Painting the World: On-Site Sketches by Suhita

Today I’m introducing you to a new artist who sketches whilst she travels. Suhita creates all her paintings on-site and uses a fantastic style that reflects the busy nature of the content. She has sketched her way through numerous destinations around the world, including Mexico, India, and Spain. 

Your paintings are very busy, which is reflected in the quick sketchy strokes. How did this style develop?

I work completely on location, in sketchbooks, so I am capturing stuff as it happens. My quick sketchy style is what the situation demands: I often need to capture things in minutes, sometimes second, before they change or move away.

The vast majority of your paintings feature people. What kind of people interest you the most in an artistic sense? And why have you chosen to include people instead of, say, landscapes?

People are intrinsic to so many scenes to me. Too often artists who work on location only draw things that stay still: buildings, and trees and hills, and I often look at these pictures and find them incomplete: a scene with an urban building in it and no people just doesn’t look right to me. People: busy, moving, passing across the space I am capturing in my work are so much a part of what brings the scene alive. Capturing their energy and characteristics matters to me as much as capturing the architectural detail and the light does.

Talk us through your process from start to finish. Do you sketch on scene and paint later or is it all done on-site? What are the problems you face?

I work completely on location. From the first line until the last paint drop. I feel that working quickly and on location helps me capture the atmosphere and energy of a place like I never can from a photograph. I work quickly, usually drawing in directly with pen and ink. I carry a little watercolor kit with me, and paint in on location too: often I am standing in the middle of a busy street while I work with crowds of people streaming all around me, or sitting on the sidelines watching people pass by an architectural gem while I sketch it. Working like this brings a freshness and spontaneity to my work that i treasure.

What inspires your work?

Lots of things inspire me: travel, always: new places, new colors, different light. capturing people is another growing love for me: an individual stance, a crooked smile, a particular gait, and just the little things that make each one of us different. My kids: they get sketched over, and over, and over… I never seem to tire of it. They do! Writing has always inspired me, especially writers who paint pictures with their words. Among my favorites are just about anything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or by Kazuo Ishiguro.

I can see that you travel a lot. How does this inspire your work?

What I love most about travel is that being in a completely foreign place makes me look at everything with fresh eyes. With the wonder of a child. And it allows me to see deeply.

Where has been your favourite drawing destination? Do you have a favourite piece from this place that you can share with us?

I love color, so places and cultures that celebrate color are exciting for me to capture. I grew up in India, (and now live in the US). Color, crowds, patterns, texture and a general cacophony and overload of the senses is my idea of bliss. Some of my absolute favorite places to sketch are in India, which I visit every couple of years, and Mexico, which is not so far from where I now live in California. My favorite city in the US is New York. I love its energy.

Finally, if you could paint anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

That’s a hard one. On my list just now, for places to paint and visit:

• Oaxaca,Mexico ( I started sketching there years ago, but I lost my sketchbook: which means I just HAVE to go back to paint it again.. it is an incredible feast of color and texture for me)
• New Mexico: I would love to paint in the land Georgia O’Keeffe painted.
• Most places in Asia: I love the color.
• Barcelona, where I painted for a couple of days this year: not enough, I would have to live there for years to just look at all the increidible architecture and art!

You can find more of Suhita’s work on Flickr, Etsy, and her blog, SketchAway.

Do you love Suhita’s work as much as I do? Let me (and her!) know in the comments below. And, remember, join Wanderarti on Facebook for daily doses of visual vagabonding.