Art focused on positive energy and feelings

By Anand HollaDespite its location, the Souq Waqif Art Centre’s easy ambience is unaffected by the hubbub caused by the endless stream of diners at the restaurants surrounding it. Just the right setting for artists seated along the corridor, immersed in their chosen pursuits such as painting, sand art, or wood-carving.One such artist is Archana Bhardwaj, who has been working at the Art Centre for the past one-and-a-half years. Engulfed by her paintings on various-sized canvases mounted on easels, Bhardwaj is giving the finishing touches to one of her works while a visitor enquires the price of a flower painting on display.“I have been interested in art from my childhood,” the Indian expat says, after wrapping up a long day’s work, “It was my father who first told me that I paint really well. In school, I didn’t fare that well in academics. But I always stood first in arts.”Bhardwaj has been a professional artist for about 14 years now. “I did my Master of Fine Arts, and later MPhil in Printmaking, in Agra, where I come from. In India, too, I have worked a lot on art and had been part of quite a few exhibitions. Four years ago, I moved to Doha and my husband has been very supportive. He approached the Art Centre officials and I was eventually chosen by the management to become a member and work here,” she says.Through the week, Bhardwaj can be found on her table at the Art Centre, painting and interacting with visitors, from 4pm to 9pm. “A lot of visitors appreciate my work and their kind words is what keeps me going,” she says.While Bhardwaj also makes portraits upon requests, it’s mostly the themes of nature, and particularly flowers, which she focusses on. “I work with watercolours as well but most of the times, I use acrylic,” she explains, “I have been exploring abstract art and flowers keep figuring in it.”The watercolour pieces can range anywhere from QR300-400 for small works to QR 600-800 for big paintings, while the multi-hued abstract paintings start somewhere around QR4,000. “Many people request for portraits and flower paintings, but I have also sold many of my abstract works. Qataris seem to like abstracts,” Bhardwaj says, “Of course, I feel nice when people buy my works.” Rather than setting lofty ideals to work by, Bhardwaj has a simple principle when she gets her paintbrushes moving: “When I make a piece of art, I think about the person who will hang it on the wall of his or her house. When they wake up in the morning and see the painting, it should fill them with positive energy and feelings. I don’t want my paintings to bring out darkness or negativity. That’s also why I love to build upon nature’s beauty in my works.”Often, Bhardwaj gets asked by patrons whether she can hold a painting workshop. “But I don’t have the space to do so,” she says. And it’s not just at the Art Centre that she paints. “I also paint at home. I have two children. I paint whenever I find time. As for the painting materials, I buy most of them from India as it’s cheaper there. Some, I buy here.”Bhardwaj, who is also a member of International Artists Doha (IAD), has moved to abstract after doing a lot of figurative art. “Flowers, however, have been a constant thematic companion. Once, in an exhibition in Delhi, some visitors appreciated my flower works a lot. That encouraged me to hold onto it. I love abstract because there’s a mystery to it that each of us can solve the way we want,” she says.If working on a piece feels nice and puts her in a good space, Bhardwaj finishes it in about five hours. “Sometimes, when things don’t seem to come together, I leave the painting and revisit it after a couple of days. Then, it works out even better than it would have, had I persisted the first time,” she explains.As it does for most artists, painting sets Bhardwaj free. “Painting makes me feel so good that I forget everything else. It feels so liberating that I willingly get lost in it. It’s like a great adventure.”