classes in art forms like Madhubani, Kinhala and Warli at the Indira Gandhi Rashtirya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS). And I myself taught the Mysore style painting to my sister.”
And having been painting art pieces in all the above mentioned art forms, the ladies say the work keeps them busy all day long. “Whether we have orders or not, dyeing the canvas is what we always do as we love painting to keep ourselves busy and also perfect our skills,” Shubha and Sonia say and Shubha adds, “currently I am working on a Tanjore piece on Yashoda and Lord Krishna, jut to perfect my skills.”
Ask them as to how they manage working on so many varieties and pat comes the reply from Shubha, “It is only when you practice constantly that you can perfect your skills and get more creative. And hence, we are painting something or the other in one or the art forms we know.That helps us master every form.”
The ladies have not stopped at that. Their love for art has also given birth to a boutique, available where are interior décor items, clothes and also the paintings by the siblings. Shubha who has studied interiors concentrates on the interior décor items for home while Sonia gets hand woven sarees from places across India to their boutique in city. “And if the people we meet here are art lovers, they’ll want us to create exclusive art pieces for them too. And we love meeting interesting people that way. Things like that keep us occupied,” the sisters say.
The ladies can be contacted on Mob: 99163-10898.-AN
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / February 27th, 2014