She Is An Artsonaut! - Jamila Patanwala

"As a child, I was extremely fond of shows like MAD and Art Attack and spent most of my summers honing my skills. Moreover, seeing my elder brother and art teacher do amazing drawings, I was inspired to follow their footsteps. Sadly, I drifted apart from it in my teens because the thought of making a career in art wasn't well received. 

After a certain time gap, the need to do something for my financial independence crept into my mind. That's when I decided to take things into my own hands and pursue art as a career because I was really into it. At this time, I was also doing my Bachelors in Commerce, but only for the sake of it, not as a career option. I commercialized my art and finally, began my journey as a full-time artist. 

I started with taking small custom orders of fabric painting and sketching. I showcased my work at exhibitions in Cuttack and also did live paintings for fundraisers. Initially, like in the case of every other artist, I had to face dejection, but somehow, always, art healed me! Sometimes, when getting up was hard, art lifted me up. 

In 2019, I got married. During the lockdown, my husband and I were stuck in different countries altogether. I was in Nasik and he was in Dubai. While I was all by myself in Nasik, I decided to learn new art forms and expand my horizon. Lockdown was indeed a blessing in disguise for me!

Finally, after 5-6 months, I went to Dubai, to my husband. There also, I continued my art business and my husband was a huge support in making my business adapt to a new place. 

In early 2020, I launched 'Artsonaut', my art business, as a brand and currently, I am working from both India and UAE. I want to continue expanding my business so that through my art, I can fill people's homes with joy. The way art has healed me, I am sure it will do the same for them! - Jamila Patanwala aka Artsonaut.