Solemn and serene, the artist’s eyes feast on the extraordinary in the ordinary. It’s only a matter of moments before their kaleidoscopic vision transforms stills, dreams and a sea of faces — that masquerade as players, kings and queens, sexpots and swankers — into careful paint strokes and something ridiculously amazing. The Capital harbours illustrators with a dynamic plethora of hues and characters and we are here to give them an enthusiastic shout out. Read on!
Manvee Singh
When we first discovered Manvee, it was hard to believe that she is a self-taught artist. Her quirky, colourful take on portraits embellished of dreamy doodling are ought to make one pause, and stare endlessly. She possesses an eye for detail which makes her subjects even more intriguing. It was, unquestionably, hard to resist stalking here on Facebook and Instagram. You may also follow her work here.
Jasjyot Singh Hans
This fashion-inspired doodler belongs to a section of artists who can draw on just about every surface — be it pavements or placemats. His work reflects feminism, sexuality, beauty and body-based social issues, ideas based on gender. His sense of colours, strokes and a fun surreality amalgamated with themes and coated with a layer of randomness — see furreal and ruffle ruckus — is what makes his art so appealing. His blog is not a blog, it’s a art making love with ‘art + music + fashion + pop culture’. Also, you can follow him on Instagram here.
211 Studio
Deriving inspiration from nature, Indian mythology, textiles, crafts, food, as well as visual arts, Ayeshe Sadr and Ishaan Dasgupta built 211 studio — a small illustration and design studio — with oodles of love. Not only is most of their work hand done but they also aren’t afraid of experimenting with different and unique materials. Their projects include bag artwork, book illustrations, travel guides and wedding cards among others. Recently, they created an intricately detailed wall painting for Fatty Bao Mumbai. Follow them here.
Seema Kohli
Seema Kohli’s work stirs a philosophical train of thoughts, the beauty of which is the diverse paths that it takes for every individual. There is depth in her creations through the mediums of installations, illustrations, sculptures or films. Her work distinctively seems like a marriage of Indian and western art with colours filling in life to her soma of work. Her artwork tells a story and plays with your imagination like no other. Follow her on Facebook and check out her website here.
Archan Nair
Her art is surreal, dreamy and decipherable in ways that seem to have blurry edges. Archan Nair has taken art and design to a level of artistic sensibility that not only instill unexplored feelings in you, but also makes you think the depth and the extent of our existence. This self-taught visual artist, illustrator and Digital Artist plays with forms, phases and the mysteries of life. To see more of Archan, check out his clean and colourful website and don’t forget to join his Instagram network along with 49,000 others!
You may also follow him on Facebook here.
Amrita Mohanty
The use of muted pastels, patterns and soft strokes stole our hearts right away when we came across Amrita Mohanty’s work. Her fairytale-like artwork makes her seem like a person who enjoys a subdued yet colourful world of her own. Her illustration series on Indian birds was our favourite and that is not her only great work on her Behance account. I wish I were — a print design project — was also something we really enjoyed.
Latika Nehra
Latika Nehra believes that art is not created on canvas, it takes form in the mind before being expressed in a form for the world to see. Her artwork features peculiar portraits with exquisite strokes and patterns displaying a concoction of realism and surrealism. Her project called Ink & Pen particularly caught our attention with its dynamic range of diversity in synonymity. Follow her blog here.
Sudeepti Tucker
A master of pleasing randomness and carefree drawing, Sudeepti Tucker — a graphic designer from National Institute of Design — indulges in a series of styles and doesn’t believe in restricting herself with something in particular. You could come across a banana illustrated along with psychedelic patterns to mythical monsters, pop art and musical illustrations. It is indeed a pleasure to know that someone out there is making things free of adulteration, berefting a sense of a purpose. Find Sudeepti on Instagram and follow her here.
Charbak Dipta
This Bengali illustrator, cartoonist and graphic storyteller believes that visual art cannot be taught. It has to be grasped through one’s surroundings. Also, a trained singer and musician, Charbak’s artwork is greatly inspired by real life which he effortlessly transforms into a visual poetry. Indian Aliens, Charbakism, Lokayata and graphic poems are other things he has acquired an expertise in. Find out more on his website. You can follow him on Instagram here.
Limatola Longkumer (Yume)
Yume derives inspiration from music, people, Zen and anger — an emotion that art mellows down for her into something distinctively positive. The patterns, detailing, monochrome nature of her art and subjects are definitely reason enough for an art lover to follow her. Check out her Facebook page here and follow her on Instagram here.
Angel Bedi
Using Delhi, Bollywood and psychedelia as her muse, Bedi—a NIFT graduate—effortlessly blends in with the class of the true Indian hipster. Her art exudes honesty and a whimsical confidence so real, it becomes difficult to turn a blind eye to it. The use of bright colours, Hindi scripts for English words, petals for eyelashes and a quirky take on ordinary things and words make her unique. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr, if you aren’t already.
