Doodling denizens
Youngsters in the city are showcasing their artistic skills and making a quick buck on social networking sites
By : soumashree sarkar
Update: 2015-08-10 23:48 GMT
The lights are perfect, the light music is ambient and the guests are silent in absorbing your creations. While the world of exhibitions in glitzy venues is near perfect, it is a huge step for young artists to present their artwork at a venue. Enter the 21st century’s most dependable machine – the social media. As more artists take to sites like Facebook, not only is the process of buying and selling simplified, but venues are given a miss for an undemanding exchange online.
One of the most popular Bengaluru artists online, Neha Rawat began her now 3269 likes strong Facebook page after some deliberation. The cartoonist who recently left her job to illustrate full time, says, “I used to upload my drawings on my own account. Then when a friend said that his friends enjoy the cartoons as well, I realised that a lot of people might not want to add a new person on Facebook, but would like to follow an artist’s progress. So I made the page. I am not on any other social media because Facebook has made it incredibly easy for me to take my work to people.”
Not just artists who paint, but also craft enthusiasts find an easy window to communicate and buy work through Facebook. Pooja D Gupta, whose page is devoted to upcycling household objects using French decoupage, describes the social media route when it comes to selling arts and crafts online. She says, “Many people are interested in buying work but would like to check the variety first. After they see the photographs uploaded, they send me a personal message and we take it forward through Whatsapp where I quote prices and share more pictures. The entire transaction is done without hassle or credit card complications through online accounts.”
For younger artists, a page on Facebook is perhaps the first step in establishing their identity. Artist and engineer Kehaan J Saariya’s page is called The Blue Matchbox Company. He says, “I first started my page when I was applying to design schools across the country and it seemed the most effortless link to my portfolio. Now the page acts as a link to sites like Cupick from where I get orders. I have sold the odd couple of paintings through my Facebook page as well.”