KOCHI: Her paintings have always been expressions of emotions. She wanted to connect with the audience and put them right on the canvas. But she never thought the same art form will become a mainstay of her life. The artistic journey of Anju Punnath, a Malappuram based independent artist has been an exciting ride with unexpected twist and turns.
The scribblings and strokes in her notebooks paved the way for her future. “Since childhood, painting has always been my passion. But I didn’t take any formal training in painting, neither have I painted many works,” says Anju.“I find inspiration from everything happening around me. Even a mere conversation with my neighbours may evoke a painting thread in me,” she says.
Despite having the talent, Anju was hesitant to participate in competitions during her school days. “Although I love art, I didn’t have the confidence to compete with other learned students. I was of the view that only trained artists can create good paintings. But my life experiences proved it wrong,” she quips.
When she began her career as a Chemistry teacher, her time schedules became rigid and it had an impact on her productivity in painting. “The workload had an effect on me. But when I painted a spree of works on a day, I realised the happiness I missed and decided to make it on a large scale,” she said.
Anju has done two painting exhibition so far and earned appreciation from many renowned artists. These exhibitions reformed her view towards the need for formal training in painting. “My first exhibition was held at the Lalitha Kala Academi Art Gallery, Kozhikode in February 2017. It was a result of the constant encouragement from my friends and relatives. I exhibited more than 50 paintings in that exhibition. Renowned artist Madanan sir appreciated the works and the natural painter in me. In addition, he told me to stay away from training classes because it will ruin whatever evolved in me,” she remembers.
“Though people from all walks of life visited my first exhibition and loved my artworks, many didn’t buy them. When I planned for a second exhibition, I decided to give away something as a token of love at an affordable rate and that’s how the painted bags happened,” she says.Her entrepreneurship dreams took wing when all the 15 bags she made were sold in a jiffy. “It was totally a revelation. As bags are useful to everyone, I received a huge number of requests from people. Then I created the Facebook page ‘Hues on Walls’ and started making bags, book covers and other works on a regular basis,” she adds.
Looking towards the future, the young artist is aiming for another exhibition in April next year. You can reach out to her products @ facebook.com/huesonwalls