Sanjana Goenka- Artist

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi, I'm Sanjana Goenka
I am an artist, graphic designer, and content writer, and I work currently in marketing in real estate.

Has art always been a big part of your life? What led you to finally decide to fully pursue art?

I sort of grew up around art, my parents always being quite into it. We had a lot of art at home and it's always sort of been a big part of my life from a visual perspective. I've also always just enjoyed drawing and painting. I started when I was three years old, and, yeah, I never stopped. I think what finally nudged me to pursue it as a full-time career was my mental health. If I'm being completely honest, it definitely helped keep my mind at peace.

How has art helped you in other areas of your life?

I think art has helped me in a number of different parts of my life, the key one being my mental health, because I found myself in a position where I was able to better articulate my state of mind as I would draw it out, or I used art as a means of relaxing myself in times of turmoil, so it helped me in a number of ways.

What are the main themes around your art? What’s the story behind it?

One of the main themes of my art currently is that of identity and who I am, or who anybody is, really. It currently is taking a bit of a one-dimensional view, but I'm hoping that over time it does expand and I'm able to bring in a lot more nuanced matters into a theme as layered as identity.

What is the process behind creating your pieces?

Currently, most of my artwork is done on the iPad. I use Procreate for digital paintings, and the process is always quite the same. I will start with the sketch and my sketchbook because that helps me warm up and streamline my thought process, and then it gets transported on to procreate from where I will let it go wherever it chooses to.

How has your art style changed over time? Is it daunting to switch your art style?

I think this is one of the more contentious things where my art style has changed and that has not necessarily reflected itself in the brightest way on my Instagram, where I initially started my art because of my anxiety. So I was doing a lot of Zentangle work, which was pen and ink, and over time that evolved and I started to feel a lot better. In that case, I started to explore more paintings and something that was completely different from what I had initially done. And so it is daunting because you're not sure if this is the kind of work that is going to be accepted from you as the artist. But I wouldn't take it back at all because I think that there's time and a place for your art and the way it evolves and that can be a real reflection of who you are at the time. And I like where I'm at right now, so it is daunting, but I'm happy.

Showcasing your art on social media, do you think there are times when you get affected by performance/ numbers?

Oh, I definitely allow myself to get impacted by the numbers on social media. I am one of those people who constantly preach, don't let the numbers affect you. Don't let the numbers affect you. But I very rarely take my own advice. I find that I haven't been able to look positive. And one of the things that I have to keep reminding myself of is that the following that I garnered, they came for my older works. So it would stand to reason that today, five, six, seven years on, they wouldn't feel the same appreciation for my new art that they did earlier, because that was more detailed, that was more aesthetic rather than evocative.

If you could spend a day with a popular artist, who would you choose?

 If I could spend a day with an artist, I think it would have to be Egon Schiele and FN Souza. I think his work is spectacular, and I was very lucky to be able to buy a piece of his tiny little one with my own earnings.That was the first piece of art I ever invested

What are your go-to activities, when feeling uninspired?

One of my go-to activities, when I'm getting uninspired, is to read. I find that my mind wanders quite nicely, so I'm able to come up with some exciting ideas. Of course. If I'm completely uninspired, then I'll watch TV., and when I need to take a break and recalibrate, then a lot of the time I will spend that time playing with my dog or training my dog, or just simply spending time with my dog.

What advice would you give to those who are trying to pursue art?

One piece of advice that I would give would be to definitely ignore the performance numbers on social media. They are absolutely not an accurate representation of how your work is being perceived. Also, network a lot. There are some phenomenal art groups in the country, in cities, and just go out there, see what other people are doing, see what other people are working on. You understand the different materials that are being used today to create these phenomenal pieces. And I think that it opens up your world more when it comes to actually creating. Right now, I'm working on the iPad, but in the coming year, I hope to start working with Muslin. I hope to start working with Canvas and just a different selection of material materials. And I think it's fun part to actually experiment and explore.

What are you working on at the moment?

At the moment, I'm actually working on a piece that is once again completely different from the work I've been doing. This is a pen-on-ink piece and it is a four-foot-tall drawing. Think you could say it's a stippling piece. So it's just one pen. Many, many dots of the jungle. So it's different animals and the whole thing is done in dots. So that's what I'm working on.

How would you describe your personal style, in terms of fashion?

I am possibly one of the least fashionable people on the planet. I stick to my black, white, and greys, mainly neutrals. I find it very difficult to dress, and if I do dress, I'm often in something that is slightly oversized. I am not, unfortunately, one of those people who can prioritize anything above comfort. So a lot of the time, if I do want to jazz up an outfit, it'll be something absolutely basic with statement jewelry, which is sort of what I would describe my fashion sense as.

How do you resonate with Teejh?
The jewelry from Teejh is artistic and it's intricate and it reminds me of the earlier works that I used to do, which were very heavily detailed. And I think that's what I gravitate toward when it comes to my jewelry, something that's detailed and beautifully made.  So to me, it wisely a lot of my art, and I think that's one of the big reasons why I resonate with Teejh.

What does the future look like for Sanjana?

I am actually planning on taking a short break from social media because I found that the performance of my artwork was actually dictating the art I created. So I have decided to take a short sabbatical and go out there and actually experiment with art, try and create put things on a canvas and give my art time it deserves to actually grow and to reach the stage that I would like it to, rather than rush my process for the purposes of presenting it online. So I will be taking a short break and hopefully, during that time, I will have some work to do.