Great New Artist: Ref 3 Shabana Vashi

       

It is always immeasurably pleasing to meet a person who has a clear vision and who is never scared to use imagination, technique and color, all in abundance, because this is what transforms an ordinary painter into an extremely great artist! 

“The colours in my art reflects my mood when I am painting”

Hi Shabana, nice to meet you! Where did you grow up?

I was born 43 years ago in the city of Vadodara in Gujarat, India as the eldest of three siblings. Gujarat is the most western state of India. Its coastline is 1,600 km long and the state has a population of 60,4 million. Vadodara is a good city to live in as it serves the best in education and food and also has respectable people. The city also has rich heritage of the ancient Maratha Emperors.

I graduated with bachelor degree in Physics at the Maharaja Sayajirao University that was originally established as a college in 1881 already and it has one of the oldest Physics departments in India.

In 1997, after I completed my studies, my family joined my dad who was in South Africa.

I am married now and has two daughters as well as a son. My girls love doing artwork like sketch, fabric paint, watercolour and crafts at school, but my son is not interested in arts.

Were you always an artist?

I am a former Maths and Science high school educator but I am now a housewife and entrepreneur (Supervisor for Forever Living Products).

What is your art training background?

I am a self-taught artist. I did some artwork in high-school as a hobby and only took it up once more in October 2019 after I watched lots of YouTube tutorials that inspired me to start painting again. I am now planning to become full-time artist.

What is the best thing in being an artist?

I love to create something out of nothing and find that I can express myself through my paintings and its colours. The colours in my art reflects my mood when I am painting. When I start a painting, I sometimes get so inspired that I paint fast and find it difficult to stop. If time permits, I need a maximum of a week to finishing such a painting.

I also love when family and friends appreciate what I do and when my paintings become part of someone's life and home!

                   

What inspires you to create art?

Nature inspires me to create. I love beautiful landscapes, sunsets, full moons and seascapes. I do mostly use photo references and when I come upon such scenes, I get excited and cannot wait to capture the scene in paint and to express the feeling and emotion of the moment. Actually, I don't know when to stop working on my painting. I keep working on it till my kids tell me to stop! They are my biggest critics! I see satisfaction with my work as success - I don't measure success in monetary terms.

Who is your favourite artist?

Duong Tieng from Vietnam. I love the landscapes and stunning use of colour and it inspires me to establish my own niche and style of painting.

Are you doing commissions?

Haven't started with commission work yet, but have got some offers to do Islamic art calligraphy.

Which mediums gives you the most joy and what else are you doing?

Acrylic is my favourite, but I have also done contemporary artwork using a palette knife, brushes, aluminium foil, cardboard, cling wrap, etc. I have also experimented with balloon smash, chain pull, string pull and pouring art and even used shaving foam to make a painting!

“This video is of “Pink Explosion” (acrylic on canvas, 
400x400 mm). It's a combination of smooth lines and 
texture in the abstract art style and gave me immense pleasure in creating it.”

Do you do any research on art?

Before starting my painting, I do research on things like reflection of light, shadows, depth of paintings and layering.

I also study Islamic art and learn calligraphy.

How important are titles to your artworks?

Titles are very important as it tell more of the passion and emotions when the painting was created. For me sometimes it's poetic and sometimes it's just a plain few words! Occasionally I look up to my family and friends to give my paintings a suitable title.

           

Which of your paintings is your favourite one?

All are favourites, making it difficult to choose, but I think the recent one “Sunset over the Lake” is my best work so far.

What is the hardest part of creating a work of art?

To get started is the hardest part of creating a work of art. I don't have a full day to create, maybe a few hours a day. City life is more chaotic than country life and it is harder to find time to create more. I paint after finishing my chores and putting the kids to sleep - I have a hyperactive 5-year-old!

I don't have a dedicated workplace but I am planning to renovate a corner of my bedroom to make a studio for my work.

How do you market your art?

Online marketing and social media are the best form of marketing these days. It however still takes years to establish yourself and make a brand name for your artwork.

To me it is a very emotional process to sell my artwork personally.

Where can prospective buyers currently see your work?

Currently my artwork is published online only. I have my digital catalogue on my Etsy store “Art by Shabana” and I also am a member of SA Art Explosion.

I haven't taken part in any exhibition yet but would like to in future.

In your personal view, what role does the artist have in society?

Very important! They make the world more emphatic and loveable.

What’s the favourite part of your art?

 To exhibit my paintings and show them to the world

                                                                       

What would you do different if you had the opportunity?

If I could go back in time, I would start as a full-time artist and studied fine arts instead of sciences at University.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Practice, practice and practice. Keep painting! Practice makes perfect.

Regards

Shabana

Lets Talk Art: Ref 3 Art or Ornament? 23 May 2020

Art or Ornament?

The other day I was astonished by a statement by one of my friends who, after his retirement as lawyer, became a full-time fine artist creating brilliant acrylic paintings. You have actually already met him as "Philistine" in our very first Let's Talk Art article.Well, this troublesome remark by my friend was sparked by the following incident. I have namely emailed him some pictures of amazing art pottery made by another very gifted friend of mine. The lawyer’s wife immediately fell in love with one of the pottery masterpieces and I, in my true nature as serious advocate of art sales, then swiftly took up the opportunity to suggest that the lawyer acquire the piece. To my horror, this fellow remarked that his spouse has plenty of “ornaments” already. Of course, he was just making fun at me. He has always been very articulate and true to his profession thoroughly recognize the significance of expressive terms in a court of law. Therefore, when this well-spoken law-man presented to “court” this true piece of art as just another specimen of a variety of decorative objects, it forced the “jury” to question their frame of reference and to reconsider their longstanding beliefs. It left the bench with the aenigma that all ornaments in the general sense of the word cannot easily be defined as art but that ALL art may well be classified as ornamental.

Still in awe, I then countered another friend of mine. This serious artist likewise has the gift of the gap and a way with words, spoken as well as written and she is fiery by nature. You know me, I like to stir…… As expected, this lady totally lost it when I suggested that she assist me in exploring the possibility that art may only be decorating our homes.

This was her response.

There is a vast difference between decorative and academic art. In previous centuries, original art were honored items in households and homes were never jam-packed with wooden crosses, baskets or welded geckos. Art was admired, original items that could only be afforded by stink-wealthy folks. The exception was less well-off art lovers that saved money and made down payments on original assignments for the reason that they simply could not live without it. I tend to have more admiration for the latter, because it is an indication that the buyer recognized the artist's soul in that workpiece.

Decorative items, on the other hand, is a fairly new trend. The stuff are usually the product of crafts and mass production and unfortunately also include replicas, prints and copies of real artwork. This commercially driven industry made it affordable for people to embellish their homes, floor to ceiling, with items very often reflecting the brand MADE IN CHINA. Décor fads and whims are sheepishly trailed by people with money and whose knowledge of art is diminutive. Decorative items can thus easily end up on the garbage heap amongst other rubbish, because people soon get tired of it, or it goes out of fashion and they then seek another trend or decor tendency to waste money on.

One tiny step up from the above, there is furthermore undeniably a trend of so-called artists, who in sausage-machine-style, one after the other, turn out paintings of flowerpots, bicycles or scrubbing megapode hens under a washing line. Emotion and thoughtful topics and abstraction play no role in the childlike version of topics which the masses adore. Ignorant buyers will then pay astronomical amounts for an “original” piece signed by an artist with a household name, only a) because the neighbor and everyone else owns one b) the item is decorative and c) the buyer look at it and they "understand" the subject. These “artists” are especially successful when they have a marketing strategy that attracts particularly feminine "groupies". "Art" then becomes a ridiculous method to catch the herd animal. These are the types of artists that make art banal and insignificant. Like DEFY, it becomes public ownership.

Yes, nowadays "kitsch" is high fashion, but can one really compare a Fabergé egg to an ostrich egg featuring a painted image of an ostrich or put a Lalique glassware item next to a Consol glass item? So, by the way, I also despise poor art being mounted in most expensive frames that are worth ten times the artwork. Another thing - true art is not a style or subject which repeats itself on every tomdickanharry’s walls and therefore mass-produced copies and prints can easily degenerate true art into a Tretchikoff-like decorative item. 

True art, on the other hand, is a reflection of the soul. It is original work created by man's hand, inspired by emotion and passion. This process involves visions, color, detail, texture and even odor. Influences and several aspects and facets of an artist's life journey and their emotional life space at the time of the creation are notable in the outcome. It then takes a real fine artist, a serious art collector or an art expert to recognize the subtle nuances of genuine art, to interpret the technique, subject and soul meaning thereof and to occasionally make their own observations. If this can be done, only then can we call it real art.

.

People who buy real art are in two distinctive categories - some buy to make an investment; others acquire artwork for the intrinsic value thereof. I personally believe a lover of fine art will always have an original piece, even if it is very small, has been made by an unknown artist or has no sales value at all.  Yes, and it is sadly true, many real fine artists with excellent training and sometimes genial talent are never recognized. Luckily true artists are not dependent on approval of others, neither is money the driving force behind the creation of real art. Most excellent artists can only make a reasonable living as only a very small number of them get a lucky break and become famous. But this never kills the inspiration to create.

Therefore, it all depends on taste, culture, environment, training and viewpoint, whether you see a real artwork as a decorative item or as an ornament.

What I referred to above is an based on 45 years of being a professional artist

Regards

Dorothy Laguerenne Wannenburgh Mathews

My notes:

1.    How do you describe ornaments? (Make your pick…)
Here are some adjectives for ornaments: noncommittal and ostentatious (showy), wonderfully beautiful and complex, single meretricious, fragile native, exterior and adventitious, false or unseasonable, fragile and priceless, deformed but indispensable, gaudy and technical, flexible, circular, slender and charming, chief and ...https://describingwords.io/for/ornaments

2.   I am still not sure if a fine piece of art may really fall into the classification of "ornament"….

Ps. You can view Dorothy’s art on Facebook at:

https://www.facebook.com/dorothylaguerennewannenburgh.mathews

https://www.facebook.com/dorothylaguerenne.wannenburghmathews.9

Kind regards

Steph