These works are now making regular appearances across art spaces in Chennai. One such display of his art was Anirudh’s first solo show, Tatvik, the success of which is a testament to the warmth with which his works are being received. These displays aren’t milestones, but merely the beginnings of his trajectory as a sketch artist.
Although Anirudh completed his undergraduate studies in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the revered SRM university of Science and Technology, his formative years have been dominated by graphite and charcoal.

How would you describe your body of work? 

Before I begin sketching, I first decide on the kind of art that I am going to do. There are so many forms of art. Abstracts usually don’t take much time to create but I would have to spend a lot of time gathering ideas. Abstract sketches are more authentic and almost everything is drawn from memory. Hyper-realistic sketches, which are mainly hand-drawn portraits, take a lot of time to complete. Making a hyper-realistic hand-drawn portrait requires a lot of time and patience since a lot of focus on detail is required which develops over several years of solid practice.

I sketch for an hour every day. Practicing daily has helped me gain confidence and improved my work significantly.

I had my first solo art show, titled TATVIK, last year in Chennai, where I displayed black and white sketches, abstract paintings and a few colored sketches of celebrities and still life objects. The show was for three days and was conducted in ArtHouz India, Alwarpet. I got the opportunity to meet professional artists from whom I learnt a lot. It took me three full years to make those sketches and curate them. It really was an amazing experience for me as every single person who came to the show had something interesting to share after seeing my work. That was when I realized that each person would have a different way of interpreting art.

The passion to create something beautiful itself served as a major driving force for me to make more sketches and paintings. My mom and grand-dad were the ones who inspired me initially. They were both art enthusiasts and they were quite good at sketching. My fascination for art grew when I started to learn and admire the works of many classic European artists.

Being an artist, I have also been a great admirer of Pixar Animation Studios and Electronic Arts since childhood. The way they animate and bring characters that we see on the screen to life has always fascinated me. When I was young I used to make quick sketches of Pixar characters in my sketchbook. At a very young age I discovered that art was something I really loved.

I do not know if becoming a full-time artist would help me put bread on the table as
classic art is slowly losing popularity in many places. We must acknowledge the fact that we live in a digital world and there is so much demand for design and animation. I would love to work on projects that combine design and technology, which indeed requires innovative thinking. My dream is to become an art director, and I hope in the years to come I learn and grow more as an artist.

Anyone who creates anything beautiful to make this world a better place to live in is an artist. I strongly believe that anyone can become a good artist. Practicing hard and loving what you do are some of the key factors that will help you become successful in any field. We must follow our heart and not let anything stop us from achieving our goal. It is important that we learn from your mistakes because making mistakes would give us the opportunity to learn something new.

What are your thoughts about Stoned Santa as a platform for artists and creators? 

Stoned Santa is family. It has given me the confidence that my art actually has the ability to sell. I believe it is far ahead of other such platforms because it focuses on more than just business, it focuses on creating a community of artists to make art great again.