Would you do the same in my situation?
The journey to becoming an abstract artist started back in 2018. I was in my fifth (and final!) job in accountancy, stuck in the day to day rat race, working in a corporate institution in London. Fortunately, this job allowed me to spend time 'working from home'. Now, for those of you who have had the opportunity to work from the comfort of your own home. you know that productivity is never as good at home compared to working in an office. I used to spend time pretending to be on my laptop working, but instead I would be painting in my parents utility room. I spent more time painting that I did actually working, and I was fortunate to be in a position where I didn't have anyone to report to directly. So I ask you, in my position, would you have done the same? My journey to becoming an abstract artist started with good fortune, and I took advantage of being able to paint, and then upload some of my work onto instagram whilst simultaneously pretending to be hard at work. Sometimes in life, you have to grab the chances that are presented to you, because they don't come around often. I always knew that I loved to paint, and whilst I didn't have any special drawing ability, being in the studio with a canvas and a set of paints was where I felt most at home. The beauty with abstract art is that there is no right or wrong way of doing things, and it has taken years of development, experimenting with a whole host of tools and techniques to finally find my preferred style of working. As you may have seen, I love to use metallic paints like gold and silver in my work. I love the juxtaposition between texture and other surfaces.
'Where the wind blows' - size 150 x 100 cm
Whilst texture is fundamental in my work, there has been a transition in the use of materials this year. When I look on instagram, I see far too many people mimicking my style of work. It's not something that bothers me, but I have certainly tried to adjust my style and find a new way of working that is more 'difficult' to copy. Anyway, rant over.
So, going back to what I was saying, I genuinely feel that when opportunities are presented to you, you have to take them with both hands. I look back and think, now 4 years later, what if I hadn't taken that chance to get painting and be creative in a time where I could? I wouldn't be where I am today, and I am so thankful and grateful that I made full use of that time to get my abstract art to a point where I was comfortable selling it. It's been such an amazing journey so far, and I am super excited about 2023.
As always, you can see/purchase my work here:
www.artbyrajanseth.com/shop