Sketching his passion

Lockdown has helped artists turn passion into profession. This 25-year-old software engineer took a simialr step, and is now a full-time artist
Ragend Ramachandran
Ragend Ramachandran

KOCHI: The lockdown period has provided many with the opportunity to pursue their passion. Though Thrissur-based software engineer Ragend Ramachandran used to do pencil drawings from his schooldays, it was during the lockdown days, he brushed up his skills. His Instagram page became live with stunning graphite and charcoal drawings in the past one year which motivated the youngster to take up drawing as his profession.

“Though I got an offer letter, I couldn’t join the company due to the pandemic,” says Ragend. That was when he started brushing up his skills and a friend presented him with a pencil box. “Those pencils gave a professional touch to my work. And I kept on drawing and tried to master the art,” he adds. Ragend used to do graphite drawings for some time and recently started working on charcoal.

His fortunes changed when he uploaded a drawing of Malayalam actor Malavika Mohanan on his page in June 2020. “The response from the public was overwhelming after I uploaded the drawing and I started getting enquiries for commissioned works,” he says. Soon, he started getting a considerable number of works every month. “I upload the work of a celebrity every month. That’s how I keep my page active. I receive hundreds of queries for commissioned works every month and take up the ones I could deliver.”

He thought of converting his passion into a profession when the number of orders increased. “I could work on my schedule since there was no pressure on me. I loved what I was doing. Also, my friends and family were supportive and they said I was faring well,” adds Ragend. “The customers crave for quality. An artist needs to improve with every work he does. I try to update constantly and never compromise on the quality. The drawings of celebrities are a way of marketing my works and page. I will always get a considerable number of work if I deliver consistently.”

Though he creates stunning drawings, he says there are a lot of challenges in doing graphite and charcoal drawings. “Blending doesn’t come easy with the charcoal medium as in graphite. Darker shades are done using charcoal and lighter shades by the graphite.” The 25-year-old is now planning to try his hand at painting soon. “I would like to do acrylic, oil and digital paintings. An artist should know all mediums, especially since I’m planning to take it forward as profession. A community on Instagram to promote the works of young artists is my dream. It will help everyone to increase the reach of their works.”

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The New Indian Express
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