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Sonya Basanti Kumar

  • 863 Butternut Dr, San Rafael, CA 94903, USA

About The Artist

Artist Statement

The sound of a butterfly moving its wings from across the garden can only be heard if I am looking at it. Calls of birds are dots or swipes or long triangles, hooked at the end, loud and large or tiny and grey. Some wood has bears in it. Birds leave traces of their presence in the air. Pinot kombucha smells purple. Ideas wonƒ??t leave me. They only transform, hanging out in the ceiling of my studio, waiting to be caught. Songs hang in the air like dreams, or like light, or like dandelion fluff right when the sun sets over a golden field. Rabbits live a soft and quiet life, loving the smell of green and the world. A bird passes by. A bird. A bird. A bird.

I try to put it down somewhere. On canvas. On paper. On wood. To catch the glow of a sudden ringing note. The deep indigo of a cello. The edge of water and a raucous cacophany of sound. I try to remember. I try to keep and catch that moment. It slips by, leaving only a trace. A memory. A dab of watercolour on the end of a brush. The smell of oil paint and lavender lingering in the air. Oil pastels smeared on my fingers. And a painting. Waiting.

Biography

I am a fine artist of South Asian descent living in Marin County Califorinia. I have a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology with a focus in Avian Sciences (Ornithology) from UC Davis and a Masters in Painting. I have been an artist for most of my life, but have been a serious artist for over 30 years. My primary painting media are oil paint, watercolor, and oil pastel. I also work extensively in drawing media and photography and have recently started adventuring into the fiber arts. I have also had a strong connection to the natural world from a young age. I crafted my education in such a way as to help me reach my goals of being both a bioloigist and an artist. I only recently realized how much of an influence synaesthesia has had on my art. I literally colour music, and hear colour, and colur people, among other things. I feel it makes my life richer and more meaningful. I can’t imagine life without it.

Art Medium(s)

Fiber, Oil Paint, Pastel, Sculpture, Watercolor

Studio Information

Special Location Or Visiting Instructions

Please no dogs sorry!

COVID Precautions

Contact Information

Artist Full Name
Phone

(415) 747-8151

MOS GALLERY

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