It’s an artsy affair for Chennaiites during lockdown

If you log on to Instagram daily at 5 pm, you can see a lot of live art sessions and masterclasses by prominent artists.

Shruthi Nandagopal, an ad film maker, has been following a couple of artists and decided to make use of her time. “Based on the art supplies I have, I took up watercolour and gouache art classes on Instagram.

Daily, around 5 pm I will be ready with paintbrushes and colours. I learned painting while I was in school; after that, I am picking a paintbrush now only. Learning any form of art or craft is a calming process. It’s meditative and relieves stress. There is a #100dayproject that’s taking place online where people around the world commit to 100 days of exploring their creativity.

I’ve joined this and have completed 24 days. I am happy that artists from various art sections are coming forward and sharing their knowledge. Even it is just a one-hour session, it is informative,” says Shruthi. Artist-illustrator Nitika Ale, who recently hosted an online class on mixed media, believes that this is the best time one could start learning any art form.

Nitika tells, “We made a portrait with multiple art supplies like watercolours, pencil colours, soft pastels and oil pastels. It was a different experience to take classes online. In regular classes, we can attend to each participant specifically. Whereas, in an online session, only the common questions will be answered. But then again, participants can personally send us messages and clear the doubts.”

City-based entrepreneur Soundariya Anil spent the first part of the lockdown in baking and working out. But when the lockdown got extended, she decided to make use of the extra time. “After school, I never got the time to sketch — it was long forgotten. I thought of picking up a white paper and tried doodle art. Just after 20 mins into it, I got so immersed into the art; it was therapeutic,” smiles Soundariya.