It is our pleasure to introduce our next featured artist: Varsha Kumar. 🎨
Varsha is a queer South Asian creative whose art, like their mind, gravitates toward creation through the destruction - and hence, inversion - of social norms and artistic ideals.
Through surreal yet bold themes, Varsha's art often amplifies the voices of those excluded from dominant narratives, celebrating the vibrancy and power of intersectional communities.
Their work will be on display in the Community Room starting this Saturday for ArtWalk and we can’t wait for you all to see it! ☺️
'STARVED!' - oils, 24x30"
The scene is set at a Palestinian dinner table: dishes featured include musakhan, taboon, and of course, olives.
Food is inherently political – and in this case, the lack thereof it. The feast shimmers like a mirage of life before the starvation. But it's distorted, fragmented – the plates are shattered, the tablecloth stained a deep red.
The taboon morphs into a destroyed Qasr al-Basha, once a historic 13th century castle, now one of the many icons of Palestinian history intentionally eliminated by the occupation. In the flicker of a candle flame, a father holds his lifeless baby, burning, close to a nub, yet still. Burning.
There are only 4 spots left in Varsha’s LAST Oil Painting Class!
We are grateful that the GAC will always have the time and creative energy given to us by @vrshkumar , as once a student and then the teacher.
With 6 weeks of guided learning under local artist, Varsha Kumar, we are excited to offer one last opportunity to study oil painting, on Tuesdays from 6:15-8:15 PM, April 28 - June 2.
With no prior experience needed oil painting for adults will guide you through core oil-painting techniques, including color mixing, blending, brushwork, and composition.
Head to our website to register.
🔗 Link in bio.
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#oilpainting #howtooilpaint #localclasses #paintingclass #oilpainting
hey friends, i’m moving to chicago in a short couple of months so this will be the very last oils class I'll teach at @galvestonartscenter :'-)
if you've been toying with the idea of taking the class, this is it! would love to see you there. 6 weeks, from april 28-june 2. link's in my bio 🤙🏾
The Cultural Exchange: Scavenger Hunt
LOCATION: @pavement_houston
ARTIST: @vrshkumar 🇮🇳
“This piece specifically depicts the beginning of the influence of colonization by the British Raj in India (1800s-1947), but can be generalized to the occupation of other indigenous lands.
The water swirling in the pot represents a flood about to break through. Several plants native to India are depicted - banana tree, jasmine, red tulips. Cne of the red tulips morphs into a bird and is fleeing the apparent danger. The foreign snake plant sprouts into literal snakes. The coffee plant - a lucrative crop British colonists exploited Indian labor for - is bleeding, depicting the literal sweat & blood that created the backbone of the coffee industry.“ -Kumar (Alien Invasion)
For this week’s episode of The Kitchen, @vrshkumar and came together for a live painting session alongside an intimate performance by @tinyjunee . The result was pure, creative energy and an hour of getting lost in the concepts of it all.
Make sure to follow @galvestonartscenter for Varsha’s next painting classes!
Subscribe to Patreon to watch the entire episode and make sure to watch the preview on YouTube. Link in our bio 🔗
As always, thank you to our sponsors @modcoffeehouse and Hendley Wine Co, and the gear @aveo_studio
#galveston #cultureclashmagazine #galvestonisland #cultureclash #lovegalveston
'GOFM' - 18x24" SOLD (original oil painting used to create the 8x10 ft mural at @gofarmersmarket )
last weekend, our sweet friends invited us into their home for a cozy lil pizza/pottery date, and it was so clear that I couldn't have found a more perfect home for this piece. we met through the farmers market (back when I managed it + kristen was a vendor) and now they're such a staple in our galveston life <3 🌞
**and yes, i only do home deliveries for cute wife & wife duos ;)
doodling in coffee shops: new orleans edition 🐊 trying not to use color as a crutch & actually work on my linework
not featuring the little guy (slide 2) who ran too quick to make it into my sketchbook
a series of doodling in new york coffee shops. live pen & ink is not my forte! but it's one i would like to get better in. it feels almost wrong to share an "unpolished" piece but art is about trying new things or whatever! (i say with deep discomfort)
ft lower east side & harlem (poor bed stuy didn't make the cut)
a femme figure drawing class from a couple weeks ago at @boyfriendcoop (my new (almost # 1) favorite bar). they're a rad palestinian-owned lesbian bar & i've decided i would like to live inside it, permanently.
I had such a wonderful time existing & creating in new york the past couple weeks and kinda totally ignored my phone. more nyc art recap to come ;)
swipe to see me take a turn posing + @alexaire.art 's lovely 1 min rendering of me ◡̈
'Fluid' - oils, 12x16" a piece inspired by the ethereal @heleenatheodore 🌿
I kept feeling drawn to the fluidity of the term 'fluidity' itself - a concept seen in nature, human expression, identities, and cycles of lives.
needless to say, my admiration for @heleenatheodore 's work grew after discovering what a challenge this style of painting was 🙃
