Sujit Sudhi is an artist who lives and works between Kochi, India and Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA. He is a signature member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour , and an elected member of the American Artists Professional League and the Wisconsin Watercolor Society. Sujit was born and bred in a small town in southern India and like any other child from that part of the world, spent his childhood enjoying the beautiful countryside. His work has been profoundly influenced by the vivid childhood memories of rolling hills, lush green valleys and murmuring brooks , etched deep within him.
His parents would enter him in painting competitions and Sujit won his first prize the day his little brother was born. As he stood by the hospital crib looking at the tiny newborn, a cousin broke the news to him and this is a memory that he fondly cherishes.
As a kid, he was drawn towards cartoons since he found that funny pictures were the quickest way to get appreciation and was deeply inspired by the cartoons of some of the best Indian cartoonists of those times, like R.K. Laxman. He would copy cartoons from newspapers and magazines onto sheets of paper torn out of his father’s notepad and stick them to the walls of the living room.
Sujit continued to pursue his interest in cartooning through his school/college days but the thought of trying his hand at painting never crossed his mind. After he finished his studies he started to work as an IT engineer and in due course of time, the artist in him started to go dormant. At some point, it appeared as though he had completely given up on art.
One of those days, he happened to walk into a book store in the neighbourhood and for no reason found himself in the art section. That is where he picked up his first book on watercolours and embarked on the most exciting journey of his life.
Painting instruction books have a way of making everything appear very simple and the reader is made to believe that all it takes to churn out a masterpiece is to follow a few easy steps. Little did he know that he had inadvertently chosen the toughest of mediums.
Though Sujit started to paint with the help of the book he had just bought, he had little success and was being pushed to the point of frustration. That was when he discovered that one of most skilled watercolour artist of the country, Ambadas Mahurkar had his studio in his neck of the woods and in a heartbeat, decided to meet him.
Sujit’s association with the master did not last long though, since Mr. Mahurkar passed away within a couple of years It was at his studio , Kalamandir, that he took part in the first exhibition of paintings of his career. Sujit believes that painting under his tutelage – albeit for a short period – is the reason why he calls himself an artist today!
For a long time, painting was just a hobby and Sujit would paint only when he had nothing good to do. But with regular practice he seemed to be making some progress and that’s when he decided to work two jobs – IT consulting to put food on table and art to keep the fire within burning. At this point, he started to practice regularly and also started to closely follow the work of some of the masters like Milind Mulick, John Pike, Edward Wesson, Tony Couch and Sterling Edwards to name a few. Following their work not only helped Sujit hone his skills but also provided him with ample amount of inspiration to paint.
Around this time, an opportunity to work for an IT consulting company that’s based out of Chicago came by and Sujit decided to give it a shot and he ended up in the sleepy town of Kenosha in Wisconsin. He was pleasantly surprised by the fact that a small town like Kenosha had so much going on in the art scene.
Sujit began to submit his work to several international and national juried shows and his work started to go places. Within the span of a few years, he ended up having his art displayed in several galleries across the United States. He has his pieces hanging in several private business and government offices including the Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin and at the Jockey global headquarters in Kenosha.
His painting titled ‘ Morning Light ’ made it to the 17th edition of the prestigious publication by North-light books titled Splash, which features the work of the top 120 watercolour artists in the world. He considers the opportunity to have rubbed shoulders with some of the most accomplished and celebrated international watercolour artists a true honour.
Sujit has his work hanging in the homes of patrons in several cities in North America, Europe, The Middle East and India. His painting process usually starts with moment at which inspiration strikes either from a scene in front of him or from a photograph or from an emotion deep inside. He tries not to be a slave to the reference image – be it mental or an actual picture. He believes that as an artist, one should focus on creating an interpretation of what he or she sees rather than rendering a subject/scene.
Though he paints portraits and florals once in a while, Sujit finds a lot of joy in painting landscapes. His attempt has always been to paint his interpretations of the myriad hues of mother nature and he believes that he will never grow tired of rendering her beauty with his brushes.
Sujit works at his studio titled ‘Nashaa’ which in Urdu means intoxication
Nashaa
:: In Fort, Tripunithura, Kerala, India, 682301
:: 6823 53rd Street Unit 158, Kenosha WI, USA, 53144
