A Young Self Made Artist who breaks conventional norms of the Society: Varynia Wankhar

Varynia was first inspired by her dad, who himself is a self-made artist; she used to admire his unconventional methods of glass painting and pot painting, his paintings are still registered in her mind and she would sometimes get inspired by them while working on her own paintings. In 2008 at the age of 19, she left home and traveled to the United Arab Emirates, where she was exposed to different art forms and was fortunate to attend art expos held in Abu Dhabi where she got to experience and admire the works of different artists. That inspired her to attend a few art workshops that helped her experiment with oil painting. Varynia: A self made artist Further in my journey back in 2015, she was blessed with an opportunity to visit the UK, during her vacation there she would visit art galleries and art museums such as the famous Saatchi Gallery, the National Gallery and so on where I spent hours and hours admiring paintings and different works of art by renowned artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Michael Angelo, Leonardo D Vinci. After these trips, I began taking painting seriously and started experimenting with various Materials and Mediums. BV: What kind of art/medium you deal with? Do you have any painting experience? Varynia: I love experimenting with different mediums rather than just sticking to one. So far I’ve been working with Charcoal, Acrylic Paints, Water Paints, and Oil paints. Mixing mediums is my favorite and I enjoy seeing the outcome. Varynia loves mixing mediums I have been painting since 2012 and I’m still growing and learning and curious about the different techniques and mediums. I tend to focus more on Abstract and modern art with a little touch of traditionalism. Some of my earlier works have been transported to different parts of the world. Recently I started exploring the virtual platform and take part in various art competitions BV: What your art reflects about your personality and why?Varynia: Art to me is like meditation; it is the only way I can run away leaving my daily life behind without needing to leave the house. Most of my work portrays freedom especially of a woman, freedom to do what she dreams unburdened by the expectations of society. Art is a meditation for Varynia Other artworks reflect my firm belief in sustainability, I collect bottles and up-cycle them to beautiful art pieces which one can use as a decorative piece at home or gift to their loved ones. Here again, each bottle has a story hidden behind it of freedom, love, ambition so on, and so forth. Varynia believes in upcycling of used bottlels Why I stress on freedom is because growing up in an Anglo-Khasi family with cool parents I was never pressurized into anything, like marriage or starting a family. I come from the state of Meghalaya, the Khasi tribe, which follows a matriarchy where the woman is considered strong, and rules. Now moving out from that system I encountered a lot of questions, why am I still single? Why do I not want kids and so on… the answer to these questions is what I try to portray in my artwork. Apart from that, I’m fascinated by the animal kingdom, particularly by the stag with its magnificent antlers and the Peacock with its stunning details (which I can never seem to grasp no matter how many times I try) BV: How do you promote your art? And what are the challenges you face, if any during the process? Varynia: Being a self-made artist I’m still discovering the various platforms of promoting my art, I rely on social media mostly and word of mouth. Recently I’ve started participating in various competitions and exhibitions, where I get the chance to showcase my work with different artists from around the world. I learn a lot from other artists while on such platforms, we share ideas and techniques and support one another. She breaks conventional methods through her painting As a student, especially of Hotel Management, we are always kept on our toes, so time is one of my major constraints, as much as I want to sit and paint the whole day I have to deal with project deadlines and submissions from university too. As an artist a lot of time goes into creating and then getting it out there, I try and manage by prioritizing and not trying to waste time. It's a constant battle though. BV: What are your thoughts on the Indian art scenario and how can we improve it? Varynia: Indian art has drastically evolved over the years, from intricately detailed art to modern-day abstracts. Art flourishes in each and every nook and corner of the country, from vibrant cultures, festivals, homes, clothing, jewelry, food, dance, and the streets. It has been influenced by time and eras that went by and still continues to be influenced by trends and cultures. Artists like Rabindranath Tagore and MF Hussein also known as the Picasso of India, have made their presence known in art fairs and galleries all over the world. Varynia's painting Young artists nowadays focus more on their own style rather than following the traditional art forms, and with the advent of social media, a number of self-taught artists are rising and making their mark. Nowadays it’s more about the digital medium. each bottle has a story hidden behind it of freedom, love, ambition But with this comes the question are there any original artists left out there? The presence of social media and the internet has made it easy for people to copy and call their own some even make millions on the original artist’s work. I personally feel this poses a threat to the authentic artist community. So even though it's hard I would suggest young artists stick to their originality, and make the right connections and protect their work. For more such updates, follow us on Facebook and  Instagram. Download our magazine Spunky Indian for exclusive stories.