CRÉATEUR’s Unpublished Créative Astha Malik
“I paint vibrant women portraits celebrating their beauty, strength and diversity. Art is like meditation to me. It helps me connect with my inner self and brings me peace.”
I draw inspiration from everyday women I meet, read about and the ones I've had around me growing up. My art is influenced by Indian and African culture, graffiti, New York Streets and just about anything spontaneous. I have practiced my passion for colors and painting from a young age. Growing up I’d paint on just about any surface - doors, switch boards, dough, planters or t-shirts. My creative side took a back seat starting high school as my focus shifted to academics. I returned to painting 15 years later once I moved to Seattle. Through my work I try to represent a variety of narratives - there's hidden beauty within each one of us, what you see on the outside is just a coat of what we show to the world, we all have imperfections that we should embrace and we are way stronger than we think we are! You Be You! My creative process begins with days of brainstorming before I actually get to the canvas. The brainstorming involves finding inspiration, drafting high level visual elements and the message I want to convey from my work. Then I start to sketch on canvas. Once I have the drawing ready, that's when I move to thinking about a vibrant color theme for the portrait. My process involves continuous improvisation as I paint. Finally I finish my artwork with a backdrop complementing the portrait. Using acrylics on stretched canvas, my compositions slowly come to life and in the end, a new creation establishes itself with its own story to tell.
Born and raised in Delhi, India she comes from a humble middle class family. Growing up she enjoyed doing arts and craft, and credits her mom for encouraging creative hobbies. The first one in the family to pursue education in the US, graduating with a masters degree in computer science from an Ivy league school, she is a Product Manager by profession and a self-taught artist by passion, living in Seattle, WA.
“Be the You of your soul!”
I swear by the mantra 'Be You'. You should be exactly who you want to be, be the woman who stands for herself and be the woman who is proud of herself. Don't let anyone's judgement define you. Through my work I try and represent powerful and fierce women who are proud of herself and don't necessarily confirm to the stereotypes of being a woman. - Astha Malik
Ideas To Work By:
Be authentic.
Trust your inner voice and go ahead with it. Create what makes you happy and it will show in your work.
Don't quit - There may be times when you feel like packing away everything and quitting - Do not! Believe in yourself, learn from your experiences and embrace every accident you've encountered.