Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 740 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.
In Part I and Part II of our coverage of the annual Chitra Santhe art festival, we showcased a range of creative works from across the country. In this series, we also provide artistic insights on creativity, festival impact, and failure lessons.
Hosted by Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, the festival is regarded as one of India’s largest street celebrations of art, with over 1,500 exhibitors from 22 states. See our coverage of the previous nine editions of Chitra Santhe here.
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Festival journey and sales
“Art means a lot to me. The artistic field gives me the freedom to be myself,” artist Sriram Chinnadurai tells YourStory. He has worked on hundreds of canvas paintings and won three awards for his work.
His art has won recognition from the Camel Art Foundation for landscape painting in 2021, and from the Tamil Nadu government in 2023. He has participated in group shows at Soul Spice Art Gallery (Chennai) and Jehangir Art Gallery (Mumbai).
“Sales were fantabulous this year this year at Chitra Santhe,” he enthuses. Many clients praised the artworks and offered congratulations.
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Sriram Chinnadurai
” align=”center”> Sriram Chinnadurai
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“Based on a recommendation from a friend, I decided to exhibit at Chitra Santhe,” recalls Kammar Hanumanthappa, proprietor of Chidambara Arts, a specialist in bottle art. It takes him about 10-15 days to make one work of bottle art.
“I have received a number of orders, including one from Singapore as a wedding anniversary celebration,” he proudly says. His artworks are priced from Rs 5,000 upward.
Other bottle artists such as Hemanth Kumar also featured portraits or other paintings made on the inside surface of the bottle rather than the outside.
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Sonal Shah
” align=”center”> Sonal Shah 
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“To me, art is definitely an exploration of soul. When you are happy you want to create – and even when you are sad you want to create,” Sonal Shah explains.
Art makes an artist happy and brightens the soul for the artist and audience. “Art also balances an artist’s emotions,” she adds.
Shah’s artistic journey spans 15 years. “I have participated in Chitra Santhe a couple of times and also at various flea markets in Bengaluru,” she says.
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Anjali Chavan and Satish Pujari
” align=”center”> Anjali Chavan and Satish Pujari
“I always look forward to participating at Chitra Santhe. It has given me great exposure and sales, and helped me stay positive,” she enthuses.
Her artworks are priced from Rs 1,500 to Rs 15,000. “At the same time, I must say that artistic talent is priceless,” she affirms.
“For me, art is a way of conveying my emotions or ideas through different mediums with creative expressions,” Anjali Chavan explains. She started off with art as a hobby or a way of relaxation during breaks.
“As I started spending more and more time doing drawings, I improved a lot. Now art is an important aspect of my profession,” she says. Depending on size, medium and effort, her artworks are priced from Rs 5,000 to Rs 70,000.
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Advice and tips
The artists offer tips for aspiring artists on the creative journeys ahead, though they humbly insist that they are still on their own learning paths.
Sonal Shah advises sharpening a keen sense of observation, along with daily practice. “Listen to your calling. Try to create a niche and develop your own unique skill,” she advises.
“Work on whatever you want with what you know, there is no restriction. Keep going ahead, opportunities will come behind you,” Chinnadurai advises.
“Never fear to commit mistakes. Instead, be brave enough to acknowledge them and work on them,” Anjali Chavan advises. She strongly agrees with the popular saying: Success is a journey and not a destination.
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Resilience
The artistic journey is also full of setbacks and challenges. “Artists learn from their mistakes, but there is no failure for them. Learning from mistakes is part of perfecting a technique,” Chinnadurai explains.
“Not only artists but all human beings should try to learn from their own mistakes and failures. Perseverance is the key to success for all,” Shah affirms.
“I believe we should never get disappointed by our failures. Rather, we need to analyse what went wrong and try to come up with a better version of ourselves. Only optimistic minds are creative,” Chavan signs off.
Now what have you done today to pause in your busy schedule and harness your creative side for a better world?
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Chidambara Arts
” align=”center”> Chidambara Arts
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Ganesh Saboji
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Nandini Pantawane
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Baban Mane
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(All photographs were taken by Madanmohan Rao on location at the festival.)
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