A little Gupshup with Neha, a self-taught illustrator who loves paints, scribbling and all things fashion. The creator of ‘Three Wise Monkeys Sitting In My Brain’, talks about her inspirations and motivations when it comes to breaking in a subjective industry that is the art world.

Can you recall a specific moment or event that inspired you and sparked your decision to become an illustrator? 

Well, I've always been the artistic kid in the family or amongst my friends while growing up, but the decision to take illustration as, a career choice was around the pandemic. Having worked six years in a corporate setting, I just wanted a change, I mean, it didn't really serve me anymore and didn't really have a creative purpose.

And then as I was researching and, you know, looking at the creative industries, I did see that there's a lot of, misrepresentation and underrepresentation of not just Kannada and Karnatak culture, but also the same goes for South Asian culture. And that's what I wanted to kind of lessen the gap and I really do hope that my work continues to fix that in India, especially in the lens of intersectional feminism or, you know, just showcasing that our creative progress isn't something that should be taken lightly and holds a lot more importance as anything else.

What was the very first thing you remember drawing, and how does it compare to your latest masterpiece? 

One of the first things that I drew is something that I probably would have done, or anybody else would have done when they're five years old or two years old, just exploring with colors and the kind of stationery that's available to them, stick figures and basic things and, you know, V-shaped birds and such.

But the illustrations that I do now are definitely a lot more, bigger, and detail oriented. I think it was only possible because, little old me was allowed to explore her creative and artistic inhibitions at that time. 

Share a guilty pleasure when it comes to art supplies or tools.

I think, like most artists, at least the artists that I know, I can be a little indulgent when it comes to my art supplies. And I think I have way too many guilty pleasures to list down here. But, I mean, nothing makes me happier than a box of colors, such as a box of gouache paints.

I really do like paints a lot. And if I had to splurge, I think would probably be them. I like how they feel. I like the kind of texture that they bring out on paper, it's just so great. I love that I like the way it feels. Yeah, it makes me really, really happy.

What's your go-to remedy for overcoming creative blocks? Any bizarre rituals or techniques? 

One of my go-to remedies for creative blocks is just to not do anything at all and just, take a break, especially if you're someone who does digital illustrations like I do, then for me, kind of step away from the screens and read a book, really, really going into nature and get your feet in the grass and things like that, very hippie kind of stuff.

But also, talk to friends, go out with them, and just kind of put whatever task you have going on in the back of your mind. Because sometimes what happens is that, if I'm too concerned about a certain project, then I'm not really able to think outside of it unless I zoom out and give it a break. Then I come back with fresh eyes and that really does help a lot.

If you could go back in time and give your beginner self one piece of advice, what would it be? 

The one piece of advice which I wish anybody would have given to me when I first started on the creative journey, is to, give yourself some grace. And it's also the same thing that I would say to my younger self, because meandering through the creative industry, especially as a self-taught artist, can be a bit more challenging than someone who is mentored, by an art institution, because you're really, really shooting in the dark sometimes.

And, I do think that you should give yourself some grace and love in terms of being super egotistically proud, but just, the kind of be proud of, what you've got there. I know it looks challenging, but, you're going to get there pretty soon or maybe later, you just have to keep going.

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