Vibrance and relatability — those are the first two words that come to mind when you check out artist Anjali Mehta's Instagram page. Anjali, a Masters in Illustration from Arts University Bournemouth in the UK, talks about women and their issues through her illustrations which are inspired by everyday life.
Based in Delhi, Anjali says that she derives her inspiration from everything around her. From a scene from The Shining to regular women having a conversation, Anjali's feed takes you into a whole new world. While on one hand, she speaks about the representation of gender in advertisements, on the other she draws herself and scenes from her life which are personal and emotional. While she does digital art, Anjali is also a pro at Gouache, (opaque watercolour) art and pencil sketches. "With a background in art, I feel there is a natural sense of inspiration. It can be anything from your everyday life," says Anjali.
Her sketches also talk about self-love, same-sex couples and modern technology. "The concept is the first thing. Then comes the visual representation. I first get to know the subject. Only then do I form a concept and after that comes the visual representation," says the artist who had sketched a series on the photos on her phone. "During the lockdown, I came up with a project where I drew from the photos from my phone's photo reel. Even though the photos were random, there were underlying emotions to it," adds Anjali.
Every artist evolves and that evolution is deeply linked to how they evolve as a person. "It started as an interest in art and then techniques came in as I evolved. As a human being, you are going through a lot of emotions and art is always a great way to emote that. My earlier pieces did not have a social message, but they were emotional. During my Master degree, in 2018, I realised that my art should do something. Bring about some change," says Anjali, who also works as a professional illustrator.
