“I was never formally trained in fine arts, but I felt art is my zone. Looking at the paintings of Picasso and Souza I felt very inspired. Their artworks made me work on this current series,” says artist Vikash Kalra. “My works are heavily influenced by the paintings of these two artists, and I have borrowed shapes and forms from their works.” Kalra says. His paintings are expressions of moods and inner feelings that well up from perceptions and experiences of living. “Art can’t be conceptualised beforehand, then it becomes like any other product. It has to flow spontaneously and the artist has to remain honest to his feelings while painting,” adds Kalra. His recent series includes paintings on landscapes, depiction of lust and portraits of heads, “I travelled India in my car, and there are many emotions that are reflected in these paintings like peace, anger, calmness, and inner struggles. Hence these landscapes don’t reflect any particular places but rather focus on the different emotions felt at different places,” he says. The heads further explore the emotions a person feels within. Talking about how much time he devotes to his work, Kalra says, “I don’t know if I am a full time artist but anyone who is passionate about some work is constantly engaging his mind to think of creative ways to work. He likes to work with oil on canvas. “There are many ways to work and create art but I believe that the artist should be a medium himself,” elaborates Kalra.