“For some art is a hobby, for some, it’s a way to look at life and for some, it is what keeps them going,” says Khyati Mehra Sharma, who managed to strike a perfect balance between a working job and her passion for painting. Her unwavering love for handcrafted items, made her create various pieces while juggling between a full-time job, a family, and the need to do something different.
As a painter whose journey began around 16years ago, she has come a long way. Something she once considered a mere hobby has now turned into a profitable business, “Khyatiworks” If you too were a kid once who tried covering the walls with doodles, read on to know Khyati’sjourney with art.
Khyati Mehra Sharma- The Paint Slinger!
Interview
Questions and answers
What gravitated you towards painting and art?
I clearly remember I was five and there was a picture in my social studies book that I had started copying one day. It took me around an hour to complete it and when I showed it to my parents, they did not believe I drew the picture because it seemed like a replica, a complete look alike. My grandma got me a detailed book on how to paint and draw, which I still use- it’s my treasure. As a student, I enjoyed math and science, so it was only after my college, that my love for painting began to rekindle.
How do you define yourself as a painter and what are your signature styles when it comesto art?
I feel I am an intuitive painter. I don’t like to follow the stereotypes; I like to lay down my path. Even as a student in 7th grade, we were supposed to draw a certain type of scenery, tree, and a mountain but I was unable to do that. I topped all the other subjects but flunked in art because I could not draw the typical drawings that were asked.
And I feel my signature style is abstract because I don’t follow any specifics. What comes to me organically, is what goes on the canvas and when I let my hand have the freedom to draw whatever it wants, it is meditative for me.
When did you begin to use art as a mode of self-expression and why painting specifically?
I would say it began in 2004, during the last few months of engineering college. Before that, I used to draw cartoons or draw using references. I gradually discovered that my best work comes when I go with my intuitions- When I draw something without any references. So, it eventually became a mode of self-expression.‘What comes to you naturally is your true Passion.’ What comes to you on your own accord is where you can do something. For me, painting has been inherent so that is why it is above all.
Growing up, every
kid has dilemmas and battles to fight. Tell us about yours and how they shaped you into the person you are today?
In school, I was a loner at least till 7th grade. I just didn’t fit in, I felt like an outsider. Eventually, I made friends but there was always this complex, I was never the conventional-looking girl, nor very feminine in any way. The girls would look effortlessly pretty, and I was never into any of it. I’m still like that!
Second, in 11th grade, I met with a very bad accident. My elbow got fractured. From 11th to college, I underwent multiple surgeries for elbow joint and had to go through plastic surgeries to fix those scars. Due to the scars, anyone who would meet me would automatically ask me about what happened. I am very happy to have an extremely supportive family so, it never bugged me on a bigger level, but somewhere inside me, I was always conscious of people asking me about my arm.
How did the idea of Khyatiworks come to you?
One day, while in the office, I began to google various artists and I came across the works of Thaneeya Mc Ardle, an artist based in the US. Her exceptionally colorful abstracts blew me away and aroused a spark in me. I researched a lot and finally started making abstracts. As a newcomer, it isn’t easy to sell your paintings through art galleries. So, I decided to keep the paintings to myself and sell them as products. That’s how the idea of Khyatiworks came up. We started with Greeting cards, I went door to door with samples, asking stationery shops to keep them. One shop finally agreed, but on the condition that I won’t be paid. Within a week, I got an order of 300 cards- That was my first big order and also a sign to continue doing this.
You are a software engineer with a full-time IT job, so how do you strike a balance between the two roles?
Working for me isn’t a compulsion. Plus, I like to multitask, so with my job, Khyatiworks blends in. I enjoy doing 5 different things in one day, my job acts as a breath of fresh air when I have continuously been absorbed in Khyatiworks and vice versa. I keep shifting between the two, especially now that I am working from home. This keeps me energized and relaxed.
What do you do when a certain piece of art does not turn out to your liking, and you are working on a deadline?
I don’t like working in rush or under deadlines as my best does not come out that way. So I always tell my clients in advance about the number of days I will be requiring. And if I don’t like something, I erase it and start new. It’s simple!
What are your pet
peeves as an artist and how do you deal withthem?
As an artist, when you are supposed to draw a very defining line with a brush and that one bristle just walks out of the main brush, or when a perfect circle takes ages to appear on the canvas- I can’t handle it.
How did the lockdown affect your business and
what kept you going?
In 2019 end, I shifted from Noida to Hyderabad. And in Noida, I had gotten into painting murals in the DLF Mall. So, people knew us very well and I started getting inquiries for murals. It was a bed of roses until I moved to Hyderabad and the country went under lockdown. I had just started contacting Hotels for mural work so the major effect of lockdown was on them. After the first wave, I hired some interns, but I had to let them go during the second wave. So, when I had help, I would make a lot of products and once they went, I would promote my products. That strategy really worked.
Can you provide some tips to our readers who are budding artists?
Quick 5
1. Your favorite medium of art: Acrylic on walls
2. Renaissance paintings or modern art: Modern art
3. One-color that defines your personality: Orange, but I personally love teal
4. The piece that took you the longest to finish: When Colors Speak. It took me 7 months
5. The artist you admire the most: Salvador Dali