I am Pallavi and go by the name kalaavi_by_pallavi on Instagram. I am an Accounting Technician and a Teacher by profession and an artist by passion. I have always loved to be around colours and been into Arts ever since I remember. Even in school days, I have been one of those girls who used to take care of what goes to the class’ bulletin board, preparing invitation cards for every occasion and what not.
So, yes Art has always been there with me. But as it happens with everyone, during my higher studies I was completely away from Art for years. I rediscovered my solace in Art at a low point in my life and since then there’s no looking back. And eventually, I decided to have my own Art Account on Instagram ( @kalaavi_by_pallavi ). Until 2020 I haven’t touched watercolors even once. Yes, you read it right… I worked with so many mediums before 2020 but watercolors. I had already tried acrylics, mandalas, pastels, sketching and what not but I wanted to keep experiencing different mediums in order to see which I liked the best and which complemented my art style the most(this is an ongoing process btw).Â
I became increasingly interested in watercolor illustrations and paintings and was immensely inspired by artists I found online. I made it my objective to paint and learn as much as possible after getting home from work and whenever I could. As on date, the art form that I enjoy the most is Watercolours. Why? Because of its basic nature that it’s such a beautifully free-flowing medium. It’s so therapeutic to see the colours flow on paper and blend seamlessly with each other. There’s so much to learn about watercolours, from pigments to techniques, that I still have a long way to go before I reach the skill level I want to be at. But the journey itself is so beautiful and I am least bothered about the destination.
Most of the times I have my next artwork planned in advance. Sometimes I am serious enough to plan a whole week in advance (that’s rare though because most of the times my lazy self dominates over my organized self :p). I scroll through Pinterest, Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, a lot and I keep saving photographs that catch my eyes. So that’s one way of defeating the Art Block that’s one of the major problems with all of us artists. When I want to paint, I scroll through my saved photographs and paint them in my style. I always try to give due credits to the photographer who clicked that beautiful picture. If I can’t find the person, I mention the source.
The love and support from my family, friends and Insta Fam is one of my biggest achievements. I can’t thank them enough for showering me with so much love. I feel blessed to be a part of this community.
PRACTICE. PATIENCE. PASSION is the Guru Mantra. To all those starting their journey on this beautiful road, firstly PRACTICE will make all the difference. Once you find your Art Style, practice it DAILY. Yes, I said daily… and why does that sound so difficult and unachievable? I’m not saying create a masterpiece daily but a lil’ something, may just an A6 size or even A7 would do. Next, important thing is PATIENCE. Patience- that one day you will get noticed. I know beginners feel its easy to say for someone who has grown big already but I am clearly not one of those as I’m one of the slowest growing page on Instagram. So, trust me when I say this, “Enjoy the Journey”. And lastly PATIENCE to make it huge. Passion to learn so much that one day you can help others learn too♡
I love these lines by John Greenleaf Whittier-
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow–
You may succeed with another blow,
Success is failure turned inside out–
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
For all the sad words of tongue or pen–
The saddest are these : “It might have been!”
Love & Light
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