The Commissioned Interview
Blog | The Commissioned
Meet Usha Patibandla, the Artist Who Brings Life Into Portraits
There have been several occasions when my clients hugged me and were in tears because they can see the life and depth in my works. For me it is all about that connection and till I have that, I do not feel satisfied.Usha Patibandla has a deep-seated passion for colors and for bringing life to paintings.
Years of training in media such as oils, acrylic, porcelain, pastels, abstracts, mixed media and pottery has brought her to where she is now – known nationally and internationally, as an artist who brings life into canvas.
She works at each painting with just one goal in mind, "that is to connect with people — to bring a smile to a face, to bring a tear to an eye, to bring back a sweet memory, to take one to their land of dreams and then to bring them back to reality."
Free Spirit by Usha Patibandla
1. What does a typical day in your life look like?
A typical day starts with my daily chores and while I am doing those, I am already planning my day around the next painting I want to do or something that I need to finish. I have a studio in my house and that is where I spend most of my day. My studio and my computer are the two things I interact the most with. Some days I will be working on the images on Photoshop on my computer or researching some ideas, and sometimes I will be preparing the preliminary studies for the commissions I undertake. Most of the time I will be in my studio working on the next thing I want to bring to life.
2. What does your studio look like?
For the lack of a better term, my studio is very colorful. You will find a lot of colors, papers, articles, canvas rolls, old and new unfinished works. I prefer to find anything I want easily. I keep looking at my finished work for a couple of hours/days to see if there is anything I want to change with a fresh eye, for which I need that time to observe. I also have my color studies in front of me.
*Usha's studio *
3. Tell us one unique thing about you / your art.
I add a little bit of my own ideas/intuitions to the paintings that I want to work on. If it’s a portrait that I am working on, I try to understand the person and imagine the person in my own view and then put it on canvas. This is what brings life to my paintings. There have been several occasions when my clients hugged me and were in tears because they can see the life and depth in my works. For me it is all about that connection and till I have that, I do not feel satisfied.
4. What do you love most about being an artist?
I have enjoyed painting and anything related to art since my childhood. I love to bring objects and people to life with my work. I really enjoy talking to my clients since their comments are so real, and their acceptance of my work brings satisfaction to my creative side.
5. Which is your favorite art piece so far and what is the story behind it?
It is hard to say which is my favorite. I am happy with most of my works. Unless I am completely satisfied, I won’t let my works out of my studio. Sometimes I may feel I should have done it differently or used different colors when I look back at some works.6. What are 3 things you can’t live without in a day?
Painting. My mother. My laptop.
7. Where do you get inspiration when you need it most?
I’m not sure how to explain it, but when I watch something beautiful and colors, it can instantly give me ideas and make me want to get creative straight away. I should say BEAUTY.
View from Usha's room
8. What does success look like to you?
Success is when I see a smile on my customer’s face, when I receive a compliment for my work, when I feel connected to the art that I just created, when I capture the imagination of my clients and put it on canvas. There is no further gratification than creating something beautiful and precious that can make a difference to someone’s life.
Check out Usha Patibandla’s artist page to chat about the art piece you've been dreaming of.
Comments