CHENNAI: City-based artist Shivaram, a former government employee, left his job to follow his dream. “The implications of leaving the job were many. I struggled at first but did not give up because I knew what I really wanted to do with my life,” says Shivaram. His passion for art was such that he often ended up doodling even at work, he confesses.For 40-year-old Beena, who was a banner artist before she branched into canvas painting, the urge to enter the creative sphere was planted early. “When I was 10 years old, then CM MGR came to our area Villivakkam. He happened to see my art work and instantly called me a promising artist,” says the artist. But the route to making it big is anything but easy, explain the artists. “It was not easy to get a break. Gallerists and artists would ask me about my art background often. I think senior artists look down on banner artists like me. I once had an altercation with an established artist (whose name I do not wish to mention). I told him I was capable of drawing any face in 10 minutes. He then asked me where I had studied. When I said I had no fine arts background, he asked me how someone like me could be called an artist.”City-based artist Vidya Sundar captures the problem in a nutshell. “Finding one’s feet in the art world is difficult and requires a lot of patience and determination. What I see as a challenge for a self-taught artist is entering the art circle which is very limited. This is why it took me 10-15 years to be recognised as an artist.” Late artist S B Ishwaran, from whom Vidya learnt art techniques for a brief while, gave her the first break by organising an exhibition at Chola Sheraton in 2001, she recalls.Despite being intimidated by the popular ones, these artists explain that they have stuck on in the field in order to assert their individuality. “With no mentor, one doesn’t have to follow a particular style. This helps the artists develop a style of their own and, at the same time, relate to people. Self-taught artists do not come with baggage and their art persona is what they want it to be. Take Achuthan Kudallur’s art works for example. They are not usual abstract works,” says Vidya, pointing to the popular self taught artist. Gita, an artist, explains that her struggle was not too long as she started earning quickly by selling her art work in banks and companies. Not having a degree is no disadvantage, she emphasises. “I went to libraries to learn the techniques and history of art,” she informs us.Artist Shivaram says, “Viji Nageshwaran (owner of the Vinnyasa Premier Art Gallery) has been very supportive. I was once exhibiting my work with a group of artists, all art school graduates. Some of them refused to showcase their works along with mine. But Viji ma’am had faith in me.” An undeterred spirit and willingness to achieve great heights is what works wonders for any self-taught artist, he adds.
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