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Today’s Artist Feature Is Pragya Kothari. She lives in sunny San Diego, California.

Whopple: How long have you been an artist?
Pragya: For as long as I remember, all I ever wanted to do was create beautiful things. My first serious artwork was at the age of 16 when I painted a close-up view of a house and garden on canvas. It was saved by one of my aunts in Chicago and retrieved by my husband only to inspire me now ever so more. Now I am a trained designer with a Bachelor’s in Accessory Design and a Master’s in Design Management. I started my own art studio around a year ago.

Whopple: Tell us about your first attempts to be creative.
Pragya: That would be building beautiful housing communities for my dolls. It would include roads, gardens, hammocks and movie theaters! That’s how most of my summer vacations used to pass.

Whopple: Do you make a living with your art?
Pragya: Yes, and it’s a joy to make people happy at the same time. I have an online shop on Etsy. (My own website is under construction!) I sell prints and posters of my artwork and also accept orders for commissioned people and pets portraits. It’a amazing to see how much love people share with pets and it’s great to be a part of it. Here is one of my favorite pet portraits I made for a Japanese chin dog named Yuki.I also write a blog to introduce readers to my art work as well as other beautiful or green things.

Whopple: How many hours a day do you create?
Pragya: I don’t restrict my work to fix hours. It’s difficult to put down unfinished artwork. It’s even more difficult to hold-off creativity when it flows. There are days when I am able to create 2-3 illustrations and then there are days when I just absorb my surrounding and work on my ideas like simmering pot of soup ready to unload another ladle. Typically, one art a day is my way of taking all the vivid imagery out of my mind on to paper and share it with others.

Whopple: How did you pick your creative medium?
Pragya: I began painting with acrylics and oils on canvas. It was something I had done before so it came easy to me. But once I tried creating digitally including use of my Bamboo Tablet, I realized two critical advantages. One, now I have all my artworks a click away. Second, it greatly reduced difficulties in managing precise color palates for multiple illustrations. My artwork heavily depends on it. Around the same time I also started taking certificate courses in Sustainable Business Practices and learned to be sensitive about material usage within my art studio. It firmed up my decision to go digital. Now I also Vermi-compost my studio’s limited paper waste. It was a great booster to be able to do what I love and being green for the planet.

Whopple: What are your inspirations?
Pragya: I look for beauty in the world around me and amplify it. For example, a lovely arrangement of 2 deck chairs in a neighbor’s yard gets a makeover with a splash of neon colors, a beautiful scenery and two birds in a session. Fantasy meets realty and creates a gorgeous memory. I create art that would make people smile. Bright vibrant colors that cheer
up moods. At times a pinch of subtlety helps.

Whopple: How do you recharge when your creativity hits the wall?
Pragya: By taking in new experiences or simply dreaming about them. When ideas run dry (Monday blues!!) I would start imagining what one of my bird characters would do if they were bored… and poof! Lots of vivid scenarios will pop into my head.

Whopple: What was your first job?
Pragya: My first job was right after graduating from design school to design expensive diamond jewelry. It was super fun (Diamonds are girl’s best friends!!) and full of creative expressions too.

Whopple: What are your favorite snacks when you are creating?
Pragya: Cheese-it with sweet ginger tea! Can’t beat the sugar and cheese rush. lol!!

Whopple: What gives you hope in the world?
Pragya: The increasing trend towards sustainability warms my heart. I am a big fan of Anita Roddick (Body Shop fame) and how she helped redefine business as usual. The human capacity of doing good gives me hope.

Whopple: What do you wish you could do?
Pragya: Fly, fly and fly!! I wish I had wings. Imagine all the super exciting things we could do!

Whopple: What has been your most exciting moment as an artist?
Pragya: A surprise birthday cake for me with my own artwork printed on it! It actually helped me realize lots of other possibilities for my art.

Whopple: What are your artistic goals?
Pragya: My goal for 2010 is to complete setup of my studio website. Artistically my goal is to spread my art from paper to other items like linens, tableware etc.

To See More Of Pragya Kothari’s Work, Please Visit The Following:
Shop – http://PragyaK.etsy.com
Blog – http://artocrat.blogspot.com

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