It's almost March! And if you too are still looking for a desk calendar and love Hyderabad, then your search finally ends here. Apoorva Bellary's Pride of Hyderabad calendar has tastefully done watercolour illustrations of iconic sites of the City of Nizams, like the Secunderabad Clock Tower, Taramati Baradari, Qutb Shahi Tombs and so on. She printed 70 of these lovely calendars and guess what, they are all sold out! But she might oblige bulk orders in the future, you never know.
Apoorva Bellary had already established her brand Artwala Project three years ago, through which she used to sell quirky handmade products painted by the 28-year-old herself. But a year and a half ago, she decided to primarily focus on watercolour illustrations. "I wasn't taught how to paint but I diligently kept at it. When I started seeing improvement, I figured it was my cup of tea," says the Ballari-born youngster. This helped her de-stress after a hectic day of work — she works as an IT Analyst in Cognizant Technology Solutions, Hyderabad — and proved to be meditative as well.
While the theme she chose for the 2019 calendar was doors, this year, she wanted to combine her love for Hyderabad, urban sketching (though she did not get to travel to the location for this particular labour of love on the account of having a hectic full-time job) and watercolour painting into one project. The research included studying images of the structures intricately so that she could get the details right. In the process, she discovered many new places and lots of cool information about her home-away-from-home. She also had to make hard decisions like giving Golconda Fort a miss because it could get complicated and including Shilparamam because, "the place is very close to my heart," shares the youngster.
Talking about urban sketching, which is basically sketching on the spot, Apoorva says that it is something she loves doing. Currently, she is focusing on making e-invites and T-shirts with prints of her work on them. Diaries and notebooks are in the works too, she informs. But what is most exciting is that soon, she will be conducting her very first workshop on watercolour illustrations. It was when she herself had attended a watercolour workshop that she realised how much she loves art and she hopes that while attending the workshop she is conducting this month, someone will rediscover their love for art too.
Glimpses from the calendar:
Some of Hyderabad's iconic structures that find space on the calendar:
- Makkah Masjid
- Moazzam Jahi Market
- Charminar
- Osmania University
For more on her, check out instagram.com/creativekumari
