Shalaka told us that she
started painting as a young girl and kept changing mediums, even trying fabric
painting when she was a young adolescent. Now her medium of choice is the
digital pallet of Photoshop. She explained to us that she uses a photograph
as a template, “cutting” out the basic shapes and then digitally layering on
all the colours and lines until she is satisfied. She said each painting
usually takes her a few weeks to complete.
Shalaka asked us for a few photos
from which she could choose to paint—one of Deb and I together and one of Colin—which
I emailed her a few months ago. The painting of Phil was a total surprise for
me—she used a photo off one of our older blog posts. One of the reasons she
wanted to present the paintings over Skype was so she could see our faces
during the reveal. I don’t think she was disappointed as we literally gasped in
awe as we looked at them. The painting of Phil--which is of him goofing off during a ski holiday that we took with Deb and Colin--makes me laugh every time I look
at it (which is a lot!).
Now keep in mind that this
talented Mumbai-based artist is only 19-years-old! Thank you so very much, Shalaka. We love
them and we love you!!
PS If you have any questions
for Shalaka, I’m sure she’d be happy to answer them in our comments section.
