ART: How travel influences it!

This is a new blog post written by me, an Indian artist who recently moved to the United States. I will be writing about how travel has influenced my art and what inspires me. I hope you enjoy it!

I recently flew back from India after spending some quiet quality time with my family and loved ones, and now that I am home in the U.S., I realize how much traveling has influenced my art.

When I first began to experiment with art as a hobby, I wasn’t too serious about it. At the time, it was just something fun and creative to do on the weekends. It wasn’t until one of my teachers told me that drawing is actually an essential part of life that I started to take it seriously and see all the benefits that come from practising art.

Even though I traveled for months, I still made sure to find time daily to draw or paint something even if it was only for a couple of minutes at a time.

I believe traveling anywhere in the world has influenced me because each place inspires people differently and you can learn how to ignore what doesn’t inspire you and focus more on what does inspire you. If we never travel, I think it hinders our potential to be open-minded and appreciate all the different ways people choose to live their lives.

A combination of traveling, meeting local artists and even my own ambitions have inspired me to take my artwork more seriously. Knowing how important drawing is has made me realize that I’m not just doing it for fun anymore, but rather as something that helps me grow both mentally and spiritually.

My art is starting to become a lot more surreal, which may be due in part because I am now able to merge my perception of reality with fantasy elements without making them look forced or out of place.

Once I start developing this new style further, I plan on using some of the Indian cultures as inspiration.

Varied cultures have influenced my art because there are elements of it in my drawings that stem from the brightly colored murals on heritage buildings, churches, temples, and homes around the city. India is also home to many cultures with beautiful people and their unique features that I plan on using as inspiration for some future pieces.

One thing about traveling that inspires me is simply being more aware of everything going on around me. Noticing small details in everyday life allows you to appreciate your surroundings more, no matter how simple they may be. Even though major cities in the US have tons to offer, coming back home and paying attention to things I’d normally take for granted has made me realize how much beauty we ignore every day without even realizing it.

Art itself has inspired me to travel because traveling allows me to step outside of my comfort zone and learn more about myself. Art has always been a way for me to express myself, so drawing or painting the new things I see while traveling, allows me to make art that is unique to my own experiences.

By continuing this practice at home, I hope to turn each image into something meaningful instead of just colorful drawings with no meaning. One day soon I would love to see printed formats of my art pieces on people’s walls, adding a soothing, mindful touch to their homes.

I love painting because it brings a sense of calmness to my life, while also motivating me to explore new places and learn how different cultures live. Every day I draw something new that brings a better understanding of where I am in this moment and what I can learn from all the good and bad aspects of traveling abroad.

Here is the link to my works of art!

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Thanks for reading! 🙂 See you next time!