The Story - Artists Meet Up
Our team decided to step on the ground and to learn about the real-life challenges that artists are facing. We got an overwhelming response as artists were more than happy to be in direct contact with the art sellers. At the same time, we were also lucky to meet them and learn more about the inspiration behind the artwork. It was indeed disheartening to see the inability and challenges our artists face when it comes to selling their art to a global audience. A few of the common challenges were Unauthorized selling/prints, high gallery commission, subscription charges, inability to use tech platforms (tech support missing), lack of digital awareness, personal touch, trend awareness etc.
Now, team crafttatva.com knows exactly where to work on!
Artist Manjunath Wali
Manjunath was born on 22nd September 1985 and grew up in Huvin Hipparagi, Vijayapura, Karnataka. He did his MFA in Painting from Vijaya Fine Art College, Gadag, Dharwad University.
Discussion: He mentioned various problems related to unauthorized selling of art by various art galleries and how it affects artists livelihood. We also discussed how crafttatva.com can clear this barrier and become a great place for art lovers and artists.
Artist Gauri Seth
My paintings are an expression of spirituality, serenity, and beauty. People who have attended my exhibitions say that they express love and spirituality and they love the details in each painting. These encouraging words have helped me to start working on painting portraits. I feel so happy when I see faces, shapes, and real people beginning to emerge as I paint every single detail. In this stress-filled world, I want my work to spread calmness, joy, and hope for a better tomorrow. I now view painting not only as a hobby but as a full-time profession. I began painting after a gap of 42 years and, today, all of you encourage me to do my best. I hope you will enjoy my artwork as much as I have enjoyed creating it.
Discussion: She shared her inability to sell with online art galleries also her disappointment how galleries take their work for display and become inactive for longer period of time soon after. She feels frequent communication/updates should be given to artists and galleries must provide regular updates to artists regarding ongoing trends of art and ways to promote their art. She strongly demands artists centric Indian platform.
Sr. Artist Pushpa Nath Jha
Pushpa Nath Jha (b.1962) from Bangalore, India. A self-learnt artist doing Abstract and Figurative style paintings of varied sizes, mainly Acrylics on canvas. He is retired as AGM at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
Discussion: Mr. Jha feels there are limited platforms available in India that practice ethical business when it comes to art selling. They either charge an annual subscription fee or have no freedom to update inventory on their own. He strongly believes that India is in dire need of having a vernacular, easy-to-use art platform that provides good artists’ support and freedom to manage inventory on their own. In addition to that, there should be transparency among artists and art sellers. He is also an art advisor to crafttatva.com
Artist Shanan Subhan
She is young and emerging artists who has a magical touch over figurative and landscape artworks. Her expertise covers wide area to work on various mediums.
Discussion: She has a good number of Instagram followers and prefers to sell through that channel. Crafttatva.com found a scope to work with such artists on exclusivity.
Artist Alka Chaudhary
Alka is a Gurugram based contemporary figurative artist. She believes that life is all about happiness. She paints the dreams of a lady. Her “Dreaming Lady” is in constant search of her real happiness, which lies in the relationship. Alka has a strong belief in nature and uses birds, butterflies, flowers in her paintings to show the various emotions of “Dreaming Lady”. In her unique style, she portrays a charming contemporary lady with long eyes and subtle joyful expressions. Her paintings gave impressions from the diverse natural landscape from the Thar Desert, tropical forests, Satpura hills, great Himalayas, the holy river the Ganges.
Discussion: She discussed few challenges in current art space with respect to technology barriers, limitations, and transparency. She informed how satisfied she is with crafttatva.com working model and she expects us to continue the same.
Sr. Artist Ullhas Raikar
A mixed media artist, Ulhas Raikar’s paintings are vibrant and intricate. His paintings are based on the lives of gods and the goddesses and the thier vibrancy makes his paintings stand out amongst others.
Discussion: Ullhas Raikar Ji is one of the mature artists we have onboard. He has been with us since inception and supported the community in numerous ways. He suggested the idea of building a vernacular platform as he witnessed artists’ inability to use digital space because of language barriers and inadequate technical support.
Artist Shankar Lohar
Shankar B Lohar has been practising watercolour with love from his very early days in College and he earned respect in participating in various exhibitions of state, national, and international level. He was born in Sankeshwar, Belgaum district, Karnataka. From his very childhood, he enjoys exploring the beauty of nature and observing the beauty of his native land. After finishing his school education from Govt. Fine Art collage Dharwad (Diploma in Fine art and Bachelor of Fine art – Karnataka). He joined Vijaya Fine Art College (Dharward University) and he completed his M.F.A (Mastar in fine art – Karnataka) from the same college with his talent and efficiency. There he learned all mediums of paintings and sculpture and he earned his great skill of drawing. Later after college, he participated in a number of national and international contests and exhibitions.
Discussion: After a long wait our team got a chance to finally meet him at his place. Our team discussed challenges faced by art industry as whole and how a robust team like us can eliminate such challenges. He also discussed his future projects with us and his opinion on working with exclusivity. Our team was amazed to see his passion towards art and would love to be his preferred partner in future.
Artist Pradeep Kumar
An Indian artist from Gurgaon who predominantly works with oil colors. Won various national and international awards.
Discussion: Pradeep showcased his artwork on his favorite subject i.e. Horse. He always prefers to work on this subject particularly as he has descent collector base for same. He mentions – Horse is a symbol of energy and positivity and this subjects lovers are growing exponentially over the last few years.
Artist Meenakshi Bahuguna
Meenakshi Bahuguna is an emerging artists from Noida who predominantly works with acrylics on various subjects like landscapes, figuratives, etc.
Discussion: She feels colors are the way to express one feelings and she mentioned an inspiring and beautiful quote with respect to her artworks “If you have an eye for art, I have an artwork”
Artist Sharmila Sharma
An Indian artist from Delhi. National Diploma holder in Fine Arts along with MA in drawing and paintings.
Discussion: She felt highly motivated about meeting the team and suggested frequent communication among galleries and artists. Also, she states that by improving tech infrastructure, India has great potential to compete globally. She also provides references to various international online art galleries.
Artist C. Mullai Rajan
I was born in a sandy village in veeravanallur near Tirunelveli, since childhood had immense passion for the art. I was initially trained by Mr. Nagoor Miran, art teacher in Amir Jamal Higher Secondary School. I was also groomed by Mr. Ilayaraja and Mr. Siva Balan in Chennai. I graduated from the Government College of Fine Arts with a master’s degree in 2009. I have explored various forms of paintings such as original, abstract, figurative, Realistic, Landscape and contemporary paintings in oil and acrylic medium. I also specialises in water color paintings and my recent work “OLD CHENNAI”, depicting Chennai in the 1950’s was appreciated by art enthusiasts and professionals equally. I have also worked as Assistant Art Director for the film ‘PASANGA’ that won a national award for the best feature film. I have exhibited my work in various art galleries across India.
Discussion: C. Mullai Rajan is a South India native and expressed his concern about language barriers when it comes to online art galleries. He posses positive attitude and carries great art vibes.
Sr. Artist Prakaash Chandwadkar
Born in 1965, in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, Prakash Chandwadkar obtained his BFA from the Government School of Art at the Marathawada University in that city. He worked as a graphic artist for several years after his graduation with prestigious institutions like the Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal, Garhi Artists’ Studio in New Delhi and Marg Publications in Mumbai. After establishing himself as a painter, photographer and printmaker of international renown in India and winning several awards for his work from the Indian government as well as in foreign art gatherings, Chandwadkar visited Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, in 1999 looking for something new to inspire and move his work.
Discussion: It was a pleasure to meet such a senior artist from the art fraternity. He expressed his concern regarding the platform fee or subscription charges that artists have to pay to display their artworks. This motivates the team to work on the “FREE Listing‘ working model.
Artist Ranjit Sarcar
Born in Kolkata (1975), Graduate from Calcutta University (1997), studied Indian style painting from prof. Samir Ghosh (department head of Chandpara Art College) Diploma in Painting from DQ, Hyderabad 2010 to 2012.
Discussion: He is one of our esteemed artists who has been onboard with us since a long time. He expressed his concern regarding sales on online platforms due to a lack of story coverage and advertisements done by online players. He feels art sellers should focus more on the artist’s journey and the story behind the artwork they create in order to have a connection with the collector or the audience.