Kartikey Sharma’s brush with art started when he was in first grade. Since his father is in Indian naval aviation, he had seen a lot of pictures of air crafts, he used to doodle an aircraft on the top left corner of every page of his notebook. Kartikey was diagnosed with a tumour during a full body checkup in 2009. It was found to be malignant and the cancer was in its second stage. He was in 12th grade then and he would paint something after every exam to cope up with stress. Kartikey says, “Art has been like a friend who won’t judge me, I can be as expressive as possible and I can always let anything out in the form of paintings. Art has helped me calm down, deal with pain and frustration, it is like meditation. It makes me introspect and as they say the answers we are searching for are within us, I discovered that through art.”
They say inspiration is always around us and Kartikey’s life is the biggest inspiration to paint. He has turned his daily thoughts and experiences into surreal sketches and recently he painted cells after going through stem cells transplant. It was his way of paying respect to the second life he got in the forms of cells from his donor, his mother. The most difficult art piece that he has worked on is the “closed doors”. This he had painted for over a year ago and was the most difficult year of his life. He adds, “I was in constant pain and the cancer was spreading and I was dying every minute. I would paint whenever I could and I never knew what was on the other side of the door as there was no hope of my survival. One fine day, we did find the cure to my disease and I painted open doors, which was the easiest painting as it was hopeful and had a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Does his health affect his work, how does he find a balance? “I won’t say my personal health hasn’t affected my work. I had always loved to work on large spaces and on public walls and I had to reduce the size of my canvas. I am very inspired by how Vincent Van Gogh used to spend his day. I do the same. I wake up and make my bed to have the first feeling of accomplishment and then sit and paint from 9am to 6pm like an office goer. I keep regular targets and achieve them, it gives me a sense of occasional success which keeps me motivated to keep painting.”
{{/usCountry}}Does his health affect his work, how does he find a balance? “I won’t say my personal health hasn’t affected my work. I had always loved to work on large spaces and on public walls and I had to reduce the size of my canvas. I am very inspired by how Vincent Van Gogh used to spend his day. I do the same. I wake up and make my bed to have the first feeling of accomplishment and then sit and paint from 9am to 6pm like an office goer. I keep regular targets and achieve them, it gives me a sense of occasional success which keeps me motivated to keep painting.”
{{/usCountry}}Kartikey believes that the art scene in the country is on the rise. “The range of people who appreciate art has increased in the past couple of years. The future for artists is bright as the art market is not limited to just the elite. More people want to connect with artists which is encouraging.”
IBOX:What: Canvas against Cancer by Kartikey Sharma
Where: Monalisa Kalagram, Koregaon Park
When: April 14 (inauguration at 6.30pm), on till April 19, 10am-8pm