Her works portray a relaxed, languid, non-mechanical universe. It refers to a time when greater happiness might be found in little things, such as the aroma of the ground, the splendour of wildflowers, the sound of laughing, the light of stars, and the sensation of being wild and free.
As Sufis whirl in quest of God, poetry, and love, the Noida-based artist whirls when she paints. “I tried my hands at painting, something I wished to do all my life, and soon I realised I found my Ikigai- my reason to be,” says the 36-year-old artist who is known as wildflowerink.studio on social media, in an interview with SheThePeople.
When Neha describes how she wants to be remembered, she uses the metaphor of a wildflower soul who believes in slow life. She doesn’t want to grow the most expensive flowers because her soul belongs to the wildflowers that were never brought inside, never put in a fancy glass vase, and never managed to win over a lover. Because nature would be cherished and loved by her soul when she is gone, she wants it to grow without fear of losing affection.
When she has a brush in her hand, that is the closest she has ever been to Love, Poetry, or God. Neha’s artistic works demonstrate a pure, uncomplicated love with no expectations or attachments.
Neha’s version of ‘Saraswati Maa’
“I paint fantasies not to escape the reality but to live more peacefully.” Neha feels more like herself when she is in the natural world. Neha, whose father, being in the forest department was posted in small cities closer to the jungles in Almora, Pauri, Nainital, Pilibhit and such, says that the best thing about growing up in the woods was that she never felt the need to act or look a certain way to impress anyone; instead, she just spoke her mind and observed that everyone, including the ants, birds, bees, trees, and mountains, seemed content with being who they were.
“We (the bird, the tree, the ant) never tried to fit in or to seek approval, we just danced, smiled and felt lucky to have each other and that’s the most beautiful thing I have learned -the art of letting be,” she says, adding, “And that’s what inspires me the most in my life and in my art, to just be who you are and just let everyone else be who they are.”
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Neha draws scenes from her youth and the fantastical realm of nature. She mixes watercolour, poster colours, and occasionally inks with gouache, an opaque watercolour, to create her paintings on paper. She typically employs oil paint, which is the oldest painting medium, on canvas. “For wall murals, I use acrylic colours.”
According to Neha, feminine energy is the kindest yet most potent force, quite akin to the wildflowers. They appear delicate but can withstand the harshest, most unfavourable weather conditions, and they flourish even when they aren’t even planted or taken care of. “My favourite painting is the one I did of Saraswati Maa, not the fair and beautiful but my version – Dark and Strong.”
For her, a country so fixated on fair skin that we have fostered the ridiculous idea of representing “Devi” as having “fair skin” and “Rakshas” as having “black skin” (except Kali Maa). She rejects the notion that our goddesses are always “bright and attractive” in a country where 80% of the population is supposedly “brown-skinned.” She thinks that in order to affect change, we need to be strong rather than loud, thus she is attempting to do so by drawing what she thinks her creator could look like.
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Speaking about the discussions surrounding masculinity and femininity in the art world, Neha believes that for the longest time, women artists have not been treated fairly. In her opinion, it’s time to stop referring to them as “women artists” and start treating them as artists instead. “When men aren’t referred to as “male artists,” we aren’t a rare occurrence; we are just artists, and it’s the least that we should expect,” she adds.
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