Brush Strokes

Brush Strokes

Shobika Sekar has not let the Covid crisis stop her. In fact, it appears that nothing will stop her. She began her career with a notebook and colored pencils on a small table in the corner of her home. As she worked, she learned and experimented and settled finally on what are today splendid oil paintings rich with color and depth. She bloomed, you might say. "Currently," she says, "I focus my direction on realistic floral artwork." 
Shobika begins her day at 10:00 am.  "Most of my days start off with me looking  at the blank canvas and visualizing the finished artwork," she says. She prepares by collecting flowers and taking photographs. Each painting is built from layers of paint. "The first layer will be monochromatic under-painting as a foundation and multiple layers of oil paint with a lot of thin delicate detailing," she says. "Each oil painting is a labor of love and adoration." The love is definitely visible in her work. Her startlingly beautiful paintings are so realistic you can almost catch the delicate scents of the peonies, lilies and roses.

 
Shobika told us that the best advice she's ever gotten was that good things come to those who wait. But she has not waited around. During Covid, Shobika has used her time working on new pieces and finding advertising opportunities so she will be ready when things go back to normal. She has participated in several online venues but she feels that there is no way to build a connection between herself and the customer that way. "There is
 always some sort of high and low points for an artist," she says. "With all the environmental factors, it might be the low point but will soon rise towards the high point."
 
It is this optimism (not to mention her talent!) which has kept Shobika motivated. She has won several merit awards, honorable mention and Best of Show prizes as well as being selected as one of thirty emerging artists under thirty in the United States. Well-deserved honors!
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