Elango R, winner of the TCC Sketch Contest 2020 is an artist from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. While he completed his MCA, he primarily describes himself as an artist. Elango's earliest memories of creating art can be traced back to his childhood. He fondly remembers how he spent many a summer vacation filling up 3-4 sketchbooks with sketches of everything he saw and experienced.
"I used to wake up, see, sketch..."
Needless to say, he is a self-taught artist, but having recently rediscovered his passion for the arts, he took up a BFA course at the Tamil Nadu Music and Fine Arts University in Chennai to become a professional artist.
Elango is no stranger to contests. He is credited with winning the 2018 state-level Tamil Nadu art contest. Besides this contest, he has also had his work exhibited in 2 shows (2010 and 2018).
Elango has also been invited as a judge by The Hindu for a recently held art competition. Having come across The Crimson Canvas on Instagram, he decided to take the leap and put his skills to the test in the TCC Sketch Contest 2020. Intrigued by the final piece he submitted for the contest, we reached out to him to learn more about his creative process.
Elango is an admirer of realism art. In fact, he loathes those who considers realism to not be a valid art form. He generally takes photographs of things that inspire him and spends nearly a month creating a sketch that accurately captures the textures of the subject thereby bringing him closer to the subject itself. On a recent trip with his friends, he saw a sculpture of Nandi and immediately became inspired to capture the image in a sketch.
"I spent 3-4 hours daily for a month.... Even on weekends."
Elango hopes to travel the entire country creating a 'Travel journal of temples in India'. Simultaneously he wishes to continue getting inspired by diverse artists that he comes across. We asked Elango what piece of advice he has for his fellow artists and others who want to take up art.
"Know your own skill and then go develop your skill."
We concur with this view point. There are no shortcuts in this path. Further, the path towards becoming an artist often lacks external validation especially in a country like India. All you can hope to do is find something you like to capture using a artistic medium and spend time and effort to reach a level of proficiency that makes you proud of your own work. Good luck artists, click here to view the entries in our TCC Sketch Contest and get inspired to create your next art piece.