Deblina’s nature-inspired artworks
Each brushstroke is always added intuitively to Deblina’s canvases. She shares her creative journey and what inspires her nature-filled works.
Hello, who are you?
Hi! I’m Deblina, an artist from India. I am immensely inspired by the landscape that surrounds us – the mountains, the meadows, the tiny streams and the ancient trees that make up our world and my work is a reminder of this feeling of love and wonder it invokes in my heart.
Tell us about your creative journey. When did you start painting?
I feel like this is a common theme in so many creatives’ lives and it’s a very similar story for me. I was always creating and painting, even as a kid. My books from school bear witness to this and they are all filled with pages and pages of everything my mind could dream up – from tiny doodles to full landscapes! But I think identifying so strongly as an artist from a young age came with its struggles. I didn't have a lot of examples growing up where I saw creatives really make it and be “successful”. Which is why I kind of gave up on this as I went on to study a subject which felt safer, more conventional, in my college years which brought on this immense sense of feeling lost and trying to figure out myself in the process only to come back to painting and creating!
All this to say, I have always painted but my art found more direction in 2020 and I can’t wait to learn and create more as I navigate this world as a creative.
Your pieces are very nature-based and have an almost ‘magical’ feel to them. What inspires your work?
I grew up near the mountains and as a child, I remember these feelings of immense belonging to the mountains and the wildflowers and pine trees. The air, the wild grasses and flowers, the tall trees, the old mountain slopes all felt like home to me like nothing else ever did. Everytime I painted, I wanted to bring to life this feeling and moment. I feel like the landscape with its vast openness and vivid colors brings so much beauty and inspiration to my soul, it will always be my inspiration. The reason I paint and live my life creating!
Tell us about your creative process. Do you plan all of your pieces before you start?
My creative process is 100% intuitive and I feel like they wouldn’t feel genuine to my heart if I planned the colours or the composition beforehand. For most paintings, I don’t even start with a sketch because I find it a little restrictive. I add an initial layer of paint as I dream up the painting and then add more layers as it feels right in the moment, bringing to life a place or feeling.
What do your days look like at the moment?
I have been intentionally slowing down these past few months and it has really changed the way I approach my creative practice and life. I wake up a bit early (I was a big night owl before this, so this is a big deal for me!) and spend some time with a cup of tea in hand, growing and tending to my garden before I begin a busy day. I find that plants and flowers, the rhythm of the garden inspires me and fills me with wonder and moments of joy, which as a creative is something we all seek in our everyday lives.
And then I spend the rest of the time balancing my day job and my creative practice, which is something I have become pretty good at I think!
Do you have a favourite piece that you’ve created?
I am currently working on a collection of paintings – the Meadow collection – and I have loved dreaming up and working on every painting in this collection. Inspired by sunsets and wild meadows, my heart has been so full working on these paintings and all of the paintings in this collection are really close to my heart.
Describe your workspace for us. Where does all the creativity happen?
I have moved cities a few times recently but my workspace has a few common themes – big piles of gorgeous handmade papers, lots of paints and brushes, candles and flowers. Always flowers!
My current studio space also has a growing collection of huge canvases that I have been dreaming of working on for a while so hopefully I get to fill up the studio walls with big, flowing landscape paintings soon.
I’ve recently also leaned more towards having an organised, clean space so I try to keep my art table organised so that I can get to painting easily whenever I want to.
Is there anything else that you’d like to share?
The world lately has been heavy , so for anyone reading this my hope is that you find beauty in the mundane and small joys in your everyday. And if your heart is needing a little bit of rest and extra grace, I hope you find it in abundance!
India
