From sketches to sales: Highlights from Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath’s flagship art fair

Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 830 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.

Bengaluru’s Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath recently celebrated the 22nd edition of Chitra Santhe, regarded as one of India’s largest annual street celebrations of art. See our coverage of the previous ten editions of Chitra Santhe here, from 2015 onwards.

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More than 1,500 artists from 22 states across India participated this year, with the entire stretch of Kumara Krupa Road closed to traffic all day. In this photo essay, we feature more of the diverse artworks on display, along with artist insights on creativity.

“My first participation in Chitra Sante was in the year 2016. I had multiple group exhibitions in various reputed galleries as well that year,” Shaivya Rastogi tells YourStory.

Her career took a back seat for a while when her daughter was born in 2017. “During the pandemic, I decided to shift my focus to my passion and from then on I have been quite consistent,” she says.

In the course of her journey, Rastogi has created over 500 artworks of various mediums and sizes. Twelve works were created specially this year on the theme of underwater life.

For Vanishree Siddarth, art is a form of devotion. “Art is an inspiration which boosts creativity and self-expression,” she says.

Her artistic journey blossomed at 16 when she discovered her talent for miniature work. “Starting with nail art, I experimented with various mediums like rice, paper, and chalk, ultimately finding my niche in pencil lead carving,” she explains.

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Over the years, she expanded her artistic repertoire. “It now includes structure making, fusion work, and miniature paintings,” she adds.

“Art has always been something that defines me, it comes to me naturally. Art is a form of expression for me which is also why my art brand is called Art.iculation,” Jyoti Machigad explains.

Art is more than a hobby for her. “For as long as I can remember, I have always turned to painting and sketching to unwind and think,” she adds.

Artistic themes

For Chitra Santhe, Siddarth created miniature paintings on wooden slices with magnets. “They are perfect for decorating fridges and wardrobes,” she explains.

A unique feature of these paintings is that they glow in the dark. The wood art pieces are priced from Rs 300 to Rs 1,500.

“Last year my painting series on underwater life was most loved – I received really good appreciation for the vibrant and unique work. This year, I experimented more on the theme with new colour palettes and forms, and the response was great again,” Rastogi proudly says.

At Chitra Sante, her aim is to make art reach as many people as possible through affordable works. “Smaller pen and paper artwork start at about Rs 1,500 and go up to Rs 4,000, The larger work ranges between Rs 7,000 to Rs 30,000,” she explains.

Jyoti Machigad explored themes of nature and combined them with abstractionism. “It was a new style of art for me, but I received many compliments and even sold most of those paintings,” she says.

“The smaller paintings sell for around Rs 500 to Rs 3,000. The larger, more intricate paintings are priced anywhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs 60,000, depending on the materials used and the time and effort taken for each painting,” Machigad says.

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She first realised she was artistic when her college professors took notice of her sketches and the diagrams in her record books. She moved from pencils and pens to poster colours and acrylic paints.

“I enjoyed the occasional coffee and sketching, but I was only recently able to dedicate myself fully to my art. As a housewife, I spent much of my life caring for my daughters,” Machigad recalls.

Now that they are grown up, she has found the time, motivation and inspiration to continue pursuing my art more seriously. “In the last two years, I have attended three art festivals, including two consecutive Chitra Santhe fairs,” she says.

“I have also put up a few exhibitions at a number of locations," she adds. They include Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath and other popular venues.

She conducted her first art workshop last year. "It was a big success. I have a few more workshops planned for this year,” Machigad signs off.

Now what have you done today to pause in your busy schedule and harness your creative side for a better world?

(All photographs were taken by Madanmohan Rao on location at Chitra Santhe.)