Richa Kashelkar
Self-taught artist Richa Kashlekar engages with her vibrant gouache paintings, where whimsical brushstrokes and a rich palette takes center stage.
The works of Goa-based self-taught artist Richa Kashelkar, transport you to a world of whimsy and vintage charm. For a creative artist with a background in architecture—a profession that demands finer details and precision—Kashelkar’s paintings are a departure from the discipline. Her works, predominantly in gouache style, feature broad, playful brushstrokes that evoke a sense of freedom, allowing the artist to convey her subjects with greater fluidity and expression. While human figures and nature primarily serve as muses, it is the choice of colors and their use that truly emote the surroundings and subjects. The paintings feature a saturated palette, where earthy browns, mossy greens, and vibrant yellows take center stage, while brighter tones like cobalt and pink add depth and complexity. Observing them carefully would elicit a unique range of feelings, often making the spectator oscillate between joy and romance. Some of Richa’s known works commonly depict women and men in their afternoon leisure, and idyllic landscapes very reminiscent of a place that feels unknown but almost familiar, like from a distant memory. These underscore the slow pace of life, deeply influenced by Richa’s home in Goa, a place renowned for its susegad. Her works have also been featured in renowned publications including Elle India and Architectural Digest. Richa is among the artists who have expanded their medium beyond the canvas, transforming her artworks into prints for womenswear label Shop Drawn.
Richa speaks to Blur The Border :
Blur : You come from two very diverse backgrounds- architecture and photography- what made you take a leap and find a voice in painting?
Richa : Well, to be honest, just a gradually growing wish to want to paint!
I left architecture a while ago and did photography for a decade after that. It was a fun profession, but towards the end, at a couple of beautiful moments, I started noticing a desire in me to create a painting instead of a photo. It wasn't enough to capture what was in front of me- I wanted to ‘create’. I started seeing in paintings. But I wasn't trained in art, so I kept ignoring this desire with a little private sadness, for a few months. Then one day the desire got so strong that it toppled over my feelings of inadequacy, and I just started painting for my own fun and curiosity. But it wasn't a career move at all at this point; it was purely for my enjoyment. So I started doing little paintings on my phone with a stylus - that scratched my creative itch - and to my genuine bafflement, people asked to buy prints of those artworks. I had never imagined this outcome even vaguely!
Blur : You live in Goa which is known for its colonial architecture, and a susegad lifestyle. Has the place influenced your artwork in any way?
Richa : Absolutely, in more ways than I can enumerate. It shows up in the colours and the people and the architecture in my art; in the rich flora and fauna. I think I was in love with this culture even before I came here, and it shows up loudly in my work.
Blur : Do you have a definitive process while creating? Are there any habits or rituals that help you get into a creative mindset?
Richa : Not really. I'm a slave to my moods. An idea appears and I rush to paint. Sometimes when there is no idea but I want to paint, I will look at my ‘inspirations’ folder with all the photos I've saved, and something will arrest me in the moment! But if there is nothing sparking genuine interest in me, I have learnt to leave it be and go do other activities like read or watch something. Eventually, the desire to paint pops up again once I've done enough other stuff, and then I drop everything and go to my studio.
Blur : How do you balance the need to be creative with the practical aspects of being a professional artist?
Richa : I'm a bit of a purist in thinking about an art practice. I believe the only thing that matters is to get good at your art. To enjoy it, to investigate what you want to say, and how to go about doing it in the best way you can. Everything else is just toppings and is easy to put into place if the work is good enough. I see no ‘practical’ aspects that hinder the creative process. Well, sometimes I do have to do boring admin work, but that's a negligible bother compared to this vast task and gift of creating.
Blur : What role does the environment play in your work or fuelling your creativity?
Richa : I don't think I'd be a very happy person if I didn't have a lot of trees around me. But say, hypothetically if I had continued living in the city, I'm sure I would still have ended up painting eventually. Creativity flows from inside to outside. What I mean is, that the outside is not as crucial at least to my process, as the inside. It helps plenty in making me happy overall, and it influences my subject matter, but I think it is not crucial to the act of creativity itself.
Blur : Are there any other mediums you find interesting and would like to explore in the future?
Richa : Hmm.. nothing as yet. Bold paint has always caught my fancy and I haven't felt like deviating from it. It feels ‘me’ in a way that watercolour, collage or dry medium doesn't.
Blur : You have collaborated with a fashion label in the past. How does that help an artist to see their artwork in a different format?
Richa : It was fun to see all these beautiful clothes with my art on them, and people wearing it with joy! But at least for the kind of work I do, there was no artistic benefit to seeing it in a different format.
There are exceptions, but overall I much prefer to have my paintings on canvases and not on other items ( at least as of now.)
Blur : If you were to collaborate with other artists, outside of your discipline, what is one collaboration you would love to do?
Richa : With a ceramist making beautiful handmade pots and other domestic items! I would love to paint these objects. But this is all in a distant, imaginary future. Right now, I have only one aim- solve the puzzle of what and how I want to paint.