Upoma Das, a thriving artist, is here to make her mark through art. She hopes to be a voice for causes she feels strongly about. From an early age she has been enthusiastic about art and craft. Hence, she derived inspiration from her sister and mother, to pave her way. Besides drawing for passion, she has turned it into a business, naming it Pencillic. She also happens to be a student of architecture, to have a career in a field she loves.
Upoma had grown up seeing her sister and mother being engrossed in their world of art, which had essentially motivated her to nurture the artist in her. Firstly, she had started with drawing eyes, and perfecting them. By the age of eight she was already drawing human faces.
The aspiring artist specializes in the cohesion of two types of art: Hyperrealism and Abstract, types that are contradictory of each other. She has found the middle ground by merging them in her sketches.
She aims to channel a voice through her artwork; send out fundamental messages because, “artworks are not just for treating our eyes,” claims Upoma.
Her personal process is to go through themed photographs and portrait photo shoots, and note them down. Later in her work, she infuses few of the themes together that complements one another. Lastly, she composes the pictures on her tab and sees if they cohere, and then uses the final result as her reference.
Furthermore, Upoma has knowledge on diversified medium of art: acrylic, watercolor and pastel; she, however, specializes and feels most comfortable sketching with pen and pencil. “I always keep a pen with me. What I learnt from architecture is to see things, make a quick draft and work on it to develop; most importantly, give it time.”
Most of Upoma’s artworks tell a story, it becomes a conviction in itself.
A lot of her drawings are centered on empowering women. One can say she’s indirectly a part of feminist movement.
One of her artworks that she feels strongly about is Draupadi, the painting that signifies rape in Bangladesh. She wants to use her artwork and platform to help the cause.
Upoma hopes to keep the artist in her alive even after she graduates with an architecture degree. “I want to take Pencillic to a point where it will become a brand. In addition to that, if I have the chance, I would definitely love to teach people how to draw and start off with the basics,” expressed Upoma.
