Asha Choudhury - Poetic Perceptions

Asha Choudhury

Poetic Perceptions

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Asha Choudhury

“Poetic Perceptions”

Front Cover: “Yellow Flower painting” Oil on canvas, June 2017

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ICAC

International Confederation of Art Critics

“Giraffe” oil on canvas, December 2014

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Asha Choudhury www. ashapainting.com

“Two ladies Black and White painting in 1940�

Pencil on paper, March 2013

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“Bailey” Oil on canvas

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Contents

The Artist

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“The Artist’s Eye”

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“Nature and Form”

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“historical introspection”

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List of Works

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Christopher Rosewood, International Confederation of Art Critics

Karen Lappon, International Confederation of Art Critics

Timothy Warrington, International Confederation of Art Critics

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Asha Choudhury

Previous pages: “Rock” oil on canvas, December 2014 “Bar Bottles” oil on canvas, May 2014

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The Artist Asha Choudhury was born in India, 1946. Her father was in the United Nations and therefore she had the opportunity to visit numerous countries around the world at a young age. In the summer of 1972, Asha moved to London and pursued careers as a Beautician and as a Domestic Violence Case Worker before retiring.

Asha’s suffered from depression for a number of years and Art has given her the opportunity to express her feelings and emotions. She was deeply inspired by her experiences and professional life and soon discovered her talent and that art flowed in her blood.

She attended the Creative hands and Art group at Hestia Resources Centre where she was taught by Montania Saah who holds a double Masters in Art and Creative hands. Following her success in the group she continued her development completing a Drawing and Painting “All Levels” course in Acrylic and Oil paintings to move on to portrait painting Asha's art has featured in Exhibitions at Orleans Art Gallery and Redlees Studio in London. Although she found her talent in Art at a mature age she has received recognition and continues to share her pieces with the world proving that one is never too old to follow their dreams.

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“Round Canvas” oil on canvas, July 2015

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“Strawberry” oil on canvas, February 2017

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“I experience a period of frightening clarity in those moments when nature is so beautiful. I am no longer sure of myself, and the paintings appear as in a dream” Vincent Van Gogh

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“Yellow Flower painting” Oil on canvas, June 2017

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“Deer” oil on canvas, August 2014 (with details)

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The Artist’s Eye Asha Choudhury is an artist that has been significantly enriched and inspired by her complex upbringing in which she experienced and viewed a vast variety of places and environments. What is also clear from her work is that this artist is an acute observer able to assimilate infinite details that surround her allowing her to focus on evanescent occurrences of poetic beauty.

In fact, one can also immediately determine, on viewing Choudhury’s compositions, that this artist understands the value and true meaning of time itself. Much of Choudhury’s work is related to immortalising a moment or even a second in which a butterfly extends its wings, a bird rests or a curious deer raises his head over the grass to a examine nearby pasture.

Choudhury can be defined as a follower of the impressionist and post-impressionist movements and she enjoys to juxtapose elements of Seurat’s pointillism in some of her works with Cezanne’s structural ideas of pictorial form as well as touches of Rousseau’s primitivism. There is, of course, reference and inspiration from Monet himself

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Above: “Palm Tree” oil on canvas, July 2014 Right: “Horses Painting” acrylic on canvas, September 2013

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The Artist’s Eye in the use of visible brush strokes to capture light and highlight reflections as well as movement in the compositions.

This artist’s affinity with nature is evidenced by the subject matter depicted and is accentuated by the choice of colour.

Strong and passionate tones are contrasted with delicate uses of form and compositional elements. Soft and graceful shapes are eloquently painted with a warm, evocative and expressive palette that conveys her passion on canvas. In addition, the artworks are exceptionally pleasing and the viewer can almost hear the trickling water and the bird’s song. Choudhury is, in fact, a very talented artist whose work radiates intense happiness and joy.

Asha Choudhury has a connection with life that is unlike the vast majority of visual artists. She has the rare ability to unite her brushwork with the essence of her artworks that often represents animals, flowers, landscapes or lakes. Her compositions radiate positivity and serenity in a fashion that demonstrates a feminine touch combined with a profound strength found in her approach to creating a timeless artwork from a romantic circumstance.

Christopher Rosewood International Confederation of Art Critics

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“Big Butterfly” oil on canvas, May 2017

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“Small Butterfly” oil on canvas, March 2017

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“Bird” oil on canvas, June 2014 (with details)

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Detail: “Sun and the bench” oil on canvas, March 2017

“Untitled” Oil on canvas

Previous page: “Pink Boats” Oil on canvas, September 2014

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“Try to forget what objects you have before you - a tree, a house, a field, or whatever. Merely think, ‘Here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow,’ and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape, until it gives you your own impression of the scene before you” Claude Monet

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Nature of Form Choudhury is a complex conceiver of art and this gift is demonstrated by her rich and diverse output that manifests itself in four or five distinct creative avenues that intertwine and embrace numerous influences from art history and artistic lines of thought. Asha’s artworks are often experiments of shape and form balanced on the delicate ideas that surround the gentle emotions conveyed and hidden within the romantic protagonists captures within her thoughts and her artworks.

Following attentive perusal of the paintings, the innately inquisitive and significantly contemporary inclination of Choudhury’s creative process penetrates the surface of the more traditional presentation of her work. Still lifes are created by a fabulously complex and interwoven collections of shapes and colours that combine to form an essentially abstract artwork in which the artist has eloquently incorporated grapevines and fruit to communicate that the artwork is in fact a still life and not simply an expressive abstract. The compositions essentially represent a path to discover the depths of the artist’s creative spirit and are a fabulous journey of depth, movement and freedom of form.

Opposite: “Untitled” Oil on canvas

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“Elephant” Oil on canvas, August 2014

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Nature of Form In relation to the inclination towards geometry and angles to embody and interpret more familiar and orthodox subjects, the viewer starts to understand how Choudhury views the world. Lines translate into colours to then be conceived as contours that finally constitute matter and familiar objects. The artworks begin to speak through touches of the brush rather than visual representations and one commences to comprehend the countless fragments that unite as the foundations of a composition in perfect harmony. The soul of the artist is free from merely following what she sees and is able to interpret the roots that embody the visual elements of balance and beauty.

On first viewing of the artwork by Asha Choudhury one is struck by the poetic perfection that she was eloquently able to capture. On second reflection, one begins to assimilate the relationships between the structural aspects of the paintings and share, in part, the artistic journey with the artist who is an attentive observer as well as a talented conveyor of beauty and emotion.

Karen Lappon International Confederation of Art Critics

“Lotus Flower�

Oil on canvas, April 2017

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“Lavender Flower” oil on canvas, July 2014

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“Gold Fish” oil on canvas, June 2014

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“Bridge” oil on canvas, February 2016 Previous page: “Church Painting” oil on canvas, April 2014

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“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web�

Pablo Picasso

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“Cows” oil on canvas, November 2014 Previous page:“Kew Gardens” oil on canvas, July 2013

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historical introspection As an artist, Choudhury tends to work from preliminary drawings and sketches however there is more emphasis on colour than on line in her work. Parallels can be drawn to Van Gogh in relation to composition and brushwork as well as 19th Century great masters.

I choose this artwork for the artwork analysis for a variety of compelling reasons. The depth of work and the wealth of talent in this piece are exceptional and I personally believe it to be one of Asha Choudhury’s masterpieces.

As is true of many of Choudhury paintings, the initial perception is of a beautifully painted post-impressionistic landscape with vivid colours and an evocative aura. The elements of this painting are truly complex and intellectually broad demonstrating an intense timeless quality that combines a fabulous forward looking and expressive painting with an elegant and more traditional form.

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Details of: “Cows” Oil on canvas, November 2014

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historical introspection This is an artwork that wonderfully brings together hundreds of years of art history without any provocation of forcefulness. Rather, impressionistic brushwork is juxtaposed with subtle pointillism while the composition is interwoven into, but not only, a magnificent homage to art history and an intensely unique interpretation of natural beauty.

Abstraction meets the figurative and dreams meet reality in this work masked by a quaint and poetic setting. Although a perfect landscape, parts of the composition share ideas with Munch as well as Pissarro. The foreground of the artwork is radically different from the centre and, furthermore, the sky offers a totally divergent dimension that is reminiscent of Chagall with a hint of Kandinsky.

Asha is an intensely delicate and gentle creative talent who is, simultaneously, an endless explosion of expressive energy.

Timothy Warrington International Confederation of Art Critics

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Above: “Multi Swan” oil on canvas, April 2017 Opposite: “Swan Mirror” oil on canvas, February 2017

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“Long Hair Black and White with face and shoulder� pencil on paper, May 2013

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“Blue Dress Portrait” oil on canvas, October 2014

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“Asha’s artworks radiate passion and are therefore innately evocative. On the other hand, her paintings also surprise the spectator with subtle and graceful details capable of conveying a sublime sense of intimacy and peace through the same composition.

Timothy Warrington International Confederation of Art Critics

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“Red Sunset” oil on canvas, March 2016

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“Glamour” Oil on canvas

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“Two ladies Black and White painting with long dress�

Oil on canvas, February 2013

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An artist’s journey is always one of the most fascinating aspects of an artist’s story in that one understand what a painter holds in their heart.

Asha has had a unique life through her travels and her experiences but her brush seems to be pure and saturated with love. One instinctively perceives a subconscious, and possibly intentional, will to capture the beauty of the world.

Asha’s artworks therefore communicate, to the viewer, how much she values balance and, in turn, tell a story of intense affection in such a way as to provoke thought and reflection. She reminds us of the natural wonders that we take for granted but also persuades us to stop and reflect on life itself.

Christopher Rosewood International Confederation of Art Critics

“Eagle Boat” oil on canvas, March 2017 Previous page: “Sun and the bench” oil on canvas March 2017

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“Pink Dress Portrait” oil on canvas, September 2014

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“Moments Thoughts” Oil on canvas

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“Canal” oil on canvas, October 2014

“Heron Boat” oil on canvas, February 2017 Opposite: “Lennox” oil on canvas, May 2014

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“Running into the darkness” oil on canvas, October 2014

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List of works Title

Page

“Giraffe” Oil on canvas, December 2014

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“Two ladies Black and White painting in 1940” Oil on canvas, March 2013

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“Bailey” Oil on canvas

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“Rock” Oil on canvas, December 2014

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“Bar Bottles” Oil on canvas, May 2014

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“Round Canvas” Oil on canvas, July 2015

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“Strawberry” Oil on canvas, February 2017

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“Yellow Flower” Oil on canvas, June 2017

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“Deer” Oil on canvas, August 2014

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“Palm Tree” Oil on canvas, July 2014

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“Horses Painting” Acrylic on canvas, September 2013

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“Big Butterfly” Oil on canvas, May 2017

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“Small Butterfly” Oil on canvas, March 2017

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“Bird” Oil on canvas, June 2014

26 - 27

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List of works “Pink Boats” Oil on canvas, September 2014 “Sun and the bench” Oil on canvas, March 2017

30, 31, 58, 59

“Untitled” Oil on canvas

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“Untitled” Oil on canvas

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“Elephant” Oil on canvas, August 2014

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“Lotus Flower” Oil on canvas, April 2017

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“Lavender Flower” Oil on canvas, July 2014

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“Gold Fish” Oil on canvas, June 2014

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“Church Painting” Oil on canvas, April 2014

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“Bridge” Oil on canvas, February 2016

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“Kew Gardens” Oil on canvas, July 2013

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“Cows” Oil on canvas, November 2014

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28 - 29

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“Multi Swan” Oil on canvas, April 2017

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“Swan Mirror” Oil on canvas, February 2017

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List of works “Untitled” Oil on canvas

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“Long Hair Black and White painting with face and shoulder” Oil on canvas, May 2013

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“Blue Dress” Oil on canvas, October 2014

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“Red Sunset” Oil on canvas, March 2016

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“Glamour” Oil on canvas

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“Two ladies Black and White painting with long dress” Oil on canvas, February 2013

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“Eagle Boat” Oil on canvas, March 2017

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“Pink Dress Portrait” Oil on canvas, September 2014

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“Moments Thoughts” Oil on canvas

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“Canal” Oil on canvas, May 2014

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“Heron Boat” Oil on canvas, February 2017

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“Lennox” Oil on canvas

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“Running into the Darkness” Oil on canvas, October 2014

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www. ashapainting.com

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A special thank you to Rahsaan Jas Photographer for this publication www.rahsaanjasphotography.com

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ICAC

International Confederation of Art Critics

Edited And Published By International Confederation Of Art Critics London London 2017 Copyright Š 2017 international Confederation Of Art Critics www.international-confederation-art-critics.org 73

International Confederation Art Critics www.international-confederation-art-critics.org

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