The cat lady

Artist Kauser Qureshi is helping the big cats through what she does best — art

Kauser Qureshi has always loved cats. Which is why a love for tigers, came naturally to the artist who had about nine cats at one point of her life. Now, Kauser is using her love for the animals and her art to help tigers through her art show, Save Sher.“I’ve always been fascinated with tigers since I was a child, I have been painting series of tigers for a decade now,” says Kauser.

But, over the years Kauser has been noticing a troubling trend in the way the country, and its people, have been dealing with tigers. “I happened to meet Ullas Karanth, a zoologist, consevationist and the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society. We got talking and that’s when I decided to host an exhibition of paintings based on tigers,” she explains. “The timing couldn’t be more perfect, with International Tiger day coming up (July 29).”

But what sets this exhibition apart from the rest is the fact that a percentage of the proceeds from the sale, 20 per cent, will go to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). “I have always been a strong supporter of animals and have been against hunting or keeping animals as trophies, so I was motivated to do my bit,” she says. “Whatever money I will be able to raise by selling my art work, a percentage will be put into helping tiger conservation,” she says.

The 30-35 paintings that were created are a mix of realistic and abstract work. “I’m known for my abstract work but with tigers, I decided to do a realistic take. There are also some abstract work... but all of them are created in charcoal and dry pastels,” Kauser adds. The artwork that will go on display on 29 July at Kalakriti Art Gallery, is priced at Rs 30,000.