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The Artiste In Me

This article is courtesy our wonderful guest writer, Dharshanya Venkataramanan! You can follow her @colors.culture on Instagram.


Let me start with a fact: this past year hasn’t been great for a lot of us. If I’m being bold, for any of us. Just something about spending prolonged, consecutive periods of time indoors, with not much company, can take your brain on some… interesting journeys. For me, being able to practice my art with more focus, more time on my hands and more fervour has been a major saving grace during this time.



I have always been open with my experience of having a not-so-optimal mental health situation, and finding an outlet through art has helped me channel my energy and emotions to create something that I am proud of. Anyone who has interacted with me in the past couple of years knows of my fondness for art and design. I love art. There’s nothing better to me than discovering new artists, new media and art styles. I have been seeing so many artists from illustration, graphic design, styling, costume design, photography and makeup backgrounds, and the kind of work they’re doing is mind-boggling. All art intrigues me and all art can be an inspiration!


In 2020, I started experimenting with makeup as a form of art and slowly, this turned into full-on self-portrait shoots. This has been interesting because some days, the makeup and styling turn out great and the photographs are awful. Sometimes, I cannot find or put my clothes together according to the concept. Sometimes, I have no idea how to edit them and what visual language to use. The final images are sometimes diametrically different than what I’d imagined but I also know that they are always influenced by my mood, my recent obsession and just what I’m feeling like on any given day.



Every day, it is such a joy to look at these creators make work that truly speaks to people. But it’s not without its hard days. Imposter Syndrome is a pesky little thing that plagues every creator. This feeling that I am not good enough, to such an extent that I cringe when I call myself an artist. Those days I try and remind myself, I do this because it is the one thing that keeps me sane and alive. One little exercise always helps: I revisit work that I had great fun making and I also look at work that was well-received.


Read More: Smell & Memory


Additionally, Instagram isn’t super helpful for smaller creators, and it takes conscious effort to not evaluate my work based on likes or other Instagram parameters. In such moments, I remember that I am capable of good stuff, maybe not all the time, but that spark is there. I’m mostly proud of myself too, for putting my work out there for everyone to see. Sure, I may not be the best at everything I do, but I am genuinely interested and passionate about it, and to me, that matters the most.


P.S: I hope you liked this little ramble!


Read Next: Drawing The Line


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