Artist creatively blends colours of various states using her paintbrush
Tejasmi and her family shifted to Chennai and during the 2015 floods, all her paintings were damaged. “I was disheartened
Tejasmi’s paintings
CHENNAI: Born in Odisha, Tejasmi Honey made Tamil Nadu her second home after relocating to Ramanathapuram in 1995. Tejasmi is an aesthete and has written poems since her childhood. She chose brush over a pen and tried her hand at painting to overcome depression when she was 25.
“As I started researching on different paintings, I came to know about Thanjavur paintings. I sought the help of an artist to learn the basics. I did my first painting in Ramanathapuram in 2004. Coincidentally, my husband got transferred to Thanjavur around that time,” says Tejasmi. She started travelling to various villages and met artisans to delve deep into the art.
Tejasmi Honey
Tejasmi and her family shifted to Chennai and during the 2015 floods, all her paintings were damaged. “I was disheartened. But, my family supported me to start all over, which was a major turning point,” shares the artist.
She travelled back to Odisha and started learning the state’s signature art form, Patachitra painting. Her experimentation of adding gold foil, small stones and muck work to Patachitra painting, gave her the unique idea of blending Thanjavur and Patachitra.
“This fusion is a depiction of my life journey and showcases the pride of my homes (Odisha and Tamil Nadu). Nowadays, not many know about these art forms and the passion is missing. This motivated me to expand my works to art forms in the states across the country like Rajasthani, Madhubani and many more,” she adds.
Tejasmi’s painting
Discovering her true calling in her mid-40s, Tejasmi has inspired many around her to follow their passion. She used the pandemic lockdown to the fullest and learnt the intricacies of the paintings from different states through online platforms. “All these paintings will have Thanjavur art as its base. This is a new concept and all my works revolve around the love between Radha and Krishna. Since my childhood, I have a liking for them, and with time, their life story has become my signature style,” Tejasmi states.
She wishes that the onlookers would feel the love between Krishna and Radha after seeing her paintings. “My artworks are my identity and art is not restricted by geographical boundaries or languages. It imbibes the culture and tradition of our diverse country. The colours of my brush highlights the different style of paintings existing in India,” the artist remarks. Tejasmi aims to improve her painting skills. She also wishes to travel to different places and expand her knowledge about other arts as well.
People can visit the Art Houz, Nungambakkam, on November 4 and 5 to witness the distinctive fusion paintings of Tejasmi.