The first mural I painted was when I was 15, my parents were getting the entire house painted and I suggested that I'd like to paint a wall in my room. I was ecstatic when they agreed and let me make it my canvas. This was back in 2009. Since then, I've painted all the walls and corners of my room, except for 2 spaces. 

This time while I was back in Nagpur (my hometown), I decided to paint one of the remaining 2 spaces. I had been craving to create some floral artwork with fresh pastel colors. I was hoping to do it in 2019, to kind of come full circle in the decade, but it didn't happen. I still had a week of time left in India in January 2020, and I decided I HAVE to do this! 

So exactly a week before it was time for me to leave, I headed to the paint store and bought paint. My brother even told me, "You are just starting this to leave it incomplete". But I was determined that I wanted to do it! 

Sometimes, committing to something publicly helps keep me motivated and hence I started capturing the work in progress and posting on Instagram about it. 

I had a basic idea of what I wanted, but didn't have a full sketch of the artwork. I decided I should just start and it can evolve as I go. I started with giving a base white background since the original color of the wall had become quite dull. After 2 coats of white, I started sketching. Mostly inspired by Tulips (that I first saw at the Tulip Festival in Holland, Michigan in 2018), the sketch was coming out well. 

But after sketching on half the wall, I was itching to start painting, I absolutely loved the colors I had selected! I started painting, and then as I painted, I decided to pause and sketch a little. 

Eventually, it ended up being a painting that evolved while I painted and then sketched and then painted and sketched. The process was very liberating, I had no brief, no prompt, no constraints. The only constraint I had put myself in was how much space I was going to cover. 

Once I finished painting all the elements I had sketched, it kept feeling incomplete to me. It felt really simple. I wanted to challenge myself. I decided to add texture and patterns to the painting. By the time I decided to add textures and patterns, there were only 2 days left. Mind you, I was only doing about 3 hours a day of work, because I was also working remotely during that week, so I really only had a few hours everyday outside of the 8hour work day. 

The kind of support and love I got from people on my Instagram was heart-warming 💕 I managed to complete the painting before I headed back to the States. The end result is something I really loved! There are few paintings that I do just for my sake and my happiness, and this was one of them. Absolutely enjoyed the process and the outcome! From 2009 to 2020, I've come a long way!