BHARATI PAWASKAR
Art is in her genes. Her father is a national level artist and master in print making and her grandmother was an art teacher in Maharashtra with rangoli art, craft and crochet work to her credit. She grew up watching these two artists work and was drawn towards art since her childhood. One of the recipients of State Art Award 2018, freelance artist Veenita Chendvankar keeps herself busy working at her studio experimenting and challenging herself to do better and better. She has participated in various national level competitions and also exhibited her work in group shows.
It was a memorable moment in her life when she was awarded as a national level artist at Lalit Kala Academy, Odisha, Bhubaneshwar and all appreciated her art. Veenita feels that today’s scenario in the art world has changed. Today, an artist earns respect and youth are showing interest in art and hard work pays. For her art and life is complementary because as one gets totally involved in a beautiful work of art, all stress and negative thoughts are wiped out from the mind. “It’s like Sadhana (meditation),” smiles Veenita who watched her father doing etching and wood cut work. “My artist father Sadguru Chendvankar created different colour schemes, experimenting with forms and textures which inspired me and I decided to choose fine art as my career,” she admits.
Veenita’s style is unique. Nature and colours have always fascinated her. She enjoys working in high key colour schemes and has a totally new colour palate to herself to create emotional feelings off the form, balancing with the positive and negative area in the space of her canvas. “As I observe the nature from sunrise to sunset, I am awed. Nature changes colour in every season - from monsoon to spring and winter to summer - withering, shedding leaves and becoming bear or wearing bright green attires - all of this happens so gracefully and beautifully. I am amazed,” quips Veenita.
“In today’s scenario in the art world, artists have some kind of respect which was never given before, and also now people are showing interest in art field. Visual art is considered as one of the optional subjects in every art education. Hard work pays,” she feels. Happy that Prof Prabhakar Kolte, Prafulla Dahanukar, Shreekant Jadhav appreciated her work, she thanks her teachers from Mushtifund High School, first art teacher Naguesh Rao Sardessai, teachers from Goa College of Fine Art, my mentors Vasudeo Kamath, Kashinath Salve, Prof Vasant Sonavne. “I am what I am because of them,” she concludes.
