About Abby Chandrasekaran
I am Abby Chandrasekaran and I am an artist specializing in pastel and oil portraits of babies and children.
I still remember the defining moment when I decided to be a portrait artist.
I was a child watching my mother's late uncle paint a portrait of my mother. He was a famous artist who had been commissioned to paint
some of the most famous and richest people in Hong Kong and China. Watching him paint was like watching a magician using his magic wand
to turn a plain canvas into a vivid representation of my mother. I was intrigued by the idea of capturing a person's spirit and soul on canvas
and turn it into something that can be cherished from generation to generation. To me, an artist is creating a legacy for himself
as well as the subject every time he paints a portrait.
Life takes many turns and I did not learn how to paint and draw until I was in my mid-twenties. Although I have taken
two years of oil painting and pastel classes at the School of The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, I consider myself a self-taught artist.
Through painting in oil and pastel on my own, I have developed my own sense of color. Mixing and layering different hues and shades of
color is what I particularly love and good at. Color is the essence of my paintings. I like to use vibrant (and at time unrealistic)
colors to depict my subjects. I strive to use color to set myself apart from
other portrait artists.
As a portrait artist, I see beauty in all people. Any person can be an intriguing subject for my paintings. Each of my
portraits is intended to capture the subject "at the moment" but yet depict a particular facet of the subject's personality. Although I enjoy
painting people from all walks of life, I am more fond of painting children and am focusing on doing
commissioned portraits of children . I am captivated by their unpretentious
nature and their curiosity about the world.
As a mother of a toddler and a children portrait artist, I am also passionated about nurturing children's creativity and artistic talent. I am a strong
believer that creativity and artistic talent do not just belong to the few people who were born with them. They can be cultivated and nurished in
each one of us. If parents can be more aware of providing the right environment and encouragement to their children, the creativity and artistic talent of
their children will flourish sooner rather than later. To raise parents' awareness of the creativity and artistic development of their children, I use
my blog to
provide resources and open dialogs on the topic. I also conduct workshops for parents and caregivers of young children on how to nurture children's
creativity and artistic talent.
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