A collection of my favourite art creations, experiments & class assignments. I’ve worked with a variety of mediums traditional & digital, and am always on the lookout to try new things!
Click on a piece on learn more about it. Happy browsing!
Collage Exhibit @ Southgate Gallery
Mixed Media (2024)
In the second half of 2024, I joined an Art Community in Southbank, where I got to make art and make new friends. Our work was displayed at the Southgate Gallery and featured in the local news.
I really enjoyed working on these pieces, and I ended up keeping one for myself because it was a visual milestone of how much I had grown and how much joy am able to access through my creative journey:
To me, this image represents the feeling of – “now that I am materially established, I feel like I’ve finally been able to open my box of delights – full of ideas, creativity, whimsy, experimentation, out-there-ness”. The Russian dolls represent that these delights were always present, in many different parts & ways, even if I’m only starting to consciously see them now.
Urban Sketching
Moleskine & fineliners (2024)
In June 2024, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to visit Europe for a few weeks – across Netherlands, Belgium and France. I wanted this to be a “creative” trip: to walk along paths and view the views that inspired Van Gogh, Monet, Rembrandt and all other greats; I wanted – to make art; to lean into no-pressure, just-for-fun vibes and cultivate creative courage. So, I carried some travel-friendly art supplies, unsure whether I’d actually use them. I’m delighted to report that accompanied by the nuggets of wisdom in Marco Bucci‘s Creativity and the Campfire, I was able to tap into a whole new way of experiencing the moment and it was more engaging, meaningful and fun than I could have imagined.
Comics Poetry
Concepts, Tayasui Sketches, Procreate – iPad Pro (2023)
I took a class with the wonderful Susanne Reece on “Comics Poetry: Experimenting with text at image“, provided by SVA’s Continuing Education. The class was absolutely delightful and the brightest spot of my week for the 10 weeks it ran for! I loved combining text with images in different ways, and saw a marked improvement by the end of it. I continue to enjoy combining words and pictures over on instagram.
Also used some tips from Nicki Fitzgerald’s Armchair Art Adventures course for understanding Procreate better.
Illustrations #forgood
Tayasui Sketches – iPad Pro (2022)
I submitted these illustrations for a not-for-profit initiative at my (then) workplace. They were selected to be painted on a childcare centre’s walls in Manila, Phillipines, by a group of local volunteers.
The octopus illustration was an assignment for Lucia Coz‘s excellent class called “Creative Drawing with Ink and Gouache” on Domestika.
Digital Collaging
Paper by WeTransfer – iPad Pro (2022)
I’ve noticed that when I interact with anything created with love, it inspires me to create something too. I made these after watching ‘Everything, Everywhere, All at once”. Something about that movie, and just where I am in life, is leading me to accept (and thoroughly enjoy) my more unconventional selves.
I’ve been told the images are more palatable when seen with their captions.
Smoke & Water
Alcohol & Inks (2022)
These are from an art workshop (a wonderful birthday gift from a wonderful friend). Alcohol is a fascinating activating medium to keep re-working ink. Cannot wait to try using these again.
Dynamic Sketching
Digital & Pen Sketches (2020)
In late 2020, I took a class on CGMA, called Dynamic Sketching 1, to get some formal training amazingly talented professionals. My instructor, Patrick Ballesteros, has done a lot of cool concept art work in the industry and his feedback visibly helped me improved my work over a short period of 8 weeks. These are some of my favourite assignment submissions.
Some of Me
Digital & Watercolour (2017 – 2020)
They say every creation is a reflection of the artist. These pieces were more personal than the rest and represent some phase in life, prevalent feeling or the essence of a memory.
Females in Fiction
Mixed Media (2015 – 2017)
Most series of paintings I’ve done, were never planned to be that way.
Often, a series of similar paintings has simply been the result of an experiment that I enjoyed more than usual.
In the case of these ‘females in fiction’, they were based on a ‘facial proportions’ tutorial found on the web. This is also when I really got into using watercolour, and turning up the saturation & textures with colour pencils.
Leaning into Chaos
Experimental Watercolour (2016)
This started out as a structured, planned painting, and evolved into throwing colours around and drawing what I saw, hence the title & captions.
I would compare the process to seeing shapes in clouds.
The Jupiter Series
Black Ink (2012 – 2014)
I’ve found that my creative self comes out to play when I’m really bored – this series is an example of such boredom surfacing. Most of these doodles are “notes” from school and university classes.
Mandalas
Sketches, iPad Pro (2020)
Making mandalas digitally offers the best effort:reward ratio.
I use mandalas as a way to express a certain energy or feeling that I don’t have words for, but want to let go of.
It has been one of the most spontaneous and relaxing drawing exercises, especially during times of a global pandemic.
Digital Media
Sketches & Procreate, iPad Pro (2017 – 2020)
A mix of colour studies, brush trials, and random sketches.
Traditional Media
Watercolour & Fineliners (2012 – 2017)
Before digital art, there was traditional media – these are select pieces from that era in my art journey, an era where Fineliners were my tool of choice.
Pratishtha Nahata 