Vani Vardannagagiri - A Pichwai Artist and Entrepreneur

I am Vani, a self-driven artist from Hyderabad. A software engineer-turned-artist by passion. My journey into Pichwai art was random. I first saw a post of Pichwai art on instagram and I thought to myself, maybe I should try it because I felt it was very interesting. And then, I started painting and then I believe, it was destiny! 

 Pichwai art is all about maximalism to me. The bold and bright colour choices, the intricate details, the elements we see in Pichwai art representing our culture and our country, it all fascinates me. When I first started Pichwai painting, I used to paint a lot of Pichwai lotuses and I love painting Pichwai lotuses because in Pichwai art, we see these lotuses symmetrical with fine finishing and also outlining, it fascinates me a lot and I love to paint them. 

 My love for Pichwai art has helped me create a platform for myself. I have my own website, mypaintbrushtales.com where I sell my original paintings, we sell handcrafted decor, Pichwai wall plates and also jhorakas as well. Apart from that, I take commission orders for Pichwai paintings, where you know, I sit with my clients and I understand what they are looking for and I also try to keep my style in it, while keeping the life of Pichwai art in it. Also, I take workshops for Pichwai art where I teach this artform to beginners who are interested in learning a new traditional artform. 

 People here, do not understand the value of Indian art form, because they don’t have the exposure of it. We take a lot of time and effort to paint these traditional art forms. It isn’t like we picked up a simple frame from a store right? So, we are putting a lot of effort into the art form. It has a lot of meaning to it, it takes days and days to sometimes finish the painting. Sometimes, we do not get the worth/value of our hard-work. Hence, sometimes, we have to try and push for people to understand the value of it more! 

My inspiration for my Pichwai paintings comes from my love for maximalism. Usually, our country represents colour! We see different shades of colours everywhere, from our culture and our history as well! Also, I love to convey a simple message which is  peace and love in my Pichwai paintings. So whenever, I try doing an original art work, I try to keep it unique, I try to keep it a little contemporary, with the kind of colours I like and also keep the tradition of Pichwai art alive in the paintings. 

I do not always try and copy paste the actual traditional paintings which are already done. I take the inspiration from those paintings, I take the elements of the actual Pichwai art form like cows, lotuses, Srinath ji or the other elements which are already there and then make my own painting and add my own style to it. I always like to add a little bit of contemporary touch to the Pichwai paintings like a little bit of bold colours, abstract patterns, different kinds of background colours and patterns. Whenever I find a chance, I try to add gold leaf to my painting. So that’s how I try to keep my own painting and style alive. And also at the same time follow the elements of the Pichwai art forms and keep them in my paintings. 

There are two Pichwai art commission paintings which have a very special place in my heart. One of them is a Pichwai painting which is commissioned for a client. It’s a Radha Krishna painting. Each canvas is a 6 X 8 feet set of two. So it is one of the biggest painting that I have ever done and it’s a dream come true for me to paint such huge canvases at that point of time in my life, which has proved me that I can go to bigger and bigger heights!! So, it’s very special to me. Coming to the next painting, it’s a Srinath ji painting that I did for a client and that painting is very special to me because of the client, as the they had placed their trust in me and that’s the first time I truly received that respect as an artist and it meant a lot to me. When you finish an artwork and when you give it to the client, his/her reaction means a lot to us. So, that’s why that painting will always have a special place in my heart. 

Each day in my studio is definitely different. Somedays, it’s all about painting, somedays it’s all about planning and preparations, and, somedays are for my workshops, teaching Pichwai art form. So, a lot of my time goes into planning and preparation but usually my days are not monotonous. Every day is something new. 

All my hobbies are somehow related to art and craft. So, even if I am not painting, I am doing something related to art and craft, maybe doing a gallery wall, DIYing something for my studio or my house or arranging and re-organizing something!!! I watch a ton of videos on interiors, on paintings to seek inspiration, the kind of paintings people do, the kind of colours they have or use, so that it helps me create different kinds of paintings and keep a tab of what’s going out there! 

For every woman out there, who wants to take up art as a career or any sort of thing, you know, if you want to start something on your own, I’d like to say that “it’s definitely worth it!” I’m not going to say that it’s going to be easy, but, it’s definitely going to be worth it once you put in your effort! You have to go all in to get the results out, you should always have a “not-giving-up” attitude. If you have that “not-giving-up” attitude, you’ll go a long way and it will all be worth it one day! 

So I like Indian Textiles - the block printing we have, the kind of techniques we have with a touch of contemporary to it. At the same time, Teejh is very close to my style, so Teejh is doing it very beautifully with those bold colour choices, the contrast they’re doing and also the block printed sarees that too not the usual design, they’re trying to take it up to the next level by using different-different kinds of pattern, so I love it!