People, Passions & Projects #5: nir.art.li

J = Jinal
N = Niraali

J:  Thanks for joining me today! How have you been?

N: Hey Jinal, thanks for having me! I’ve been great thanks, excited to be a part of your new series!

J: Have you always had a background in art? How did you find yourself in the subject?

N: I feel like I’ve always been a highly creative and imaginative individual from a young age, so have naturally always been drawn to art. Both my parents are creative and good at art too. I spent so much time painting, drawing, and doing arts and crafts with my parents when I was little. It definitely helped me to discover my love for art from a young age! Art was my favourite subject in school throughout primary and secondary. I decided to choose art as one of my GCSEs, which was absolutely one of the best decisions I have ever made! Over those two years, I improved and refined my technique, and explored a range of media. I’ve been utilising these skills and creating some of my favourite artworks since.

J:  At what point did you decide to make a page for your artwork?

N: I created this page in September 2019, so just over a year since GCSEs had finished. At this point I had all my GCSE paintings and sketchbooks at home, as well as other paintings I had done post-GCSEs. I was so proud of my artwork and how far I’d come, and I decided that I wanted to showcase it. I thought that creating an Instagram page would be perfect, so I spoke to my friends, and they were all so supportive - their shoutouts helped me build a following! Other than simply posting my artwork, I wanted this page to motivate me to regularly create new pieces of art, big or small. I’ve ended up posting a huge variety of art, from large acrylic paintings to doodles on my maths book!

J: From your page I can see there’s a strong cultural aspect to some of your pieces. Could you take me through that?

N: I draw a lot of inspiration from Indian culture, as it’s something I’m proud to be part of and has largely shaped me into the individual I am today. Through artwork I’m able to further embrace and deeply explore these concepts. Both Indian culture and Hindu mythology are rooted in vibrant and colourful traditions, which are portrayed through my Rama and Sita painting as well as my digital depictions of Indian Disney princesses. I like to think that my paintings allow the audience to catch a glimpse of the unique richness and beauty within our culture. Going back to the Disney princess drawings, I created these because of the lack of South Asian representation in Disney - growing up, I’m sure I wasn’t the only girl who could only relate to Princess Jasmine because she was the only brown princess.

J: Do think that your art has allowed you to share your views, opinions & experiences with everyone?

N: Yes, definitely! As I mentioned previously, I’ve been able to express and share my love and appreciation for Indian culture and Hinduism- there are even a few Bollywood inspired artworks on my page! In general, I think art is a powerful way to demonstrate emotion or expression. Artists want to evoke certain emotions within the audience. Black Lives Matter has been a recurring theme throughout my page, through which I have created some of my most moving pieces. Mental Health is also something I have explored through my artwork. In both cases I was able to use art to raise awareness for issues I care greatly about.

J: How is your commissioning work going? Did you start the page with this in mind, or did it just evolve to you completing commissioned work?

N: Like I mentioned earlier, I started this page 2 years ago with the intention of simply sharing my GCSE artwork and a few extra pieces. My page actually motivated me to continue creating art so I had new content to post. Being connected to a wide network of artists gave me so many new ideas and inspired me to experiment with different media. It wasn’t until June last year (during the first lockdown) that I had my first commission request. My best friend Riah found this commission for me and encouraged me to use my art account to find more opportunities! Since then, my following on Instagram has greatly increased and I’ve received lots of commission requests. As a uni student, it’s a great way for me to make money on the side as I’m doing something I love and find highly therapeutic!

J: What’s the piece that you are most proud of?

N: This painting I did last year of Ram and Sita. I love the vibrant and rich colours, but also the meaning behind the painting- it is a depiction of deep unity and love in the magnificent story Ramayana.

J: How do you manage to find time to do art and study for a degree?

N: At uni, it was a lovely way for me to spend my evening if I wasn’t working- sometimes I would block out a day on the weekend to just paint/sketch. As I said, I find art so therapeutic so even during my busiest study periods, I can’t think of a better way to spend my break! Although everything was online last year, I also really enjoyed the weekly art society life drawing sessions and workshops as they allowed me to establish a nice balance of work and leisure during my week. For me it was less about finding time to do art but having a need to incorporate it into my time at uni. I strongly believe that art is for all abilities and is so beneficial for mental health, particularly at uni when exam stress can be overwhelming- so I would often get my flatmates involved when I was drawing or painting!

J: How has the response been to your artwork once you started to share it? Was this different to what you thought it would be?

N: The overall response to my artwork is so positive! Through comments on posts and DMs primarily, I’ve had the opportunity to connect and communicate with likeminded artists. From comments on my posts to DMs, I continue to receive a lot of positive feedback and encouragement, so much more than I ever thought I’d receive! It has improved my self-confidence massively and has enabled me to take pride in what I do. I think I never expected my art to reach such a wide audience, and my page has exceeded my own initial expectations.

J: Thanks for being a part of the series! Any advice for people who want to share their work but are not too sure where to start?

N: Thanks for having me Jinal! To people who want to share their artwork, I would recommend starting an art page on Instagram of course! Before setting this up, get your family and friends behind you so you can immediately start growing your page.

• Make sure you set up a business profile and create a bio which briefly explains what you do
• Follow some art help pages and check the comment sections to find other artists and build your network
• Use hashtags on your posts specific to that artwork to help reach people who don’t already follow you
• Communicate with other artists! Shout each other out on stories, share each other’s artwork to help gain a wider following. You can even message big art sharing pages to see if they can share your art
• Finally, let your art page motivate you to create new pieces. If you’re interested in sharing you work, art must be something you love. So make your page uniquely your own and consistently fill it with your new works of art

J: Finally, where can we find you on the web?

N: Instagram @nir.art.li