Akangsha Chakraborty, Artist, Akangsha's Palette
I'm an artist based in Delhi, India, primarily focused on painting original seascapes and landscapes in oil on stretched canvas. I've also completed a five-year bachelor's degree in Architecture. For the past two years, I have been juggling my painting career with the full-time role of an architect at an architectural firm.
My creations are heavily inspired by dancing waves and patterns found in nature - the energy, colours, and spaces of landscapes. I endeavour to exhibit realism with each brushstroke and aspire for my work to connect with and evoke distinct emotions in each observer, causing each piece to remain personal and exclusive.
I'm of the view that paintings have unidentifiable components woven into them which resonate differently with each viewer, and I measure my success in my ability to create these components in ways that my patrons find desirable. My career as a fine artist has been a result of a carefully managed balance between skill development, creative thinking, and communication.
I seek to give form to what is otherwise unquantifiable while surpassing cost, distance, and space barriers. My patrons include an eclectic mix of people, varying both in age and temperament; all unified by the general desire to escape life's manic pace and immerse into the windows we commonly, and perhaps insufficiently, call paintings.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
I think Instagram is a lot of fun. I personally don't like to step out of my comfort zone often, but Instagram pushes me to use my creativity in multiple ways, in the form of videos and pictures. I also love giving my own followers a peek into my artistic life.
In the current world of online marketing, this sort of transparency helps build trust with one's audience. Additionally, it allows me to have fun while still building my business over time. Best of all, I can do it without having to spend money.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
I am a full-time artist, and I mainly paint seascapes and landscapes. I have a small space in my house dedicated solely to painting which has turned out to be a huge turning point in my artistic journey. The ocean became a prominent subject of my art towards the middle of 2020 when I had just completed my bachelor's in architecture, and I found myself in a pandemic stuck in a lockdown.
I've always painted ever since I was a child, but during those few pivotal months during the pandemic, the city's chaos faded into a soft hush, and my deep-rooted need for something more finally began. Those few months during the pandemic often replay in my mind late at night when I am working on a new painting for a client.
That was the first time in my life that I actually listened to what my heart was telling me. I finally trusted that inner voice telling me that it was time to let go of mediocrity and start living a life that would push me to unimaginable heights.
Then, I decided to take up art as a full-time career and let architecture take a backseat. At the moment, I am concentrating on painting misty forest landscapes. There's something about a dark, gloomy, wintery forest that I love capturing in my paintings. It's so therapeutic that I could get lost in those details and eventually lose track of time.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
I love (not like) painting because when I am painting, it transports me out of time, out of the world, out of my existence, and out of everything other than the painting's immediate surroundings, and the subject that I'm painting.
Time flies by without much notice. I don't get hungry, tired or sleepy, and I'm entirely absorbed in what I'm doing. And when I'm finished, if I've painted properly, I'll have something lovely and intriguing that I have no idea how I made.
However, in the past year, I've discovered I really love the energy I gain from positive feedback and recognition for my art from my clients. It pours into my work and provides me with constant encouragement, which I greatly appreciate.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
"Take a breath." It wasn't a yoga instruction; instead, it was a suggestion to take a breather during tense situations in order to prevent saying or doing something terrible.
Every day, I attempt to follow this advice. It has kept the peace, calmed me down, and mostly made me appear smarter than I am.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
Myself. In whatever I do, I enjoy being the driving force. When I finish one painting, I am immediately intrigued and eager to begin the next. I've been painting seascapes for about two years, and I'm still discovering new things and becoming inspired.
My boyfriend, too, has played an important role in assisting me in my artistic endeavours. He assists me in ways I couldn't possibly help myself, and he always seems to have a solution to my difficulties.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
Professionally, I am proud of all the work I put in to have reached this far in my artistic career (I still have a long way to go). Though the feeling lasts for a fractional second, when I look at some of my paintings now, I can't help but feel immensely proud of how good I'm getting at it.
The biggest thing I am proud of in my personal life, by far, is my relationship with my boyfriend. We've nurtured our relationship, and watching us grow every day is such a wonderful feeling!
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
I think in regards to networking, I'm more of a one-to-one person. I like going out for meals with people and having one-to-one conversations as opposed to being in big groups of people or talking virtually.
However, I'm getting more recognition through social media platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn. I realise in this day and age of online networking; that it is just not possible to always meet people physically. Most of my commissions and new clients come through Instagram and Etsy Store.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
While I am constantly working on my skills as a painter, I think selling my work made me realise that being good at just painting is not enough in order to sell. Communicating clearly and adequately well to my customers has really helped me in these past few years. Time management is also a skill that I struggle with sometimes but value in high regard.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
Nothing, really. It's been an incredible journey with many highs and lows, but I don't think there's anything I would have liked to know ahead of time.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
There are quite a few people! Mentors that I've had, I admire them. I'm facing those challenges myself. Mainly because I understand their journey and how hard they've had to work to get to where they are.
In terms of people that I don't know, I'd say people like Andrew Tischler. He's become very well known now. I watch snippets of his paintings, and I have followed his work quite religiously. I like the fact that he's not all about selling paintings; he's about being happy and practising gratitude as well.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
Trying out new cuisines while spending time with my friends and close ones is something I really enjoy doing. It's quite refreshing to socialise during the weekends and a nice way to switch off from work. I occasionally enjoy stepping out just by myself, perhaps grabbing a coffee or going to a parlour for a therapeutic spa session or some retail therapy which automatically lifts my mood.
Apart from that, I off-late have also started working out at home. Not just for the physical benefits but for my mental health as well. Painting and simultaneously doing a nine-to-five job can be pretty stressful sometimes, and getting it out of the way in the morning really sets me up for the day.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
The pandemic was obviously very difficult for everyone. Personally, it had both of a positive and negative impact on my life. I am very fortunate as the virus did not severely affect any of my close people. I am an ambivert, so I enjoy working alone, and hence the lockdown's impact on me was minimal.
I loved the peace and quiet while improving my skills and thought of new ways to sell my work. I was prepared for a period of time without any sales, but, thankfully, to my surprise, sales have continued.
The only real impact I had seen on the business end of things was that the post office had halted shipping to foreign countries for a long duration. As a result of that, I had to opt for courier services which charged thrice as much, and pass some of that cost onto customers. This led to a decrease in sales because who likes to pay higher for shipping!
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
I have had good mentors in school and at my university, but I don't really have a mentor now. There are people who I trust and whose advice I would listen to, but they are more friends than mentors.
As for mentoring someone, I've held a couple of workshops for beginners who wanted to learn oil painting, and that was indeed a very fulfilling experience. I also get loads of sweet messages from other artists. I absolutely love them. I always get back to them and answer all their questions.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
The first thing to do is to experience different types of mediums, to discover which medium is best for you and what you're most passionate about – because obviously, there are a lot of different aspects to art. Then, I'd recommend developing a niche in whatever you do.
I started as someone who used to paint different subjects with oil paints, oil pastels, acrylics, poster paints, charcoal, you name it. Then, I gradually realised that I was passionate about oil painting and started painting the ocean more often.
Now I can paint water without any references. So, specialise! Figure out what you like first and then become a specialist in that area. Then, once you get there, specialise in something else. One step at a time.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
When it comes to growing as an artist, sometimes, when you do not see results, it can be quite difficult. It can be disheartening if you put in loads of effort in marketing and don't feel like anything has come of it. However, marketing is a long-term investment with no quick results and that can cause some people who don't fully understand the process to become quite deflated.
Also, if you're trying to learn something and you're not connecting to it, it can cause you to give up. For me, it's all about enjoying my work. I think we work for so many hours through our lives that it's crucial that we find meaning in what we do. My answer to that is simple for those who don't enjoy their work: find something that you're passionate about and focus on that.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
As the great nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche brilliantly noted, "He whose life has a why can bear almost any how."
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
A brand without a personality, like humans, is boring and won't appeal to many people.
On the subject of personal branding, I believe Apple has done an excellent job. They use fresh-faced youthful, and modern people in all their imagery, whether on social media, TV advertisements, or website. This is exactly the type of person they want to be identified with. Thus this visual helps them connect with their target audience. Most millennials you meet are likely to own one or more Apple goods.
Tiffany & Co. is another brand that comes to mind. It's not easy to become renowned as one of the world's most prestigious jewellery brands, but Tiffany & Co. has people all over the world pining after one of their little blue boxes, thanks to savvy marketing. With a timeless and appealing personality, this brand has effectively established itself as refined and elegant.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
For me, success is getting up, looking forward to the day ahead, seeing a client's face light up when you show them a completed painting, receiving positive feedback, completing a challenging piece of work, and being recognised for it.
Second, being financially secure as a result of what you're doing is a great plus, and I consider it a huge win, but being healthy is just as important as those two things.