From Mandar's DPW Gallery:I am an artist originally from Goa but now settled at Pune, India. Painting and sculpture have been my more-than-hobbies since early age. In May 2011 I chose to become a full time artist after pursuing art as part time or weekend activity for many years. I have had 12 shows and apart from painting regularly and creating online art courses, I conduct sketching, painting and clay sculpture workshops at my studio and other locations. Hope you enjoy my paintings! (click to view gallery)
Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.
I started drawing and painting at an early age, probably at the age of four or five. They were just scribbles but I could keep doing that for long periods of time.
Did you have any stops and starts in your painting career?
Not really, I have been creating art continuously since then. After school, I chose to go engineering college instead of art college as I was not sure of what it meant to be a full-time artist. All through my college education and later sixteen years of professional career in the corporate world, I was painting in my spare time and showed my work in five solo and six group exhibitions.
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| Welcome to Kanha (click to view) Enter to win by clicking on the link at the top of the DPW home page announcing Mandar's interview. |
What mediums and genres have you experimented with?
I mostly paint landscapes, still life and some abstracts (on rare occasions). I have experimented with oils, watercolors, acrylics and more recently opaque watercolors/gouache. I also experiment a lot with digital painting on my iPad pro.
Which ones have "stuck" and which ones have fallen away?
Landscapes and still life have stuck with me as subjects and oils and watercolors have stuck as my art mediums.
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| Jungle Safari (click to view) |
Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?
I love painting landscapes a lot and I want to explore plein air painting more often. As far as mediums are concerned, I want something that handles like oil for an hour or so but dries quickly after that. Currently, my choice is oil colors for studio paintings and watercolor for plein air work.
Who or what inspires you most?
Nature is my constant source of inspiration. Light and shades in the mornings and evenings are my favorites. I paint from photos clicked only by me and so I know the place better than a single photo can tell me. I keep clicking photos when I am out. My wife and kids complain that my photos almost never include people!
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| Crisp Morning In Kanha (click to view) |
What does procrastination look like for you?
I rarely procrastinate but I find it challenging to focus on any one activity for a long time. Other than fine art, I also have interest in areas like illustration, sculpture, and technology that are constantly seeking my attention.
What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?
I chose to become a full-time artist in May 2011 after a sixteen years long corporate career. So, I make art or art related activity every day. Other than making art, I work mainly on creating online art courses. As of today, I have 20 such courses on my platform at http://courses.mandarmarathefineart.com/, Udemy, and Skillshare.
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| Towards Kankumbi (click to view) |
How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?
The photos that I click give me the ideas for my landscape paintings. I look at vacations or family outings as a means of getting new raw material for my art. I always have my phone camera, sketchbook and some colors with me when I go out. For still life paintings, I just go to the kitchen and pick up something to paint!
How do you keep art "fresh?" What techniques have helped you avoid burnout and keep your work vibrant and engaging?
For me, there is always more than one idea that needs to be painted. I feel I need to paint a lot more often than I do currently, so the question of burnout hasn't come to me yet. I have a dream to have separate workplaces for every medium that I want to work/experiment in. All I want to do is to walk up to each workstation, make art and not have to worry about cleaning up!
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| Morning colors in Chorla ghat (click to view) |
What do you feel you are learning about right now as an artist?
I am learning to be consistent in making art. I am also continuously learning to manage my time in a more efficient way. Art is all about practice, practice, and consistent practice.
What makes you happiest about your art?
I am happiest when a painting turns out good! I am also excited by the fact that this work of art gets a life of it's own, independent of me and can give happiness to it's viewers for decades, if not centuries, to come. For me, art is the best method to capture the beauty of everyday things that we fail to notice otherwise. Next level of happiness comes when someone buys my painting as it means the painting spoke to his/her heart directly and I can buy more art material!
Thanks, Mandar!
© 2018 Sophie Marine
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